Fractional CHROs in New York City Making Things Happen in 2025

New York City Interim Chief People Officers to Know

In the city where industries intersect and startups rise faster than the skyline, New York City has long stood as a global hub for visionary leadership and high-performance culture. From fashion to fintech, media to healthtech, NYC’s business ecosystem is powered by rapid growth, constant reinvention—and increasingly, fractional leadership. Nowhere is that shift more visible than in the rise of fractional CHROs and interim Chief People Officers.

These independent HR leaders aren’t just filling gaps; they’re reshaping the future of work—bringing executive-level insight to the table without the overhead of a full-time hire. In a post-pandemic world marked by talent scarcity, evolving DEI priorities, and shifting employee expectations, fractional CHROs are delivering what businesses need most: agility, strategy, and impact.

At Digital Reference, we’re proud to spotlight the professionals who are transforming the workplace from the inside out. Our platform exists to bring radical transparency and radical authenticity to the professional world—championing leaders who shape culture, drive performance, and align people strategy with business growth.

Whether they’re steering companies through M&A transitions, helping startups hire and scale, or building inclusive workplaces that reflect modern values, these New York-based CHROs are doing far more than managing people—they’re engineering progress.

Why Fractional CHROs Are Thriving in NYC

The demand for fractional HR executives has surged in recent years as companies of all sizes look to tap senior expertise without the commitment of a full-time hire. From early-stage startups to mission-driven nonprofits and PE-backed scaleups, leaders are turning to fractional CHROs to help:

• Build sustainable people operations from scratch
• Navigate hybrid and remote work transitions
• Lead cultural transformation during periods of high growth or crisis
• Implement scalable HR systems and performance frameworks
• Design inclusive hiring, compensation, and leadership development strategies

If you’re new to the concept of fractional leadership, you can explore our full breakdown:
👉 Human Resource Professionals: What Are They and What Do They Do?
👉 HR Executives & What They Do

Methodology for Selection in Our NYC CHRO Spotlight

Each professional featured in this list has been hand-selected based on the following criteria:

✅ Active as a fractional CHRO, interim People executive, or HR consultant
✅ Serving clients within New York City and the greater Tri-state area
✅ Demonstrated success at the VP, Chief People Officer, or HR leadership level
✅ Alignment with Digital Reference’s mission of authentic, transparent, and impactful work

From advising Fortune 500s to nurturing the next wave of unicorns, these CHROs are the architects behind many of the people strategies shaping NYC’s talent landscape in 2025. Let’s meet them.

Meet the New York City Fractional Chief People Officers to Know

• Natasha Bondwalker
• Netra Macon
• Carol Fraser
• Sarah Kiernan
• Sharon Jacobs
• Ingrid Kessler
• Sue Dabrowski
• Stephanie I.
• Patrice Dudley Aviles
• Jolie Loeble
• Mai Ton
• Esther Burk
• Lisa Lindsey
• Maureen Adams
• Lisa Terry

Read on to learn more about each professional and why they made our list:

Natasha Bondwalker

Founder, People Ops Strategies | Fractional HR Executive | Global People Operations Leader
LinkedIn | Website

Natasha Bondwalker is a powerhouse in global people operations, known for transforming growing businesses into talent-driven, culture-forward organizations. As the Founder of People Ops Strategies, Natasha partners with leaders to build high-impact, scalable HR infrastructures that empower teams, strengthen culture, and fuel long-term business success.

With over a decade of experience leading global HR strategy, Natasha has held leadership roles across industries—ranging from startups to multinational corporations. She has consistently delivered strategic HR solutions that reduce turnover, increase productivity, and significantly improve employee satisfaction. Her success is built on a deep understanding that HR isn’t just about compliance or processes—it’s about unlocking human potential as a competitive advantage.

Natasha founded People Ops Strategies with a clear mission: to give small and mid-sized businesses access to top-tier HR expertise without the overhead of a full-time team. She saw the consistent gap that fast-growing companies face—needing high-level guidance to scale effectively, but lacking the internal resources to build systems that truly support people. Now, through her fractional CHRO model, Natasha helps organizations bridge that gap with clarity, strategy, and heart.

Her firm offers a full suite of services, including:

• Change management and risk mitigation
  
  
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy and programming
  
  
• Talent management, leadership coaching, and employee development
  
  
• Organizational design, employee leveling, and career progression planning
  
  
• Total rewards strategy, compensation, and benefits design
  
  
• Global HR operations, including HRIS implementation, compliance, and entity setup
  
  

From building HR playbooks to launching global systems, Natasha brings both operational excellence and strategic insight. She’s also known for her collaborative style and ability to work closely with executive teams to create tailored, values-aligned people strategies that drive results.

At the core of Natasha’s work is a genuine passion for helping businesses and people grow together. She built her firm around the values of integrity, continuous learning, and lasting impact—ensuring that every solution she provides isn’t just efficient, but deeply aligned with a client’s mission and culture.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🌎 Global HR leadership and compliance strategy for scaling businesses

🏗 Organizational design, employee leveling, and title structure creation

📈 Strategic HR transformation with a focus on growth and engagement

🌱 DEI programming, change management, and risk mitigation

🧠 Leadership coaching and talent development frameworks

💬 Fractional CHRO services for startups and mid-sized companies

Natasha often says that HR done right doesn’t just support business goals—it shapes the future of the business itself. Through People Ops Strategies, she helps her clients lead with intention, elevate their people, and grow with purpose.

Netra Macon

Founder, Arten Consulting Group | Global HR Executive | Fractional CHRO
LinkedIn | Website

Netra Macon is a powerhouse in modern HR strategy—blending over 20 years of global experience with a sharp, people-first mindset that drives measurable business results. As the Founder of Arten Consulting Group, she helps growing businesses modernize their HR practices, navigate organizational change, and lead with intention at every level.

