Human Resources Professionals: Insights & Resources

Fractional CHROs in Atlanta Making Things Happen

Anson Ye
July 7, 2025
All Insights
HR Professionals: Insights & Resources

Fractional CHROs in Atlanta Making Things Happen in 2025

Atlanta Interim Chief People Officers to Know

Atlanta has always been a city of transformation—where culture, commerce, and community collide in powerful ways. As the South’s business capital, Atlanta is home to a dynamic mix of Fortune 500 giants, scrappy startups, and mission-driven nonprofits. Behind the scenes of many of these organizations are Atlanta’s leading fractional Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs)—visionary talent leaders who bring structure to chaos, clarity to culture, and strategy to scaling operations.

At Digital Reference, we believe in radical transparency and radical authenticity—values that Atlanta’s HR leaders bring to life every day. With a blend of southern hospitality and sharp business acumen, this city’s fractional CHROs are reimagining the people function for today’s economy. They don’t just manage compliance—they drive transformation, shape culture, and help organizations thrive in uncertain times.

In this blog, we’re proud to spotlight a group of Atlanta-based fractional CHROs who are helping companies navigate complexity, embed purpose, and unlock their people potential. From DEI experts to organizational psychologists, each of these professionals offers something uniquely powerful.

And if you're exploring the role of CHROs or wondering how fractional leadership works, check out our resources:

Our Selection Methodology

This curated list was built with intention, care, and depth. Here’s how we selected each featured professional:

  • 📍 Clear presence in the Atlanta metro area
  • 🤝 Verified experience in fractional or interim CHRO roles
  • 🔍 Publicly available evidence of results and thought leadership
  • 💬 Industry referrals and platform recognition
  • 🌐 Strong alignment with Digital Reference’s values: impact, integrity, and people-first strategies

We aim to showcase leaders who don’t just talk HR—they reshape the business through it.

Let's meet Atlanta's top fractional CHROs, in no particular order:

  • Sherika Ekpo
  • Wendy Smith
  • Trisha Earls
  • Kevin Finke
  • Stacy Cullinan
  • Desiree Guilliard-Young
  • Steve Waechter
  • Jo Mocny
  • Cindy Lubitz
  • Ollin Rodriguez Lopez

Read on to learn more about them:

Sherika Ekpo

President, Shaw Ekpo Enterprises
 LinkedIn • Business Website

Sherika Ekpo is a powerhouse in human resources strategy and executive advising, known for leading bold culture transformations and advancing high-impact people programs across industries. With 20 years of cross-sector experience spanning government, finance, technology, and consulting, she has become a go-to fractional CHRO and leadership strategist for businesses seeking clarity, connection, and operational momentum.

As the President of Shaw Ekpo Enterprises (SEE), Sherika leads a boutique consulting firm that delivers people-first solutions to small and mid-sized organizations. Her work helps growing companies streamline operations, reimagine workplace culture, and build inclusive, high-performance teams. Her approach is especially valued by founders and executives navigating the evolving expectations of a multigenerational workforce and the new world of work.

Sherika has held transformative leadership roles at Google, JPMorgan Chase, GE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Digital Service. Most recently, she served as Interim Chief People Officer at Anaplan, where she strengthened organizational cohesion during a critical period of transition. Her leadership combines deep knowledge of HR systems with a pragmatic, mission-driven lens that accelerates impact.

Shaw Ekpo Enterprises delivers strategic services that span talent acquisition, performance management, DEI strategy, and operational excellence. Sherika and her team bring empathy, accountability, and smart systems to every engagement—always with an eye toward what will help the business grow and people thrive.

Areas of Expertise

  • 💼 Human capital strategy and organizational design

  • 🌍 Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives

  • 🔍 HR diagnostics, audits, and performance alignment

  • 🎯 Executive coaching and leadership development

  • ✨ Culture transformation and employee experience

  • 🧭 Strategic planning and operational streamlining

In addition to her consulting work, Sherika is a respected thought leader and frequent keynote speaker. She has presented at over 50 major conferences, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Grace Hopper Celebration, and Tapia Conference. She is also the co-author of Advance Belonging in Organizations, a groundbreaking equity-fluent leadership playbook published in partnership with the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Georgia by Women We Admire, Sherika continues to champion inclusion, empower underrepresented communities, and drive excellence in every organization she touches. Whether advising on talent strategy, guiding C-suite decision-making, or building systems that scale, she brings a balance of innovation, structure, and deep care for people.

