I led people operations at Ezra, Wattpad, Achievers, SCM Insurance, McLean &
Company, Centrilogic and OTN Health. Different sectors, same recurring problem: the HR
function was asked to do more each year, and the only lever anyone reached for was
another hire or another tool.
Then AI became genuinely capable, and almost nobody in HR knew what to do with it.
Licences were bought. Nothing changed. The gap was never the technology — it was that
the people who understood the tools could not speak to how HR work actually gets done,
and the people running HR could not see where the leverage was.
I could have become another fractional CHRO who absorbs the backlog. I became the
person who rebuilds the function so the backlog stops being generated.
How I work
Design before tools
Software bought before the operating model is settled becomes shelfware. We settle
the model first, then choose what is genuinely needed — usually less than you already
own.
Capability stays with your team
Every engagement includes teaching. If the capability leaves when I leave, the
engagement failed, regardless of what the savings looked like on paper.
I lead the change, not just the plan
HR teams often read AI as a threat to their own roles. That is a reasonable fear and
it does not resolve itself. I have the conversation directly, in the room, and reframe
the work around judgement rather than administration.
I will tell you when the answer is no
Some functions are not ready, and some problems are not HR problems. Saying so costs
me an engagement and saves you a year.
Beyond the work
I coach CEOs and C-suite executives, serve on the boards of CISOC and the Mississauga
Symphony Orchestra, and advocate for diversity and inclusion. I am pursuing an MBA in
Human Resources Management at the University of Cumbria — the discipline of studying
the field while practising it keeps the advice honest.