Netra’s approach is rooted in a simple belief: when you invest in people, business thrives. She’s brought this philosophy to leadership roles across a wide range of industries—including healthcare, finance, tech, marketing, academia, and communications—at organizations like WPP, Verizon, Columbia University, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and the School of The New York Times. Her strategies have powered organizational growth, post-M&A integration, DEI evolution, and HR transformation for companies of all sizes.

Currently, Netra serves as Global Client People Lead for AstraZeneca at WPP, where she drives the global people strategy and serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership. From launching diversity initiatives and enhancing total rewards, to building high-EQ leadership pipelines and reimagining hybrid work models, Netra consistently delivers strategies that strengthen teams and support long-term growth.

Through Arten Consulting Group, Netra brings that same level of executive HR leadership to small and midsize businesses—offering Fractional CHRO services, strategic advisory, and HR modernization. Arten specializes in helping companies:

• Align HR with business strategy and reduce talent risk
  
  
• Build DEI-driven cultures and high-performing teams
  
  
• Automate HR processes and simplify compliance
  
  
• Attract and retain top talent through smart workforce planning
  
  
• Create modern, resilient infrastructure for long-term success
  
  

Her clients value her hands-on guidance, her clarity in complexity, and her ability to scale people practices that support both vision and execution. Whether she’s partnering with a founder navigating rapid growth or a CEO looking to unify global teams post-merger, Netra leads with endurance, empathy, and excellence.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🌍 Global HR transformation and workforce strategy

🧠 Leadership development, coaching, and culture evolution

📈 Talent strategy aligned to business performance

⚖️ Compliance, policy design, and risk mitigation

🤝 DEI integration and employee engagement

🛠 AI-driven HR systems and smart automation

Netra often says that “employees are the heart of every company.” Through Arten Consulting Group, she helps businesses live that truth—by building people strategies that spark innovation, elevate leadership, and power sustainable growth.

Carol Fraser

Founder & Principal, C4 Talent | Fractional CHRO & Executive Coach | HR Strategy + Culture Builder

LinkedIn | C4 Talent

Carol Fraser is the founder of C4 Talent, a boutique HR consultancy that offers fractional Chief People Officer services to early-stage, growth-stage, and mission-driven organizations. With 30+ years of experience spanning startups, global brands, and nonprofits, Carol helps clients scale intentionally by aligning people, purpose, and performance.

Why She’s On This List:

Carol is the rare partner who brings both rigor and resonance to the table. She’s known for creating strong HR foundations—think performance systems, compliance audits, org design, compensation, and workforce planning—while also nurturing emotional intelligence, culture, and leadership capacity at every level of the business.

Clients value her not just for her strategic brain, but for her ability to make hard conversations feel easier, turn chaos into clarity, and help founders and executives become more conscious, compassionate leaders.

Who She Works Best With:

Carol is a go-to fractional CHRO for organizations that are navigating change: from high-growth startups building their first people systems, to nonprofits undergoing transformation, to companies preparing for funding, acquisitions, or rapid scale. She works especially well with founder-led companies ready to evolve, but still deeply invested in preserving their people-centric culture.

If you're ready to grow, and willing to get real about what's working and what’s not—Carol is the partner who’ll get you there.

Her Specialties + Superpowers:

• Fractional Chief People Officer for scaling orgs

• Compensation strategy & total rewards

• Change management and org design

• Coaching for executive and emerging leaders

• Translating complex HR into clear business decisions

• Turning performance review dread into development magic

What Clients Should Know:

Carol brings the rare combo of C-suite strategy, startup scrappiness, and coaching depth. She’s not afraid to challenge the status quo, especially when it comes to elevating the HR function beyond policies and paperwork. She sees HR as a powerful business driver, not just an administrative engine—and helps her clients treat it that way.

She’s been described as “the dancing speaker” for her movement-based leadership sessions (yes, there’s actual dancing), and she believes in leading with curiosity, empathy, and sharp business insight.

What Drives Her:

Carol is motivated by a vision of workplaces where humans are seen, heard, and set up to succeed. She believes in radical candor delivered with kindness, the power of psychological safety, and the magic that happens when leaders tap into emotional intelligence and resilience.

Her approach is direct, grounded, and transformational—equal parts sage, strategist, and spark.

Sarah Kiernan

LinkedIn

Fractional CHRO, People Expert in the Boutique Fitness Industry

Sarah Kiernan is a dynamic people leader with over 20 years of experience driving human resource strategy, organizational culture, and business transformation across high-growth, mission-driven companies. Sarah has a passion for empowering teams, cultivating inclusive workplaces, and aligning people strategy with business goals. Sarah has held executive HR leadership roles at Camarillo Fitness, Continuum, Heyday Skincare, [solidcore] and SoulCycle where she oversaw People Operations, Talent Acquisition, and Learning & Development.

The Digital Reference Team had the chance to connect with Sarah, ask a few questions,  dive deeper into her experience and how she approaches client engagements. Here's what we learned:

Sarah is a certified SHRM-CP professional. Outside of work she is a mom to a 3 year old daughter, Pearl, a theater enthusiast, and a passionate advocate for health equity for women of color.

What's your typical approach to client engagements?

"I always prioritize a deep dive on talent on organizational structure before anything else. There's no better way to understand where the business is at. I quickly build trust and try to inspire teams to work in alignment to their mission, vision and values."

What type of clients are you the best fit for?

"I do my best work when I'm working with creative leaders, visionaries, fast-paced operational leaders, entrepreneurs."

What type of clients are the best fit for you?

"My ideal clients are people passionate about people, and as you could have guessed based on my experience, Health and Wellness innovators."