Wendy Smith

Founder & Fractional Chief People Officer, Metamorphosis Solutions
 LinkedIn

Wendy Smith is a boundary-pushing HR executive who redefines what it means to build exceptional employee experiences. As the founder of Metamorphosis Solutions, she brings deep expertise and visionary thinking to every engagement—empowering startups and established businesses alike to develop people-first cultures that drive real results. Through her signature 4DX Design™ framework, Wendy helps companies transform their people operations into strategic growth engines.

What makes Wendy stand out isn’t just her 20+ years of experience—it’s how she uses it. She approaches employees not just as workers, but as discerning consumers of the workplace, with unique needs, values, and expectations. That mindset informs her work across industries like technology, life sciences, healthcare, education, manufacturing, food & beverage, and hospitality—helping clients create people programs that are as compelling as any customer brand.

Wendy has led a wide array of complex, high-impact initiatives. She’s developed global onboarding programs for Fortune 500 tech companies, implemented job architecture frameworks, designed compensation models and career development curricula, rolled out HRMS platforms, and coached C-suite executives through periods of growth and reinvention. Whether she’s working with a PE-backed service delivery organization or helping a small B2B startup define its brand identity, her north star remains the same: build systems that are equitable, engaging, and high-performing.

Strengths & Specialties

  • 🧠 Strategic HR architecture and scalable people operations

  • 🏗️ Organizational design, job architecture & compensation planning

  • ✨ Signature employee experience & lifecycle journey mapping

  • 🧭 Executive coaching for founders and senior leadership teams

  • 🛠️ HR tech implementations, including performance & HRMS systems

  • 📣 Internal branding, culture storytelling, and engagement strategy

  • 📊 Data-informed leadership dashboards & success metrics

Wendy’s style is both strategic and hands-on. She doesn't just advise—she rolls up her sleeves, brings cross-functional stakeholders into alignment, and drives initiatives through to implementation. Her clients value her clarity, adaptability, and ability to balance long-term vision with day-to-day action.

At a time when workplace expectations are rapidly shifting, Wendy offers the leadership and creativity needed to help companies evolve. Her work continues to shape the future of work—not just by solving today’s challenges, but by designing for what’s next.

Trisha Earls

Partner at The Hawkins Firm | Fractional CHRO | Workplace Investigator
 LinkedIn

Trisha Earls brings a rare and powerful blend of experience to the world of workplace strategy: she’s an accomplished employment attorney, a former Chief Human Resources Officer, and a seasoned investigator trusted by executives navigating their toughest people challenges. With over two decades of experience spanning litigation, in-house counsel, HR leadership, and now her role as Partner at The Hawkins Firm, Trisha has become a go-to advisor for companies seeking not just legal compliance—but clarity, resolution, and respect for all parties involved.

Whether she’s conducting trauma-informed workplace investigations or serving as a fractional CHRO for high-growth clients like Overlap Holdings, Trisha approaches each situation with precision, professionalism, and deep empathy. She understands firsthand how delicate employee issues can derail operations or damage culture—and she’s made it her mission to resolve them thoughtfully and thoroughly.

Her legal practice centers on employment law compliance, employee relations, and investigations—particularly in situations involving harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, and bullying. What makes Trisha truly stand out is her ability to translate complex legal frameworks into grounded, actionable strategies that align with a company’s values and operational realities. She also drafts customized employment agreements and policies that not only meet legal standards but also reflect an organization’s culture.

