Think of me as your
HR scalability partner, C-suite accomplice, & management team consigliereHRnB is an HR and People Ops jawn for startups and small to medium-sized companies, offering executive HR support, project-based consultation, functional coaching, and HR team installation.
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if you’re here, something is going on, and it’s probably one of these:
You have a board meeting in three weeks, and the people story isn’t ready.
Headcount, retention, comp, leadership bench, key-person risk. The board is going to ask. You need someone who’s been in those rooms to help you build the narrative, anticipate the hard questions, and make sure the answers hold up. Not a deck. A defensible story. Triage engagement. Two to three weeks.
Your head of HR is strong, but the exec-level work needs a different seat.
They run the function well. The team trusts them. You don’t want to replace them, and hiring a CHRO above them would be the wrong answer for where the company is. What you need is reinforcement at the executive level. I come in alongside your internal HR leader, take the exec-level weight, and stay out of the way of what’s already working. Accomplice engagement. Flexes by client. See the dedicated section below.
Your comp framework is in place, but the “why” is missing.
The bands exist. The philosophy is documented. Maybe you built the first version yourself, maybe you used AI, maybe you inherited it. What's missing is the part that makes it yours: why the bands sit where they do, what the philosophy is saying about how the org values its people, and what story this comp structure tells about how the company plans to operate. Until that's clear, every comp conversation feels harder than it should. Project engagement, typically 4 to 8 weeks.
An acquisition just closed (or is about to) and the people side is a mess.
Two cultures, two comp structures, two handbooks, two sets of unspoken rules. I handle the integration work: harmonization, retention conversations, org design, and the off-sites that decide whether this acquisition actually works. Project engagement, typically 2 to 4 months.
You’re fundraising, and the investor asked about the people plan.
Comp, leadership gaps, key-person risk, retention, the plan for the first three hires post-close. I build the diligence package and coach you through the questions they’re actually going to ask. Project engagement, typically 3 to 6 weeks.
Your PEO contract is renewing and you’re dreading it.
You’re not sure if you’re overpaying, under-served, or whether you should leave entirely. I run the analysis, manage the RFP or exit, and own the transition so your team barely notices the switch. Project engagement, typically 6 to 10 weeks.
You need a senior HR partner and you’re not ready to hire a full-time CHRO.
You’re between 50 and 300 people. People issues are now the biggest drag on the business. You need someone in the leadership meetings, on the board prep, and in the hardest conversations. Not a recruiter, not a coordinator, not a consultant who emails from the sidelines. Partner engagement. Monthly retainer, ongoing presence.
You’re a founder or CEO who needs a thinking partner on people decisions.
Not weekly HR operations. The harder stuff: who to promote, who to let go, how to handle the VP situation, when to restructure, what to do about the leadership team that’s quietly falling apart. Partner engagement, light-touch retainer or standing coaching arrangement.
Indiana Jones wannabe turned HR and People Operations enthusiast,
frequently pairs scotch with cigars, loves parties with a theme, advocates for great ideas, and life-long fan of ‘90s R&B.My HR style is visible, creative, and direct. I'm a fanatic about figuring out how to give employees the opportunity to be the best version of themselves, every single day.
I am a huge proponent of the Holstee Manifesto. I read, I listen, and I'm open. I'm a delighted wife, fantasy football fanatic, dog-obsessed, and 99% of the work I produce is powered by '90s R&B with a healthy dose of hip-hop. I travel for great adventures and stay as active as I can.
Customizable HR and People Operations Solutions
Customizable HR and People Operations Solutions
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Acute, short, fast, handled.
For situations that need a senior operator in the seat this week, not a scoping call three weeks out. Usually, a few focused sessions over one to three weeks. I help you make the call, run the conversation, or handle the situation, and then I’m out.
Best for: board prep on a tight deadline, escalating leadership tension, a high-stakes conversation you want to think through with someone who's been there.
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Defined scope, deadline-driven, real stakes.
For situations with a clear beginning and end and a lot that could go wrong in the middle. Scoped to the problem, sized to the stakes. Usually four to twelve weeks.
Best for: acquisitions and post-close integration, layoffs and restructuring, PEO exits, comp overhauls, HRIS transitions, fundraising people-diligence, leadership team off-sites, and 360 processes.
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Fractional, exec HR leadership, embedded.
For companies with roughly 50 to 500 employees who need more than a coordinator and less than a full-time CHRO. I embed with your leadership team as your senior People partner on a monthly retainer. I’m in the board prep, the hard conversations, the comp decisions, and the quiet fires. The relationship compounds, which is the part no tool can replicate.
Best for: companies where people risk is now the biggest risk, where the HR function needs a senior voice, and where the founder or CEO wants a standing thinking partner on the leadership team.
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Reinforcement at the executive level, alongside your internal HR leader.
For companies with a capable head of HR who runs the function well, where the gap is at the executive seat: board-level comp conversations, the hardest employee relations calls, the leadership team dynamics that need to be named in the room. I come in alongside, take the exec-level weight, and stay out of the way of what's already working. The internal leader keeps leading. I'm the reinforcement above the line.
Best for: companies where the HR function is in good hands but the exec-level seat needs a different kind of experience, often during a stretch of high stakes (funding round, acquisition integration, post-layoff recovery, CEO transition).
What the clients are saying
What I do
Sit in the room for the strategy session, the offsite, the executive hire, and the moment you realize you need to change your mind in real time.
Hold the context that matters: how your team has grown, what your board is paying attention to, and the unwritten rules nobody documents.
Make the call to your attorney, broker, recruiter, and PEO rep, because I’ve worked with them for years and they answer when I call.
Own the outcome with you. Wins, misses, and the calls that need a second look six months in.
Help you see the hardest HR work lives in the gray area and name it. Ask me why a lobster is not a dog.
What I don’t do
Compete with the chat tool or your HRIS on thirty-second work: policy drafts, template handbooks, and stock onboarding checklists. I’ll be there for the decisions that follow.
Talk in acronyms or consultant-speak. We’re not unpacking anything, circling back, or force multiplying.
Take on work outside my lane. I have a Rolodex for that, and I’m happy to make the intro.
Send you to AI for work it can’t finish. Sure, AI will draft a comp philosophy, a job description, even a layoff plan. The work that matters starts where the draft ends. What it can't do is the work that comes from the prompt.