What are your specialties or professional superpowers?

" I LOVE building high performance teams, strong performance management processes, and people-focused career development systems."

What else should your clients know about you?

"My main goal is to not just be a great people leader, it's to create great people leaders out of everyone in the organization."

Digital Reference is all about authenticity and transparency, tells us a bit more about your professional values, what motivates you professionally, your personality type? - Anything that you believe gives prospective clients more information about the soft skills you bring to the table.

My leadership philosophy is rooted in empathy, agility, and authenticity. I am inspired by entrepreneurship and act as an owner of any business I am a part of.

Sharon Jacobs

Managing Partner, SJC Partners | Fractional CHRO & People Strategy Consultant
LinkedIn

With a career spanning top-tier consulting firms, global brands, and high-growth startups, Sharon Jacobs brings rare depth to every HR challenge. As Managing Partner of SJC Partners, Sharon serves as a trusted advisor, interim executive, and fractional Chief People Officer for organizations undergoing growth, transformation, or reinvention. Her work sits at the intersection of business strategy, organizational design, and leadership development—and she knows how to align all three.

Sharon’s strength lies in her ability to quickly assess the systems, structures, and interpersonal dynamics that shape a company’s culture and performance. Whether leading a full-scale org redesign or coaching C-suite leaders through complexity, she brings clarity, empathy, and a deep understanding of what makes teams thrive.

At SJC Partners, Sharon leads a boutique consultancy that builds customized talent and organizational solutions for fast-scaling businesses, mission-driven companies, and enterprise teams navigating change. Her recent projects include:

• Serving as Interim Chief People Officer for a high-growth fashion company
  
  
• Designing org structure and coaching founding partners at a real estate development firm
  
  
• Acting as Interim HR Lead at Oatly, Inc. during a critical growth phase
  
  
• Leading org design and stakeholder alignment for a Fortune 100 financial services company
  
  
• Supporting a scaling interior design firm with workforce planning and culture strategy
  
  
• Helping the CEO of a food and beverage startup build an HR team and long-term talent vision
  
  

Before launching her consultancy, Sharon held senior leadership roles at major institutions. At The New York Times, she was Vice President of Organizational Capability, shaping talent systems to support one of the world’s most respected media brands. She previously spent nearly a decade at American Express, where she served as Vice President of Change Management and Director of Organizational Effectiveness, helping lead large-scale transformation across global business services. Earlier in her career, she honed her consulting craft at Deloitte, advising Fortune 500 clients in the organization and change practice.

Sharon holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis. Her thoughtful, business-minded approach reflects both academic rigor and real-world leadership experience.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🏗 Organizational design and scalable org models for growing companies

🧭 Interim CHRO and HR leadership during high-growth or transitional phases

📊 Talent strategy aligned to business goals and market conditions

🧠 Executive coaching for C-level and founder-led teams

🌍 Change management and culture transformation in complex environments

🤝 Senior HR business partnership and stakeholder alignment

Sharon is the kind of leader who brings order to ambiguity, structure to vision, and strategy to every people challenge. Through SJC Partners, she helps companies build not just great teams—but the infrastructure to help them grow, evolve, and lead.

Ingrid Kessler

Founder, InflectionPt HR | Fractional Chief People Officer & Executive HR Advisor
LinkedIn | Website

Ingrid Kessler is the kind of people leader who brings clarity to chaos, action to ambiguity, and humanity to every inflection point. As the Founder of InflectionPt HR, she works alongside CEOs, CHROs, and executive teams to transform how organizations scale, lead, and compete—especially during moments of rapid growth, change, or reinvention.

Ingrid’s specialty is helping leaders navigate the critical pivots that define modern business. Whether it’s a newly funded startup hiring at scale, a global team adapting to hybrid work, or a legacy brand modernizing its people strategy, she knows how to design solutions that are strategic, inclusive, and grounded in real-world execution. Her approach is data-informed but human-first, always balancing risk with empathy, and long-term vision with the realities on the ground.

A former Chief People Officer with experience leading global HR functions, Ingrid brings a powerful combination of operational depth and strategic foresight. She’s known for solving complex, cross-functional challenges—integrating post-M&A teams, turning around underperforming cultures, designing scalable infrastructure, and coaching leadership teams through uncertainty.

Through InflectionPt HR, Ingrid offers flexible, high-impact support through:

• Fractional CPO engagements for startups and high-growth companies
  
  
• Executive coaching for CEOs and senior leaders navigating change
  
  
• Organizational design and talent strategy, including post-M&A integration
  
  
• People operations scaling, including global team development and remote culture building
  
  
• Manager enablement, performance design, and DEI-driven leadership development
  
  

Ingrid’s past clients range from small startups finding their footing to global enterprises facing disruption from more agile competitors. She helps organizations strengthen their foundations and expand their “competitive moat” by investing in the one asset that can’t be replicated: their people.

Known for her calm presence and clear communication, Ingrid tells clients what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear. She leads with heart, but never loses sight of business outcomes. Her impact is both strategic and deeply personal—she builds systems, yes, but more importantly, she builds belief in what's possible.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🚀 Fractional CPO and interim HR leadership during high-growth transitions

🏗 Organizational design and scaling for startups and global companies

📈 HR transformation, post-M&A integration, and leadership alignment

🌍 Building inclusive, remote-first, and globally connected cultures

💬 Executive coaching grounded in truth, trust, and strategic clarity

🔍 Data-driven problem solving with a bias toward fast, human-centered action

Ingrid often says that your team is your superpower—and through InflectionPt HR, she helps leaders unlock that power, anticipate what's coming next, and build resilient, high-performing organizations prepared for anything.