💼 Strengths & Specialties

  • 🕵️‍♀️ Independent workplace investigations, including #MeToo and misconduct claims

  • ⚖️ Employment law compliance and counsel with a pragmatic, business-first lens

  • 📝 Custom policy and employment agreement drafting

  • 🧩 Fractional CHRO services during periods of growth, restructuring, or M&A

  • 🧠 Thought leadership and education: frequent lecturer on employment and labor law

  • 🤝 Holistic perspective gained from in-house, legal, and executive HR roles

Outside of her client work, Trisha also serves as a board member at C5 Georgia Youth Foundation and a guest lecturer at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches courses on employment, labor, intellectual property, and international law. Her cross-functional expertise allows her to empathize with business owners, HR leaders, and employees alike—making her an exceptional bridge between legal mandates and human-centered solutions.

At a time when many organizations are struggling to address sensitive workplace concerns with both integrity and legal rigor, Trisha Earls offers something rare: trustworthy, nuanced guidance that empowers businesses to move forward with confidence and care.

Kevin Finke

Founder & Chief Experience Officer, Experience Willow
 LinkedIn | Experience Willow

Kevin Finke is proof that childlike curiosity can evolve into career-defining brilliance. From his roots in rural Illinois to shaping experiences for global powerhouses, Kevin has never stopped asking, "Why can’t work feel more human?" It’s this question—and the desire to answer it—that led him to become one of the most sought-after leaders in human-centered design and workplace culture transformation.

As the Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Experience Willow, an award-winning, LGBTQ-certified consulting boutique based in Atlanta, Kevin helps organizations reimagine how employees experience work. Drawing on his early brand-building work for Disney, Coca-Cola, HBO, and the NFL, Kevin brings the same rigor and creativity to the internal brand—guiding Fortune 500s, startups, and mission-driven nonprofits through cultural reinvention. His goal: to transform everyday moments at work into deeply meaningful, performance-driving experiences.

One of his most iconic achievements is "On the Move to Midtown," a six-month campaign that helped 2,600 NCR employees transition to a new global headquarters. This ambitious initiative didn’t just check a box—it won Team Building Experience of the Decade (2010–2020) from BizBash and was internationally celebrated for its creativity and organizational impact. Kevin and his team have also led celebrated projects like the Cox EXLab, a corporate design lab for workplace innovation that earned SHRM and Atlanta Business Chronicle honors for HR excellence.

His accolades span employee engagement, immersive events, onboarding journeys, and leadership alignment programs—all of which center around one core idea: belonging is not optional. It’s this deep commitment to equity and empathy that powers every Experience Willow project, from culture and team design to DEI-centered leadership development.

✨ Strengths & Signature Expertise

  • 🎯 Designing award-winning employee and customer experience campaigns that drive real change

  • 🧠 Creating experiential learning programs for inclusion, leadership, and engagement

  • 🏛️ Helping organizations shift from transactional HR models to holistic, human-centered cultures

  • 🔄 Leading large-scale onboarding and culture transformations with empathy and creativity

  • 🌈 Championing LGBTQ visibility and inclusion in corporate culture design

  • 💡 Reimagining team and workplace rituals to create purpose, trust, and joy at work

Kevin’s creative direction has earned recognition from Eventex, BizBash, SHRM, and the American Business Awards, and his client list includes giants like Cox Automotive, Dunkin’, A+E Networks, Interface, and the U.S. National Parks Service. Through every engagement, Kevin proves that designing for belonging isn't just good for people—it’s good for business.

Still driven by the same spark that once lit up classrooms in rural Illinois, Kevin Finke is building a future of work where everyone is seen, valued, and connected—and where imagination is taken seriously as a leadership skill. 

Stacy Cullinan

Principal, Talent Growth Solutions | Interim Chief People Officer, Candescent
 LinkedIn

For Stacy Cullinan, leadership is about showing up—authentically, consistently, and with a clear purpose. As a seasoned HR executive with over two decades of global experience, she’s earned a reputation as the go-to strategic partner for companies navigating transformation, growth, and disruption. Whether steering culture change or implementing scalable people operations, Stacy brings both executive gravitas and a genuine commitment to helping others thrive.

Currently, Stacy leads as Principal at Talent Growth Solutions, where she provides fractional CHRO and interim leadership to organizations facing high-velocity change. She also serves as the Interim Chief People Officer at Candescent, the largest independent digital banking platform in the U.S., where she’s been instrumental in elevating people operations during a critical growth phase. From building global benefits programs to recruiting HR leadership and implementing Workday, Stacy’s operational fluency is matched by her strategic vision.

