You clearly work in a differently organized company where HR takes care of bureaucracy and employee assistance and didn't grab the authority to control hiring.

You clearly work in a differently organized company where HR takes care of bureaucracy and employee assistance and didn't grab the authority to control hiring. Probably the ambitious, important people at the foundation of the company were "finance and some director" and they never allowed HR to interfere with the business and become more than a service; hope it lasts.