Sue Dabrowski

CHRO | CPO | Global People & HR Strategy Executive
LinkedIn

With decades of experience navigating the full spectrum of people operations—from startup scaling to enterprise transformation—Sue Dabrowski is a proven force in modern HR leadership. A seasoned Chief Human Resources Officer and People Executive, Sue specializes in aligning people, culture, process, and technology to drive sustainable business growth at every stage of the organizational lifecycle.

Whether leading M&A transitions, building HR functions from the ground up, or guiding C-suites through global change, Sue brings a rare combination of strategic foresight, operational depth, and empathetic leadership. Her work is marked by a consistent throughline: using people strategy to deliver measurable business impact.

Sue has held leadership roles across both in-house and consulting environments. Most recently, she served as Director of HR M&A, Compliance, and Projects at Sikich, where she oversaw integration strategy, HR compliance, and organizational restructuring efforts. She also served as Global Head of People and CHRO at Process Steam, where she led talent, leadership development, and infrastructure expansion across a growing international workforce.

Sue's areas of expertise span the full people ecosystem:

• Talent acquisition and management
  
  
• Leadership coaching and development
  
  
• Compensation and benefits design
  
  
• Performance management systems and analytics
  
  
• HR policy and compliance
  
  
• Technology implementation and process streamlining
  
  

She has led high-impact initiatives in mergers and acquisitions, organizational redesign, outsourcing transitions, and divestitures, making her a go-to partner for companies undergoing strategic transformation. A trusted advisor to senior leaders, she’s known for translating complex challenges into people-centric strategies that move the business forward.

As a fractional and interim CHRO, Sue brings deep insight and immediate value to fast-scaling companies and evolving organizations. She’s also contributed as a subject matter expert and consultant for SHRM, further underscoring her credibility as a thought leader in the field.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🧭 Fractional CHRO and strategic HR business advisor

🔄 M&A integration, divestiture planning, and org restructuring

📊 Performance management systems and HR analytics

💡 Talent acquisition, leadership development, and succession planning

🤝 Executive team collaboration and cross-functional stakeholder alignment

🛠 Streamlining HR operations through systems and technology

Sue combines big-picture thinking with tactical execution—and leads with both empathy and impact. Whether guiding global HR strategy or rolling up her sleeves on the ground, she helps businesses thrive through their people.

Stephanie I.

Chief People Officer | Fractional CHRO | Strategic Talent & Culture Architect
LinkedIn

Stephanie I. doesn’t just build HR functions—she builds organizations where people thrive, strategy sticks, and culture moves fast. As a Chief People Officer and expert talent consultant, Stephanie specializes in helping teams go from “What are we even doing?” to “Wow, this actually works.” Her superpower? Designing people-first orgs that scale—without losing their soul.

Currently serving as Chief People Officer at Elementl Power, Stephanie is leading talent strategy and employee experience for one of the most exciting ventures in advanced nuclear power and clean energy. Her mission: create a workplace where innovation, collaboration, and well-being drive not only retention, but real results.

As a fractional CPO and Junior Partner at The CEO’s Right Hand, Stephanie works with a wide range of startups, growth-stage companies, and founder-led teams. Whether she's designing org structure from scratch, rewriting outdated HR playbooks, or coaching executive teams through hypergrowth, Stephanie brings a blend of strategy, energy, and empathy that makes things click—and scale.

With nearly 20 years of experience across industries—from software and marketing to renewable energy, financial services, real estate, and nonprofit—Stephanie has helped companies at every stage build the people infrastructure they need to succeed. She’s known for her creative thinking, quick alignment, and signature “let’s figure this out and make it sing” approach.

Her areas of expertise span the full employee lifecycle:

• Organizational Design & Strategic Planning
  
  
• Recruitment & Onboarding Strategy
  
  
• Talent Development, Retention, and Performance
  
  
• Total Rewards & Compensation Frameworks
  
  
• Executive Coaching & Leadership Development
  
  
• Change Management, DEI, and Culture Initiatives
  
  
• Vision, Mission, and Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Alignment
  
  

Stephanie is also a master of turning chaos into clarity. She thrives in the “we need structure yesterday” moments—bringing not just calm confidence, but real tools, frameworks, and results. Whether leading a change initiative, launching new policies, or crafting a culture playbook, Stephanie keeps people at the center and outcomes in focus.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🏗 Org design and restructuring for high-growth startups and mid-sized businesses

🧠 Executive coaching and talent strategy rooted in empathy and performance

📈 Recruiting, onboarding, and retention systems that scale with culture intact

🌱 People ops design from the ground up—comp, benefits, and performance

🌈 Building equitable, inclusive workplaces where people feel seen and valued

💬 Strategic partner to CEOs and founders navigating transformation and growth

Stephanie often says that when people are in the right roles, feel seen, and are fired up about your vision—that’s the magic. And with every project, she helps teams unlock that magic and build workplaces that actually work.

Patrice Dudley Avilés

Founder, Monarch Advisors LLC | Fractional CHRO | Human Capital Strategist
LinkedIn

Patrice Dudley Avilés is a seasoned HR executive and strategic advisor who helps innovative companies unlock their full potential through thoughtful, scalable people leadership. As Founder of Monarch Advisors LLC, Patrice partners with CEOs, founders, and boards—especially in biotech, healthcare, and innovation-driven industries—to build human capital strategies that fuel long-term growth, culture, and resilience.

With more than 20 years of global HR leadership experience at industry giants like Pfizer, Genentech, Amgen, and Alexion, Patrice brings unmatched depth to every engagement. She is known for aligning talent strategy with business priorities, reducing talent risk, and accelerating leadership impact in complex, fast-moving environments.