Across every engagement, her approach is grounded in human connection. She leads by example—driving accountability and culture while creating the psychological safety teams need to do their best work. Her client list spans industries including SaaS, HealthTech, pharmaceuticals, digital banking, and automotive. Whether she’s coaching executives through career transitions or partnering with nonprofit boards to find transformational leaders, Stacy knows how to create momentum that lasts.

✨ Strengths & Areas of Expertise

  • 🌍 Led global HR transformations across Fortune 500 organizations with 5,000+ employees

  • 🧩 Designed and launched scalable HR systems (Workday, payroll, benefits) for high-growth teams

  • 🤝 Trusted executive coach supporting pivotal leadership transitions

  • 🧠 Architect of M&A talent strategies and post-deal organizational design

  • 📊 Spearheaded succession planning and people strategy aligned to revenue growth

  • 🔍 Guided nonprofits through ED search, recruitment, and strategic hiring processes

Stacy’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that inclusive, values-driven cultures spark innovation and engagement. Her work consistently reflects this, from enhancing DEI initiatives to creating pathways for new talent—like her career support for graduates of WIT’s Single Mothers Cybersecurity Program. Whether inside a boardroom or in the trenches with a scaling team, she meets every moment with integrity, perspective, and heart.

With Stacy Cullinan, transformation isn’t just about change—it’s about designing a workplace where people want to show up and succeed.

Desiree Guilliard-Young

Founder & CEO, Femme Consulting | Fractional CHRO | Strategic People & Culture Leader
 LinkedIn | Femme Consulting

For Desiree Guilliard-Young, building culture isn’t a side project—it’s the business strategy. With nearly two decades of experience leading HR transformation at Fortune 500s, VC-backed startups, and mission-driven organizations, Desiree has become one of Atlanta’s most trusted voices in people-first leadership.

Currently the Founder and CEO of Femme Consulting, Desiree partners with teams at critical inflection points—scaling, pivoting, or preparing for exit—and helps them realign their people strategies with their business goals. From redesigning performance systems to guiding organizational design and workforce planning, she brings both high-level vision and operational execution to the table. Her work is informed by her unique background as a COO, CHRO, and HR strategist, and powered by a personal mission: to create workplaces where people and business thrive—together.

What sets Desiree apart is her ability to operate with startup agility while anchoring in systems thinking. She doesn’t just create HR programs; she architects intentional employee experiences that scale sustainably and inclusively. Her consulting work emphasizes psychological safety, inclusive leadership, and emotional intelligence—not as “soft skills,” but as non-negotiable levers for performance.

✨ Strengths & Areas of Expertise

  • 🎯 Led end-to-end workforce planning and talent strategies across growth-stage and enterprise companies

  • 🏗️ Designed scalable performance systems to drive retention, engagement, and business alignment

  • 💡 Created DEI-forward leadership pipelines and culture architecture

  • 🤝 Developed conflict resolution frameworks and ER strategies that build trust and cohesion

  • 🌍 Guided executive teams through organizational design and transformation with people-centered execution

  • 🧘 Facilitated leadership retreats and coaching experiences to empower high-impact, emotionally intelligent leaders

Whether advising founders on scaling teams or delivering keynote talks on the future of work, Desiree brings clarity, candor, and deep expertise to every engagement. Her belief that “culture is a business system” is more than a mantra—it’s a challenge to leaders to build with intention, lead with empathy, and grow with purpose.

Based in Atlanta and open to remote or hybrid opportunities, Desiree continues to consult while exploring full-time roles in People Strategy and Talent Transformation. For any team ready to align culture with performance, she’s the strategic ally who knows how to lead through both complexity and change—with heart, vision, and results.

Steve Waechter

Partner, Fractional HR Solutions, LLC | Strategic HR Executive & Workforce Transformation Leader
 LinkedIn | Fractional HR Solutions

With a career that’s touched half a million employees and transformed HR functions across five industries, Steve Waechter is a standout force in strategic workforce transformation. As Partner at Fractional HR Solutions, LLC, Steve works with organizations of all sizes—especially those in fast-changing environments—to build people-first systems that deliver on both experience and performance.

