Embedded Files
Building the Bench
Building the Bench
Fractional HR and Succession Planning across three divisions of a large Northeast pharmaceutical company, and an 800-employee professional services firm
The situation
The situation
Both organizations were growing fast and competing with peers for talent. Critical roles had no ready successors. High-potential employees were leaving for clearer career paths. Recruiting cycles were long, and the companies were paying premium agency fees to fill mid-level manager roles while losing institutional knowledge.
What I did
What I did
Facilitated a full talent review with 9-box calibration
Led structured talent conversations with managers
Defined clear criteria for what “ready” means at each level
Built a development plan for each identified successor
Created succession slates so the organization kept the process running after I left
The result
The result
In one pharmaceutical division, 12 of 16 identified high potentials were promoted (75%)
High-potential retention improved 50% at both organizations
Recruiting and onboarding costs fell 15% at the professional services firm, because roles were filled from within
What this means for you: I’ll give your team a repeatable process to run talent reviews, fill leadership roles from within and keep your pipeline strong.
From Assessment to Sustainable Change
From Assessment to Sustainable Change
Culture and HR strategy for a growing private university | Organizational reach: nearly 9,000 students | 2,400+ faculty and staff
The situation
The situation
The university was growing fast, and its people and culture efforts lacked structure, consistency and accountability. I was brought in as a senior HR and culture leader to assess the organization, build a new function and advise executive leadership.
What I did
What I did
Conducted an organization-wide HR and culture audit, then built a three-year action plan to close the gaps
Set up cross-functional steering committees to govern the work
Launched community-wide learning and strengthened search and hiring practices
Led the creation of a Student Multicultural Center
Advised on COVID response, student accommodations and culture strategy, and led about 10 searches for provosts, deans, tenured faculty and senior leaders
The result
The result
90% completion of community-wide training in the first year
The Multicultural Center became a permanent institutional resource
Culture and inclusion became part of how the university hired, developed leaders and made decisions
What this means for you: I know how to assess an organization, earn credibility with leadership and build changes that last after I leave.
When the Person Who Reported Was Threatened
When the Person Who Reported Was Threatened
Internal workplace investigation at a large company
The situation
The situation
An accounts payable employee was suspected of creating fake vendors and routing six figures in fraudulent payments to an outside account. When a senior accountant flagged duplicate payments, the employee threatened her and tried to delete evidence. As the company’s internal investigator, I led the inquiry.
What I did
What I did
Placed the employee on administrative leave, restricted system access and issued evidence holds
Worked with the internal security and cybersecurity teams to gather accounting records, audit trails, bank records, messages and recovered files
Interviewed 7 people: the reporting employee, the respondent and 5 witnesses from accounts payable, finance and security, documenting credibility and inconsistencies
Built a timeline linking the vendor setup, invoice uploads and payments, and confirmed the threats with message records
Coordinated with in-house counsel and an outside forensic accountant, and limited communication to authorized stakeholders
The result
The result
The evidence substantiated the report under the preponderance of the evidence standard
I delivered findings only, in a full report and an executive summary to leadership and counsel
The employee resigned as a condition of the resolution, which avoided a referral to law enforcement
The reporting employee was protected with a no-contact directive and EAP support
In a separate addendum, outside the investigative report, I recommended policy updates, system safeguards and training to close the gaps
What this means for you: I know how investigations work from the inside: move quickly, protect the people and the evidence, and deliver findings that hold up without exposing the company to added risk.
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