Through Monarch Advisors LLC, Patrice provides:

• Fractional CHRO services for companies that need experienced, executive-level HR leadership
  
  
• Executive coaching to support founder and leadership team development
  
  
• Culture transformation initiatives that bring values to life and improve organizational effectiveness
  
  
• HR advisory and strategic planning for early-stage and scaling companies
  
  

She excels at helping organizations build sustainable leadership pipelines, attract and retain top talent, and navigate periods of transformation—whether post-M&A integration, rapid scale-up, or cultural realignment. Patrice’s approach combines operational agility with strategic foresight, ensuring her clients are prepared not just for today, but for what’s next.

Now actively pursuing board and advisory roles, Patrice is also expanding her impact at the highest levels of leadership. She brings a board-ready lens to human capital issues—offering organizations governance-aligned insight on workforce strategy, risk mitigation, succession planning, and executive performance.

💠 Signature Strengths:

👥 Fractional CHRO services for biotech, healthcare, and innovation-driven companies

📈 Aligning people strategy with business goals during growth and transformation

🌱 Building leadership pipelines and coaching senior executives

🔄 Culture transformation grounded in clarity, values, and impact

💡 Reducing talent risk and supporting organizational resilience

🏛 Board-ready executive bringing human capital insight to the C-suite and beyond

Patrice believes that when people strategy is aligned with business strategy, anything is possible—and through Monarch Advisors, she helps organizations turn that belief into lasting results.

Jolie Loeble‍

Founder & Principal Consultant, Scale HR Consulting | Fractional CHRO
LinkedIn | Website

Jolie Loeble is a powerhouse HR strategist with over 25 years of experience helping companies navigate complexity, unlock growth, and build the strong people foundations they need to scale. As the Founder and Principal Consultant of Scale HR Consulting, Jolie partners with fast-growing businesses and startups to provide executive-level HR strategy, Fractional CHRO support, and transformational solutions that align people, performance, and business outcomes.

Jolie is known for her collaborative leadership style, exceptional communication skills, and a rare ability to influence change at every level of an organization. Whether designing organizational structures, leading digital transformation, or crafting culture-forward performance strategies, she delivers high-impact results—always with a deep understanding of the human side of business.

Through Scale HR Consulting, Jolie brings her clients a hands-on, custom-built approach to people strategy. From the first needs assessment to final implementation, she’s fully embedded—translating executive vision into actionable, scalable plans that evolve alongside the company. She specializes in working with small to midsize businesses and hyper-growth teams, helping them evolve their people practices at the pace the business demands.

Her core services include:

• Fractional CHRO support for scaling organizations
  
  
• Culture evolution and organizational design
  
  
• Competency-based training and leadership development
  
  
• Employee relations and performance optimization
  
  
• Policy creation and procedural transformation
  
  
• Digital HR transformation and systems integration
  
  

Jolie has spent her career as both an internal HR executive and external advisor, giving her the perspective to guide everything from high-level talent strategy to day-to-day operational refinement. She's particularly skilled at navigating cultural change, building strong teams, and designing HR programs that actually work—in real-time and in the real world.

At Scale HR, Jolie embraces a holistic and highly collaborative approach. Her ethos is rooted in transparency, partnership, and relentless follow-through, ensuring every engagement results in tangible progress and long-term value.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🚀 Fractional CHRO services tailored to startups and high-growth businesses

🏗 Organizational design and competency-based workforce development

📈 Culture transformation and performance strategy execution

🛠 HR systems and process implementation during digital transformation

🤝 Executive-level collaboration with founders, CEOs, and leadership teams

🔍 Employee relations, policy design, and strategic workforce planning

Jolie often says her work is about more than just HR—it’s about building the conditions where people and companies grow together. Through Scale HR Consulting, she delivers exactly that: people-powered transformation, built for scale.

Mai Ton

Founder & CEO, EMP HR Consulting | Fractional CHRO | Author, Come Into My Office
LinkedIn | Website

Mai Ton is redefining what it means to lead with both heart and scale in today’s fast-moving startup world. As the Founder and CEO of EMP HR Consulting, Mai partners with ambitious, venture-backed startups to design the future of work—one people strategy at a time. A sought-after Fractional CHRO, executive coach, and award-winning HR leader, Mai helps high-growth teams navigate rapid scaling, organizational change, and leadership evolution with clarity, empathy, and confidence.

With over 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley and beyond, Mai has been the people engine behind 10 venture-backed startups, supporting 1 IPO, 9 mergers and acquisitions, 1 divestiture, and 6 CEO transitions. Her resume of strategic wins includes launching one of the first successful four-day workweeks in U.S. tech, negotiating a landmark union contract for tech employees, and improving retention by at least 10% across all companies she’s supported.

Through EMP HR Consulting, Mai offers startup teams real-world expertise in the moments that matter most—from scaling a team at lightning speed to preparing for an IPO or major acquisition. Her services include:

• Fractional CHRO leadership tailored for fast-scaling startups
  
  
• Executive coaching for founders and leadership teams
  
  
• Organizational design that balances growth with stability
  
  
• IPO and M&A readiness with people-first integration strategies
  
  
• Culture and change management that unites teams during evolution
  
  
• Leadership development and career mapping to build future-ready organizations
  
  
• Future of work initiatives, including 4DWW and hybrid operating models
  
  

Mai’s approach blends startup pragmatism with long-term vision. She’s known for her sharp thinking, human-centered mindset, and the kind of direct, energizing leadership that gets teams moving in the right direction—fast.