A former senior leader in large, matrixed organizations, Steve blends deep expertise in HR strategy, people analytics, and technology investments with a sharp eye for business alignment. His approach is both analytical and human-centered: he believes that operational efficiency and employee experience aren’t at odds—they’re mutually reinforcing.

Today, Steve’s fractional and project-based consulting work focuses on helping organizations modernize their workforce strategies, particularly through the use of AI, predictive analytics, and post-merger integration. He’s also a founding member of the PMI Advisory Network, where he advises private equity clients on post-merger integrations and HR transformations that protect value and ensure compliance from day one.

💼 Specialized Strengths

  • 📊 Designed and implemented AI-powered learning and predictive analytics tools to optimize workforce planning and retention

  • 🏗️ Led $8M–$20M investments in HR tech infrastructure, including HRIS redesigns and people analytics systems

  • 🔍 Developed internal mobility strategies and organizational redesign plans based on real-time data insights

  • 🚀 Achieved 31% increase in internal client satisfaction through culture transformation and service optimization

  • 🔄 Spearheaded large-scale HR transformations across entertainment, logistics, financial services, and retail sectors

  • 🔧 Supported private equity firms with strategic post-merger HR integrations to unlock enterprise value

Steve is the kind of HR leader who moves comfortably between boardroom strategy sessions and cross-functional implementation sprints. Whether he’s guiding a company through digital transformation or helping align its talent model with future skill demands, he brings structure, rigor, and heart to every engagement.

At Fractional HR Solutions, Steve co-leads a team that builds integrated solutions around people, process, and technology—ensuring that HR doesn’t just support the business, but drives it forward.

Jo Mocny

Partner, Fractional HR Solutions, LLC | Global HR Transformation Leader & Strategic Talent Architect
 LinkedIn | Fractional HR Solutions

A master of organizational reinvention, Jo Mocny is a powerhouse when it comes to aligning human capital strategies with long-term business growth. With decades of senior HR leadership under her belt, Jo brings a unique blend of rigor, creativity, and operational insight to every engagement. She’s not just a strategist—she’s a builder, a mentor, and a force for scalable, people-centered transformation.

As Partner at Fractional HR Solutions, LLC, Jo supports growing organizations through some of their most critical inflection points, including M&A activity, rapid expansion, restructuring, and cultural reinvention. She has delivered high-impact HR strategy across a range of high-tech industries—from telecom and commercial electronics to mechatronics and automotive performance systems. Her approach is always collaborative, data-driven, and grounded in real-world business needs.

In one of her most ambitious undertakings, Jo built a greenfield HR strategy from the ground up during the COVID-19 pandemic, growing a 1,800-person workforce within three years—while simultaneously executing talent acquisition, employer branding, and onboarding at scale. Her ability to drive enterprise-wide transformation while maintaining high retention and morale is a testament to her precision, leadership, and vision.

✨ Core Strengths

  • 🛠️ Executed 8 M&A integrations across manufacturing, sales, and distribution—each with tailored people strategies

  • 🧭 Developed scalable sourcing models that slashed direct labor hiring timelines from 6 weeks to 1

  • 🧑‍🏭 Migrated three entire manufacturing operations while preserving business continuity

  • 💡 Realized over $1M in savings through sustainable healthcare strategies and compensation plan design

  • 🚨 Maintained 85% workforce retention through a start-up cash crisis—demonstrating rare crisis leadership under pressure

  • 🧑‍🎓 Created multi-level student talent pipelines for specialized roles in analytics, marketing, and mechatronics

Jo’s professional edge comes from her unwavering focus on alignment: aligning people and culture with operational strategy, aligning leadership behaviors with growth priorities, and aligning HR delivery with business outcomes. Her expertise spans the full spectrum of HR, including talent performance, DEI-forward culture work, leadership development, compliance, compensation, and large-scale organizational change.

At Fractional HR Solutions, Jo partners with top-tier organizations to deliver transformative outcomes through a combination of executive insight and hands-on execution. Her goal is simple but powerful: build systems and cultures where both people and performance can thrive.

