Sean O'Neill
CPTO at Syncron
CPTO at Syncron | Change Leader | ex-Amazon, Tesco | Speaker | Artist
Sean is a seasoned product and technology leader with more than 25 years’ experience, including over a decade shaping the early days of Amazon. A dual US–UK citizen, he has built a reputation for bold thinking, crisp execution, and a clear view of how tech, retail, and consumer businesses actually work. His leadership has delivered more than $500m in cash flow, a multi-billion-dollar private-equity exit, and multiple patents. Colleagues know him as principled, energetic, and deeply committed to a culture of integrity, action, honest debate, and ownership.
Episodes featuring Sean O'Neill
Episode 28
The Hiring Masterclass Part 1: How to Interview Exceptional People
How to run better interviews and spot real talent.
Former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O’Neill explains how to run better interviews. Learn experiential questioning, the STAR method, and how to separate drivers from passengers, even when candidates arrive with polished stories or AI-assisted preparation.
Episode 29
The Hiring Masterclass Part 2: Why Great Hiring Decisions Happen After the Interview
How great hiring teams make the final decision.
Former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O’Neill explains how great hiring teams run interview debriefs, avoid bias, use blind voting, challenge assumptions, and make stronger hiring decisions. Essential listening for managers, interviewers, and candidates.
Free downloads created by Sean O'Neill
Sean O’Neill’s Hiring Debrief Template
Sean O’Neill’s Hiring Debrief Template helps teams make better hiring decisions. Capture interview feedback, use blind voting, compare candidates, and run structured debriefs to reduce bias and choose the best talent.
Most hiring decisions don’t fail in the interview. They fail in the discussion afterwards.
This is the hiring debrief template Sean O’Neill has used throughout his career to help teams make clear, evidence-based hiring decisions. Sean spent 11 years at Amazon as part of the Bar Raiser programme, where the focus wasn’t just on running good interviews; it was on making consistently high-quality hiring decisions across the business.
This tool brings that same structure into your hiring process.
What it helps you do
- Capture structured feedback from each interviewer
- Score candidates against defined criteria
- Run blind voting before the debrief to reduce bias
- Compare perspectives across the interview panel
- Focus the discussion on evidence, not opinion
- Rank multiple candidates clearly
- Make confident hiring decisions
How it works
Each interviewer completes their assessment independently before the debrief.
Those inputs are then compiled and revealed in the debrief itself, creating a structured conversation where the team can challenge assumptions, share evidence, and reach a clear decision.
No guesswork. No loudest voice wins. No “on the fence”.
Why it matters
Hiring is the highest-leverage decision you make as a leader.
This template helps you raise the bar, by turning a collection of interview impressions into a structured, repeatable decision process.
If you hire people, lead teams, or want to improve how your organisation makes hiring decisions, this is a simple tool that will immediately upgrade your process.