Outside of her consulting work, Mai is the author of the critically acclaimed book Come Into My Office: Stories from an HR Leader in Silicon Valley, a candid look behind the scenes of what it really takes to build great companies through great people. Her insights have been featured in The Economist, The New York Times, and Time Magazine, and she’s been recognized as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech, Top 50 Tech Leaders, and Top 20 Tech Trailblazers.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🚀 Fractional CHRO support for high-growth startups and tech scale-ups

📈 IPO preparation, M&A integration, and strategic org design

🌎 People-first future of work initiatives, including 4DWW and unionization

🧠 Executive coaching and founder advisory with startup fluency

📊 People strategy audits and career mapping for long-term growth

📚 Author, speaker, and advocate for inclusive, joyful workplaces

Mai often says that “work should be joyful.” Through EMP HR Consulting, she helps teams build workplaces where people flourish, businesses grow with soul, and the future of work becomes reality—today.

Esther Burk

Founder, Leading With Difference | Organizational Psychologist | Fractional CHRO
LinkedIn | Website

Esther “Etty” Burk brings a rare combination of strategic HR leadership and deep organizational psychology to every engagement—helping mission-driven, growth-focused organizations navigate complexity with clarity, compassion, and results. As the Founder of Leading With Difference, she serves as a fractional CHRO, interim People executive, and trusted advisor to CEOs, boards, and senior leadership teams across sectors.

Over the course of her 20+ year career, Etty has built a track record of transformational leadership—aligning people strategy with business goals to unlock performance, improve culture, and elevate impact. Whether guiding an M&A integration, leading HR for a scaling startup, or designing an engagement strategy for a legacy health system, her work reflects a consistent belief: when people feel seen and valued, organizations thrive.

Etty’s experience spans both commercial and nonprofit sectors, with clients ranging from venture-backed tech startups to Fortune 100 companies and global institutions like NASA, the World Bank, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She’s led initiatives that have saved millions, increased engagement scores, integrated cross-functional teams, and built full-scale HR functions from the ground up.

Through Leading With Difference, Etty helps companies:

• Build scalable HR infrastructure and people operations
  
  
• Lead culture transformation and DEI strategies
  
  
• Prepare for M&A, including integration and restructuring
  
  
• Design inclusive org structures and succession plans
  
  
• Strengthen leadership pipelines through coaching and development
  
  
• Navigate rapid growth and change with people-centered solutions
  
  

Some of her recent engagements include:

• $2.5M in savings and acquisition readiness as Interim Head of People for a CPG company
  
  
• 30% efficiency gain while building HR infrastructure for a mental health org during COVID
  
  
• Led a global change initiative for 65,000+ employees at American Express
  
  
• Helped a $1.5B media company become a “Best Places to Work” honoree through cultural transformation
  
  

Known for her calm presence, clear frameworks, and commitment to equity, Etty doesn’t just advise—she partners. Her work consistently creates lasting systems that align culture with business outcomes, and she’s widely recognized for her ability to bring order to complexity without losing the human touch.

She’s also the author of the award-winning children’s book Aaron the Different: A Story of Courage, Belonging, and Acceptance, which reflects the same values she brings to her leadership: inclusion, empathy, and the courage to lead with purpose. Her insights on human capital strategy, change management, and people-first leadership have been featured in Fast Company, Newsweek, HR.com, U.S. News & World Report, and beyond.

💠 Signature Strengths:

🏗 Interim CHRO services, HR operations, and scalable infrastructure

🌍 Global change management and organizational transformation

🧠 Leadership development, succession planning, and executive coaching

🤝 Culture and DEI strategy tied to measurable engagement and performance outcomes

📈 Strategic HR advising during high-growth, restructuring, and M&A

📚 Author, speaker, and recognized voice in people-centered leadership

Etty often says that “people thrive when purpose and performance align.” Through Leading With Difference, she helps organizations create that alignment—building cultures of belonging where great work and great outcomes go hand in hand.

Lisa Lindsey

Founder, Peale Piper | PHR, SHRM-CP | Fractional CHRO | HR Strategist & Executive Coach
LinkedIn | Website

Lisa Lindsey is the kind of HR leader every scaling company needs: strategic, calm under pressure, and deeply attuned to what makes people—and organizations—work well together. As the Founder of Peale Piper, Lisa helps startups, nonprofits, and growing businesses build scalable HR foundations that elevate culture, improve performance, and support sustainable growth.

With over 20 years of experience across HR, executive coaching, legal operations, and leadership development, Lisa specializes in turning complexity into clarity. She’s guided founders and CEOs through rapid expansion, organizational redesign, and culture transformation—offering not just advice, but hands-on execution that drives measurable outcomes.

As a Fractional CHRO, Lisa brings deep expertise in:

• HR strategy and organizational development
  
  
• Compensation design and job architecture
  
  
• HR tech selection and implementation
  
  
• Performance management and leadership training
  
  
• Talent acquisition and cost reduction
  
  
• Culture building and inclusion initiatives
  
  

Before launching Peale Piper, Lisa held executive HR roles in cybersecurity and business services, including as Chief People Officer at SkOUT Cybersecurity, where she helped shape the company’s employer brand and people strategy through significant growth. She also served as an internal coach to the executive team during periods of high stress, transformation, and cultural evolution.

Through Peale Piper, Lisa has delivered standout results for her clients, including:

• Reducing cost-per-hire by 90% for an e-commerce startup through smarter talent strategies
  
  
• Building job architecture and salary frameworks for a nonprofit focused on workforce development
  
  
• Leading HRIS implementation for a healthcare company, improving HR efficiency and compliance
  
  

Lisa’s approach is always tailored. Whether performing a full HR audit, advising on a complex employee relations issue, or coaching leaders through high-stakes decisions, she brings a combination of empathy, rigor, and executive-level thinking. She also offers on-demand HR support for businesses that need expert guidance without long-term commitments—ensuring companies get what they need, when they need it.