Cindy Lubitz

Founder & Managing Partner, inTalent Consulting | Strategic Talent Leader & Fractional CHRO
 LinkedIn | inTalent Consulting

With over two decades of experience scaling HR functions and leading enterprise talent strategy, Cindy Lubitz is one of the most respected and pragmatic voices in the world of strategic human capital management. As the founder and managing partner of inTalent Consulting, she has built a national reputation for turning complex workforce challenges into scalable solutions—especially during periods of high growth, transformation, and executive transition.

Cindy has served as CHRO and interim HR executive for PE-backed firms, fast-scaling startups, and Fortune 50 giants alike. Her versatility stems from deep experience across industries—retail, e-commerce, logistics, tech, and professional services—and her rare ability to align HR with business imperatives. Whether advising CEOs and boards on succession planning or building out a 45-person talent acquisition team from scratch, Cindy is relentlessly outcome-focused and brings a signature clarity to even the most chaotic growth environments.

She’s also a leader behind the scenes. Under her guidance, inTalent Consulting has become a go-to partner for founder-led companies, nonprofits, and established enterprises navigating organizational design, leadership transitions, talent system overhauls, and everything in between. Cindy’s team—composed of former HR executives—brings the same real-world depth and practicality to every engagement, ensuring clients not only get a strategy, but know how to implement it.

🌟 Signature Strengths

  • 🔄 Oversaw HR for 300,000+ employees as Head of Talent at The Home Depot and facilitated one of the most high-profile CEO transitions in retail

  • 🧠 Served as interim CHRO for Delta Career Education Corporation, supporting 36 schools and 3,500+ employees during a major transformation

  • 🌍 Built a global Talent Acquisition function at Coca-Cola Enterprises supporting 170,000 associates annually across North America

  • 🧭 Consulted with founder-led businesses and boards to develop executive succession and transition strategies rooted in culture continuity

  • 💼 Partnered with PE and VC-backed teams to scale HR operations that drive revenue growth and organizational agility

  • 🐾 Active rescue volunteer and strategic advisor to HR tech startups, showing her commitment to both innovation and compassion in and out of work

Cindy is driven by a belief that great HR isn’t about policy—it’s about performance. Her approach blends organizational psychology, data-driven talent strategy, and hard-earned operational wisdom to deliver lasting impact. She has been quoted in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and CNN Money, and regularly speaks at national conferences on succession, talent systems, and building future-ready HR functions.

From advising enterprise boards to guiding early-stage founders, Cindy Lubitz is a transformative force in fractional HR leadership—and a trusted ally to any organization seeking growth with intention.

Ollin Rodriguez Lopez

Fractional CHRO & Operations Strategist | Founding Partner, Nonprofit Operations
 LinkedIn

Ollin Rodriguez Lopez brings over a decade of leadership in operations, HR, and administration across mission-driven organizations—consistently grounding his work in values of justice, equity, and liberation. As a fractional CHRO and founding partner at Nonprofit Operations, Ollin supports nonprofits during periods of growth, transition, and transformation, helping them build internal systems that honor people, purpose, and process.

His approach isn’t just people-first—it’s people-powered. Ollin is deeply committed to uplifting transgender, gender-expansive, Black, and brown communities through equitable workplace design. From building compensation frameworks rooted in anti-racist and reparative principles to reimagining talent management through a justice-centered lens, his work reflects both tactical rigor and heartfelt care.

As the former Director of Human Resources and Administration at Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Ollin spearheaded the transition to an anti-racist total compensation model and overhauled internal practices to be more inclusive, transparent, and equitable. He also built systems that supported wellness and retention for a diverse team—turning HR into a strategic driver of culture and mission alignment.

Today, his consulting practice offers a wide array of services, including fractional HR leadership, operations and administration support, values-aligned recruiting, policy development, and performance management—all tailored to nonprofits working at the intersections of racial, gender, economic, and disability justice.

