Chief People Officer for acquisitive, sponsor-backed, and multi-site organizations.
Twenty-five years building and leading people functions through scale, acquisition, and change. Joined a newly formed, venture-backed platform as its first hire and built people infrastructure as it grew to 386 employees across 24 legal entities, led the people workstream for 25 acquisitions, and retained 99 of approximately 100 designated leaders through year one, and more than 90 through year two. SPHR. Prosci. Master of Human Resources.
People function built from inception as the platform scaled
24
Legal entities on one people operating system
25
Acquisitions integrated, people workstream owned end to end
64
Center healthcare network led as CHRO
$58M
Peak annual payroll governed, with a $3.2M HR operating budget
$14M
Self-insured benefits program governed for a 700-employee national firm
Functions owned across roles: HR, talent acquisition, total rewards, benefits, payroll, HRIS, employee relations, and compliance. Reported to CEOs in five consecutive roles and presented workforce strategy to boards at three organizations, across healthcare, sponsor-backed, retail, and professional services.
Really Great ReadingAssociated Veterinary PartnersMajor BrandsCordell & CordellHealth Choice NetworkThe Home DepotContinental AirlinesFMC / Jetway
Selected leadership results
Three mandates, with the exact responsibility and the measured outcome.
Private equity acquisition integration
2020 to 2025
Vice President, People & Success · Associated Veterinary Partners
Business need
A newly formed, venture-backed veterinary platform was acquiring fragmented practices on a 90-day transaction cadence and needed a people function that could scale with it and hold the leaders who made each practice worth buying.
What I owned
HR diligence, leadership assessment, Day 1 communications, role and compensation decisions, benefits and payroll transition, organizational design, and post-close retention across every deal. Joined as the company's first hire and built the people, talent acquisition, and M&A integration functions from inception, leading a five-person people team and reporting to the CEO and Co-Founder.
How the integration ran
Pre-close people and organizational diligence, then Day 1 leadership communication, role and rewards decisions inside the first 30 days, consolidation of HRIS, payroll, and benefits onto one system, and a 12-month retention and performance review on every acquired leadership group.
Signature system · The 90-day people integration cadence
Pre-close diligence. People, organizational, and leadership assessment on every target before signature.
Run 25 times · 99 of ~100 leaders retained through year one · 90+ still in seat at year two
Measured result
Platform scaled to 386 employees across 24 legal entities through 25 acquisitions.
Retained 99 of approximately 100 designated leaders through 12 months post-close, and more than 90 through year two.
Cut annual healthcare spend from $1.02M to $650K, a 36% reduction, through market rebidding and tiered plan design, with no cost shift to employees.
Healthcare culture and succession turnaround
2008 to 2017
Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief of Staff · Health Choice Network
Business need
A 64-center community health network needed stronger engagement, a real succession pipeline, and cost-disciplined benefits while standing up major new lines of business.
What I owned
People strategy, succession, total rewards, and HR operations across the network, reporting to the CEO and presenting workforce strategy to the board quarterly. As Chief of Staff, led the organizational design, leadership recruiting, and workforce readiness supporting new business launches.
Measured result
Raised the engagement index from 65 to 82 in twelve months on the Studer Group survey, with more than 90% participation.
Increased internal leadership promotions 27% across a population of 50-plus leaders through a structured succession process.
Held benefits renewals to single-digit increases for nine consecutive years.
Led the organizational design, leadership recruiting, and workforce readiness supporting the launch of Florida's third-largest Medicaid plan and an ACO serving 16,000-plus seniors.
Total Rewards and HR-platform transformation
2017 to 2026
Senior people executive, twice Interim COO · Cordell & Cordell · Major Brands · Really Great Reading
Business need
Three organizations, a $200M distributor, a 50-plus-market law firm, and a scaling education company, each needed rewards and HR systems rebuilt to compete for talent while holding cost.
What I owned
Compensation philosophy, benefits strategy, and the HR technology stack, including broker and vendor negotiations, plan design, and the move off a PEO. At Cordell & Cordell, governed $58M in payroll, a $14M self-insured benefits program, and a $3.2M HR operating budget.