A certified HR professional (PHR, SHRM-CP) with an MS in Human Resources Management and Development from NYU, Lisa also holds a BA in Social Sciences with a focus on Organizational Behavior and Change. She’s a frequent speaker and workshop facilitator, known for delivering leadership trainings that help teams tap into their strengths, overcome roadblocks, and grow with purpose.

💠 Signature Strengths:

📈 Fractional HR leadership for startups and growing organizations

📊 Compensation design, HR audits, and performance strategy

🧭 Leadership coaching and workshop facilitation

🛠 HR tech selection, implementation, and systems optimization

🤝 Culture transformation and employer brand strategy

⚖️ On-demand HR advisory for critical or complex workplace challenges

Lisa often says her job is about more than HR—it’s about helping leaders make better decisions about people. Through Peale Piper, she empowers organizations to build the teams, systems, and culture they need to thrive—at scale and with integrity.

Maureen Adams

Founder & Principal Consultant, Adams HR Group | Strategic HR Advisor | Global People Leader
LinkedIn | Website

For over two decades, Maureen Adams has been helping organizations around the world unlock their potential through thoughtful, strategic HR leadership. As the Founder of Adams HR Group, Maureen brings a global perspective to human capital strategy—drawing from her deep expertise working across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, as well as in environments ranging from agile startups to complex Fortune 500 enterprises.

Her HR career began with transformational leadership at Microsoft, where she led teams responsible for shaping and executing global go-to-market people strategies. That foundational experience—partnering with leaders on organizational design, scaling talent operations, and building high-performing teams—now powers her work with clients through Adams HR Group.

What Sets Maureen Apart

Maureen doesn’t take a cookie-cutter approach to HR. Through Adams HR Group, she delivers tailored HR solutions to businesses navigating growth, organizational change, compliance challenges, and workforce transformation. Whether a startup scaling its team for the first time or a mature company modernizing its people practices, Maureen and her team act as trusted strategic partners, not just vendors.

She’s known for her balance of big-picture vision and hands-on execution, helping clients achieve their missions through strong cultures, resilient talent strategies, and ethical leadership.

💠 Core Services & Specialties:

✅ Fractional CHRO Leadership – strategic guidance during periods of rapid growth, leadership transition, or HR system overhauls
✅ HR Strategy Development – aligning people practices with long-term business goals
✅ Compliance and Risk Mitigation – helping organizations avoid pitfalls and stay ahead of regulatory shifts
✅ Talent Scaling & Team Structuring – building frameworks for sustainable hiring and retention
✅ Culture Transformation & Engagement – fostering inclusive, mission-aligned workplace cultures
✅ Leadership Coaching & Support – working closely with CEOs and founders to shape their people vision

🌍 Global Perspective, Local Execution

Having led HR initiatives across multiple continents, Maureen brings a rare combination of cultural fluency and scalable HR insight. Her international lens makes her especially effective for clients expanding into new markets or adapting to increasingly diverse workforce expectations.

🔧 Recent Wins Include:

• Supporting small and midsize businesses through rapid growth stages with fully customized HR frameworks
  
  
• Building compliant and scalable HR infrastructure for startups ready to professionalize their people ops
  
  
• Leading strategic organizational design projects that have improved productivity and morale
  
  
• Helping mission-driven companies translate values into actionable people strategies that retain and inspire top talent
  
  

🤝 The Adams HR Group Difference

Founded in 2012, Adams HR Group is rooted in values like integrity, empowerment, curiosity, and respect. The team combines HR and legal expertise to offer a 360° view of workforce strategy—ensuring not only compliance and process improvement but also deeper alignment between teams, leaders, and purpose.

Whether it’s conducting an HR audit, supporting a major organizational redesign, or providing on-demand strategic counsel, Adams HR Group partners deeply and personally with every client. Their process is guided by active listening, customization, and collaboration, resulting in solutions that work today and grow stronger tomorrow.

Lisa Terry

Founder, JustPeople_Period™ | Fractional CHRO | HR Strategy Advisor | Founder of THE TERRY GROUP LLC
LinkedIn | Website

With more than two decades of executive experience at the intersection of human capital and business performance, Lisa Terry is a proven force in driving strategic transformation through people. As the founder of THE TERRY GROUP LLC and its newest division, JustPeople_Period™, Lisa leads with the conviction that great businesses are built by great teams—and that HR should be a powerful engine of innovation, alignment, and growth.

A Dual Lens: Merchant + People Strategist

Lisa’s approach is both deeply human and sharply operational. She brings rare, end-to-end leadership experience spanning general management, HR strategy, and merchandising at scale. Her career includes executive oversight of $750M business units, multi-site HR leadership across a 1,400-person workforce, and talent transformation initiatives for global retailers and high-growth brands alike.

At Bergdorf Goodman, she served as Senior Director of HR, overseeing HR strategy, administration, compliance, employee relations, talent development, and union/non-union staffing. At Walmart’s NYC Apparel Office, Lisa led recruitment strategy for more than 300 critical roles during a major team transition—demonstrating her ability to navigate high-pressure inflection points with agility and impact.

Now, as a Fractional CHRO and HR Strategy Advisor, she delivers executive-level insight to companies that want the leadership without the full-time overhead.

🎯 What Lisa Brings to the Table

✅ Fractional CHRO Leadership – Strategic guidance and senior HR capacity without long-term commitments
✅ HR Advisory Services – Compliance, employee relations, restructuring, and workforce planning
✅ Compensation & Talent Strategy – Designing competitive pay and development systems to retain top talent
✅ Executive Coaching & Leadership Alignment – Strengthening cross-functional collaboration and communication
✅ HR for Growth-Stage and Consumer Brands – Specialized experience in retail, fashion, and lifestyle sectors

Lisa works hand-in-hand with CEOs, founders, and internal HR teams, bringing clarity to complexity and aligning people strategy with business outcomes. Whether it's stabilizing a workforce during transformation, revamping performance frameworks, or refining compensation structures, her mission is simple: help leaders make informed, bold, people-first decisions.