🌟 Signature Strengths

  • 🏳️‍⚧️ Led design and rollout of a reparative pay equity model replacing market-based salaries with an anti-racist framework

  • 🧩 Built customized onboarding and performance systems centered in care, clarity, and equity

  • 🤝 Recruited and supported diverse candidate pipelines to strengthen inclusion and representation

  • 🧠 Guided nonprofits through high-stakes transitions with steady, values-driven fractional HR leadership

  • 💬 Brings warmth, humor, and empathy to every engagement, helping organizations foster trust while advancing bold change

Also a Senior Programme Associate at The Sunrise Project, Ollin’s work reflects a rare blend of systems thinking, grassroots accountability, and joyful leadership. Whether supporting internal operations or developing inclusive HR policies, he builds the scaffolding for teams to thrive—because to him, workplace liberation isn’t optional, it’s essential.

Why Digital Reference Features Fractional CHROs

Fractional executives represent the shift in how modern businesses access leadership talent. Instead of relying solely on full-time hires, companies are turning to flexible, on-demand talent to drive strategic initiatives forward. CHROs—often the cultural architects of an organization—play a crucial role in this evolution.

At Digital Reference, we aim to make the talent ecosystem more efficient by helping professionals showcase their value, collect validated references, and build curated portfolios that move beyond static résumés. Our curated directories highlight professionals who are not just experts—but recognized and respected in their fields.

Why Atlanta’s Fractional CHROs Matter—Now More Than Ever

From downtown startups to community-rooted nonprofits to suburban powerhouses, Atlanta’s talent landscape is bursting with potential. But potential means little without guidance, structure, and alignment. That’s where fractional CHROs come in. These professionals don’t just “fill in” gaps—they reshape the people function with precision, strategy, and heart.

Atlanta’s HR ecosystem is unlike any other:
🎯 It’s fast-growing and values-driven
🌎 It’s globally connected but community-grounded
💼 It’s rich with innovation, equity work, and legacy institutions

And behind all of it are people leaders building the future—one culture shift at a time.

✅ Check Out Our Local Directories of Fractional CHROs & Interim Chief People Officers by City

This resource highlights city-specific guides to some of the most impactful interim and fractional Chief People Officers across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Each directory offers a look into the unique business culture of the region and the leaders driving people strategy forward.

  • Columbus
    Fractional CHROs in Columbus Making Things Happen
    Columbus combines Midwestern values with high-growth potential, and its interim people leaders bring strategic clarity to fast-growing startups, educational institutions, and service-sector employers.
  • Chicago
    Fractional CHROs in Chicago Making Things Happen
    In this powerhouse of industry and innovation, Chicago’s fractional CHROs help organizations scale intentionally—blending legacy systems with modern people practices in finance, healthcare, logistics, and tech.
  • Denver
    Fractional CHROs in Denver Making Things Happen
    Known for its entrepreneurial spirit and wellness-driven culture, Denver is home to CHROs who specialize in building values-aligned teams and sustainable HR infrastructures for growing businesses.
  • Las Vegas
    Fractional CHROs in Las Vegas Making Things Happen
    Beyond hospitality, Vegas is growing its footprint in tech and healthcare—and its HR consultants are ushering in next-gen talent strategies in industries that rely on high performance and adaptability.
  • London
    Fractional CHROs in London Making Things Happen
    London’s fractional HR leaders support multinationals and scaleups across finance, fintech, and creative industries—navigating global labor trends and cross-border compliance with precision.
  • Miami
    Fractional CHROs in Miami Making Things Happen
    Miami is a rising tech and finance hotspot with a diverse workforce—and its interim people leaders are fluent in multicultural management, bilingual team dynamics, and global HR systems.
  • Toronto
    Fractional CHROs in Toronto Making Things Happen
    As Canada’s economic engine, Toronto is full of global talent and cross-sector complexity—making its CHROs indispensable for companies navigating growth, governance, and globalization.

Looking Ahead

As the future of work continues to evolve, the need for agile HR leadership will only grow. Atlanta’s business landscape—from startups to legacy firms—relies on trusted advisors like these fractional CHROs to navigate everything from compliance to culture.

We’ll continue adding to this list and welcome recommendations from the community. If you or someone you know should be featured, let us know.

Stay connected with Digital Reference to follow more spotlights across roles and regions.

Discover more professionals. Tell your story. Drive your career forward—only at Digital Reference.

Looking for other Fractional Leadership?

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