Human Resources Professionals: Insights & Resources

Fractional CHROs in San Diego Making Things Happen

July 23, 2025
All Insights
HR Professionals: Insights & Resources

Fractional CHROs in San Diego Making Things Happen in 2025

San Diego Interim Chief People Officers to Know

San Diego is where tech meets biotech, where DTC brands sit alongside global defense contractors, and where growth-minded companies are scaling across sectors. But even with world-class talent, building a high-functioning, values-aligned workplace doesn’t happen by accident. More often, it’s the work of fractional CHROs—operationally sharp, culturally attuned, and embedded exactly where companies need them most.

Whether it’s an early-stage biotech startup looking to establish HR systems or a mid-market company navigating leadership change, fractional Chief People Officers in San Diego are showing up with the clarity and structure that modern teams need to grow well.

At Digital Reference, we’re proud to highlight professionals in the San Diego metro who are leading this shift—bringing people leadership that’s flexible, referenceable, and built to scale.

Our Methodology: How We Select San Diego’s Fractional CPOs

Each individual featured below has been vetted through our curation lens. We look for:

  • Clear public presence as a fractional, interim, or embedded CHRO/CPO

  • Active client work in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad region

  • Demonstrated ability to lead through growth, change, or complexity

  • Strategic orientation paired with hands-on execution

  • Alignment with Digital Reference’s values: trust, context, and impact

We don’t do lists for SEO. We build trusted directories for people who are actually hiring.

San Diego Fractional CHROs to Know

🔹 Michael Janniere

Fractional Chief People Officer | Founder, The People Effect
Michael is a San Diego-based fractional CPO with deep expertise in culture transformation, organizational development, and executive team coaching. Through his advisory firm, The People Effect, Michael partners with high-growth startups and mission-driven orgs to scale people strategy in ways that support long-term performance. He combines big-picture clarity with day-one execution.

🔍 Specialties: Founder coaching, culture diagnostics, leadership team design, HR operations
📍 Based in: San Diego, CA

🔹 Dr. Tonya Jackman Hampton

Executive Coach | DEI Leader | Fractional CHRO
Tonya brings executive-level insight to organizations ready to rethink how they engage their people. With a background in organizational change, DEI, and senior HR leadership, she operates as a fractional CHRO for companies that need transformation with humanity. Tonya is especially known for leading DEI work at the executive level while also supporting leadership alignment.

🔍 Specialties: DEI strategy, inclusive leadership, HR transformation, talent engagement
📍 Based in: San Diego, CA

Why San Diego’s HR Landscape Is Going Fractional

San Diego’s business ecosystem is unique: highly innovative, science-heavy, and increasingly remote/hybrid. This creates new challenges for people strategy, including:

  • Scaling hiring without eroding culture

  • Navigating complex compliance across states or countries

  • Supporting hybrid and lab-based teams simultaneously

  • Building HR systems that don’t feel “corporate”

  • Aligning leadership around performance, not just productivity

Fractional CHROs are being brought in before these challenges escalate, and the ROI is showing up quickly—in retention, engagement, and org clarity.

When to Bring in a Fractional CPO

San Diego founders, COOs, and HR teams are bringing in fractional leaders when:

  • 💸 They've just raised a round and need scalable people infrastructure

  • 🧪 They’re navigating the early team-building phases of product-market fit

  • 🔁 They’re restructuring departments or spinning up new business lines

  • 🌍 They’re expanding internationally and need HR strategy that travels

  • 🤝 They’re trying to mature culture and leadership behaviors

Fractional isn’t just “HR help.” It’s executive perspective with focused scope—and it’s becoming the go-to model for companies who want alignment without delay.

What Makes Fractional Work in Southern California

The best fractional CHROs in San Diego bring:

✅ Deep experience with innovation-driven teams (tech, biotech, creative)
✅ Sensitivity to growth-stage dynamics—founders, boards, scaling pains
✅ A people-first mindset, backed by systems that scale
✅ Operational clarity and immediate presence

They’re not sitting back with audits. They’re in the trenches, building better workplaces.

Explore More on Digital Reference

Want to see how fractional leadership is reshaping the C-suite?

📘 How to Hire a Fractional Executive
A practical guide for founders and operators navigating interim leadership.

📍 The Importance of Professional References
Explore why third-party credibility is more critical than ever in today’s trust-driven hiring market.

📘 Collecting Professional References: The Dos and Don’ts
References are often the make-or-break element of your next opportunity. Yet many professionals still treat the reference process as an afterthought or, worse, scramble to collect them last minute.

📗 The Talent Ecosystem: Why Fractional Operators Are Reshaping the C-Suite
Explore the structural shifts behind the rise of fractional leadership and what it means for your next hire.

Final Thought: People Strategy That Moves With You

San Diego companies are growing smarter. They’re not hiring full-time people leaders just because the org chart says they should. They’re hiring fractional CPOs who fit their moment—and move them forward.

If you're in San Diego and need strategic HR help that actually builds momentum, this is the play.

Michael and Tonya are already showing how flexible leadership delivers real outcomes. They’re not just consulting. They’re making things happen.

✅ 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.
  • 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.

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