🚀 The Launch of JustPeople_Period™

Her latest venture, JustPeople_Period™, is a bold and needed expansion. As the new HR advisory arm of THE TERRY GROUP LLC, JustPeople_Period™ provides customized, high-impact HR leadership to companies that want to scale smartly—without the need for in-house executive HR headcount.

It’s not about process for the sake of process. It’s about building HR solutions that work, right now, and set the stage for long-term performance and culture gains.

🏆 Why Lisa

Few HR consultants combine the operational rigor of a GM with the people acumen of a senior HR leader. Lisa Terry’s career has bridged merchandising, human resources, and executive strategy, equipping her with the rare perspective and cross-functional insight needed to move organizations forward—especially those in retail, consumer goods, and high-growth environments.

Final Thoughts: Why NYC Companies Are Turning to Fractional CHROs

As the pace of innovation accelerates and business models evolve, companies in NYC are realizing they don’t always need a full-time CHRO—but they absolutely need strategic HR leadership. Fractional CHROs provide:

• Executive-level HR guidance without the overhead
• Support during key growth inflection points
• Flexibility to scale HR support up or down
• External perspectives grounded in real operational experience

These professionals are not consultants who dip in and out—they’re embedded allies, often becoming core members of executive teams, even if only for a season.

How Digital Reference Supports Fractional CHROs

At Digital Reference, we’re building a platform that helps fractional leaders stand out. We provide tools for:

• Verified reference collection and storage
• Shareable, SEO-optimized digital portfolios
• Video statements and structured summaries of expertise

Whether you’re a company searching for your next HR leader or a CHRO looking to build your brand, Digital Reference is where transparency meets talent.

✅ 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.

• Atlanta
  Fractional CHROs in Atlanta Making Things Happen
  Atlanta’s talent leaders are shaping diverse, tech-forward workplaces in a city that’s become a magnet for startups, logistics firms, and entertainment enterprises. Fractional CHROs here are experts at managing rapid growth and culture change.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Detroit
  Fractional CHROs in Detroit Making Things Happen
  In the heart of the Midwest’s manufacturing revival, Detroit’s people leaders are reinventing what workforce strategy looks like across automotive, tech, and nonprofit sectors.

• Houston
  Fractional CHROs in Houston Making Things Happen
  Energy, healthcare, and logistics dominate Houston’s economy, and the city’s CHROs are uniquely equipped to address complex compliance needs and workforce transformations.

• Indianapolis
  Fractional CHROs in Indianapolis Making Things Happen
  As Indianapolis grows into a regional tech and biotech hub, its interim HR leaders are guiding companies through strategic hiring, leadership development, and HR tech implementation.

• Jacksonville
  Fractional CHROs in Jacksonville Making Things Happen
  Jacksonville’s fractional CHROs serve fast-growing industries like finance, logistics, and healthcare—offering guidance on culture-building, operational scale, and remote workforce policy.

• 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.

• Los Angeles
  Fractional CHROs in Los Angeles Making Things Happen
  In this entertainment and startup capital, LA’s CHROs specialize in hybrid teams, talent branding, and aligning creative and corporate cultures under fast-paced conditions.

• 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.

• Naples
  Fractional CHROs in Naples Making Things Happen
  In Naples, fractional HR leaders help small to midsize companies and family-owned businesses build professionalized systems without compromising close-knit cultures.

• Orlando
  Fractional CHROs in Orlando Making Things Happen
  Tourism, healthcare, and education anchor Orlando’s economy—and its CHROs provide high-touch leadership solutions that prioritize retention, well-being, and frontline empowerment.

• Phoenix
  Fractional CHROs in Phoenix Making Things Happen
  Phoenix is booming in construction, healthcare, and tech—and local CHROs are helping businesses mature people operations while retaining agility in competitive labor markets.

• Raleigh
  Fractional CHROs in Raleigh Making Things Happen
  As part of the Research Triangle, Raleigh is home to biotech, education, and tech talent—and its HR leaders are supporting scaleups with science-backed people strategies.

• Salt Lake City
  Fractional CHROs in Salt Lake City Making Things Happen
  SLC combines entrepreneurial energy with deep-rooted values, and its fractional CHROs offer people solutions that honor both innovation and integrity.

• San Diego
  Fractional CHROs in San Diego Making Things Happen
  Life sciences, defense, and tourism converge in San Diego—where fractional CHROs are helping companies adapt to hybrid work and global growth strategies.

• Seattle
  Fractional CHROs in Seattle Making Things Happen
  Seattle’s HR experts are key players in navigating tech sector challenges—from layoffs to equity planning to scaling culture across global engineering teams.

• St. Louis
  Fractional CHROs in St. Louis Making Things Happen
  This Midwestern city is home to major employers in healthcare, finance, and manufacturing—and its fractional CHROs support operational resilience and inclusive workforce planning.

• 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.

• Washington, DC
  Fractional CHROs in Washington DC Making Things Happen
  In the nation’s capital, people leaders serve nonprofits, associations, and purpose-driven orgs—providing strategic clarity and DEI leadership in highly regulated environments.

Want to Be Featured?

Are you a fractional CHRO or Chief People Officer in NYC or the Tri-state area? Reach out to ryan@digitalreference.co to be considered for future editions of this list.

Looking for other Fractional Leadership?

Find Fractional CMOs here.

Find Fractional CTOs here.

Find Fractional CFOs here.

Find Fractional COOs here.

Together, let’s continue shaping the future of work—authentically and efficiently.

‍