Measured result
Repositioned critical legal roles from the 50th to the 65th market percentile, a $1.8M investment phased over 18 months, and cut average attorney time-to-fill from six months to under 60 days. Cordell & Cordell
Lowered employer benefits cost 25% through fully insured tiered plan design. Really Great Reading
Migrated off a PEO onto Paylocity, rebuilding HR technology and payroll in-house. Really Great Reading
Reduced voluntary turnover more than 20% within twelve months through a Total Rewards redesign. Major Brands
Leadership approach
How I operate, in plain terms.
01
Workforce and business strategy, built together
People planning belongs in the room where the business plan is made, not bolted on afterward. That is where headcount, cost, and capability decisions actually get made well.
02
Retain and develop the right leaders
The goal after an acquisition or a reorganization is not to keep everyone. It is to identify the leaders who carry the relationships, knowledge, and standards, and to keep those.
03
Scalable systems without bureaucracy
One HRIS, one set of pay bands, one benefits architecture across many entities lowers cost and raises equity. The discipline is adding structure without adding drag.
04
Financial discipline on workforce investment
Compensation, benefits, and recruiting are real money. Every change should carry a clear economic case, and the outcome should be measured the same way any other investment is.
Career
Twenty-five years across healthcare, sponsor-backed, retail, and professional services.
2025 to 2026
Executive Director, People & Culture
REALLY GREAT READING · ST. LOUIS, MO
Hired by the CEO on a transformation mandate; migrated the company off its PEO onto Paylocity, cutting PEO fees from $90K to $72K a year.
Stood up Canadian employment infrastructure and onboarded a full product team in seven days.
2020 to 2025
Vice President, People & Success
ASSOCIATED VETERINARY PARTNERS · REMOTE / ST. LOUIS, MO
Built the people function as the venture-backed platform's first hire, scaling to 386 employees across 24 entities.
Led the people workstream for all 25 acquisitions, from HR diligence through the 12-month retention review.
2019 to 2020
Executive Director, People & Engagement · Interim COO
MAJOR BRANDS · ST. LOUIS, MO · $200M DISTRIBUTOR
Aligned Total Rewards across three collective bargaining units, strengthening labor relations.
As Interim COO, owned organizational readiness and executive governance for the enterprise SAP rollout, delivering the three-day cutover on schedule.
2017 to 2019
Director of People & Culture · Interim COO
CORDELL & CORDELL · ST. LOUIS, MO
Funded a five-year Employee Student Loan Repayment Program from first-year benefits savings.
Led a nine-person HR team and reset compensation strategy across a 50-plus-market footprint.
2008 to 2017
Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief of Staff
HEALTH CHOICE NETWORK · MIAMI, FL
Led HRIS, payroll, and benefits-platform transformations across Workday, UKG, and ADP.
Raised the annual merit budget from 3% to 4% on a cost-neutral basis, while holding benefits renewals to single digits.
1997 to 2007
HR Leadership
FMC / JETWAY · THE HOME DEPOT · CONTINENTAL AIRLINES · HOUSTON, TX
FMC / Jetway: led HR for 5,000-plus employees across 25 airport operations and built the Jamaica startup.
The Home Depot: led field HR across 30,000-plus associates, mentored 156 HR professionals, and earned the Marcus Award twice.
Credentials
Education, certifications, and board service.
Education & certifications
Master of Human Resources
La Roche College · Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining
B.A. Industrial Psychology
Saint Vincent College · Latrobe, PA
Certifications
SPHR · HRCIProsci Change Management Practitioner
Board service & recognition
Current board service
Circus Flora · Missouri Historical Society
Former board service
SHRM St. Louis · Saint Louis Ballet · COCA
Recognition
Apogee Award (2014) · Executive Leadership Excellence, Miami Chamber of Commerce (2014) · HR Distinguished Leader (2016)
Contact
Exploring Chief People Officer opportunities with sponsor-backed, healthcare, and multi-site organizations entering their next stage of growth.
