Suzanne Hawes, Ph.D. Let's talk

Fractional CHRO · Organizational Consultant · Senior People Advisor

Hire me and stop worrying about HR.

I work with CEOs, COOs, and PE-backed leadership teams of fast-growing companies that are outgrowing their HR. The business is moving, the people stuff is getting messy, and there's nobody senior in the room to handle it. I step in as the senior HR brain, so you can stop carrying it.

Start a conversation

Reach out if any of this sounds like you

  • You don't have time to do HR, and you don't have time to manage the person doing HR.
  • Your legal team is driving people decisions because nobody else is, and you can feel that's not the right shape.
  • HR is currently being done by someone whose actual job isn't HR: a finance leader, a chief of staff, you.
  • You have budget for a junior HR hire, but what you actually wish you had is someone senior to manage that junior person.

If any of these are true, I can help.

How I work

Fractional CHRO Retainer

Embedded as your senior people leader on a part-time basis. I attend leadership meetings, guide organizational decisions, manage your junior HR person so you don't have to, lower your legal exposure, and give you a trusted place to think hard people questions out loud.

Organizational Assessment & Buildout Project

Start with a rapid, board-ready diagnostic of your leadership structure, HR capabilities, talent gaps, and operating model, with prioritized recommendations and a concrete path forward. From there, I can stay on to build what needs building: HR systems, policies, total rewards, performance frameworks, suited to where the company is going, not just where it is today. A good fit for PE firms post-investment, pre-scale moments, or any board that needs a senior read on whether the people side is ready for the plan, with someone who can then go do something about it.

Interim CHRO Full-time, temporary

Step in full-time during a leadership transition, holding strategic momentum and continuity while you run the permanent search.

Advisory A few hours a month

We meet a couple of times a month to check in on how things are going and talk through whatever's hard. For founders who don't yet need a fractional CHRO but want a senior HR brain on call. Lower commitment, same judgment.

What changes when I show up

Paya, PE-backed fintech ($185M revenue). Built a fully functional HR operation in under four months post-spinout. HRIS, total rewards, 401(k), and payroll infrastructure, from scratch, alongside the executive team.
Venture-backed digital health company (Series A). Delivered a cultural assessment for the lead investor, evaluating the leadership team's readiness to scale.
Home care company (250 employees across 10 states). Brought in to diagnose and fix a set of HR problems, then helped choose the new HR lead and supported them through their first months.
Sterne Kessler, 500-person law firm. Revitalized HR from a compliance-oriented team people barely tolerated into a progressive, engagement-focused team employees actively sought out. Partners came to me for advice. Directors said I made them better managers.

What I believe

HR is as crucial to a business' success as Finance. The biggest investment a CEO makes is in their people, and most HR functions have made peace with being a compliance department. I think that's a mistake, and it costs companies talent, culture, and eventually money. You can make hard decisions, even unpopular ones, and people will support them if they feel heard and understand the why. Kindness is free. Taking care of your people and running a successful business are not in conflict.

Background

  • 25+ years as a senior HR executive across multiple industries
  • Two-time CHRO: PE-backed fintech and a professional services firm
  • Ph.D., Industrial & Organizational Psychology, University of Tennessee
  • Executive Coaching Certification, Georgetown University
  • Board and investor advisor on people strategy and organizational readiness

Get in touch

Let's talk.

Tell me what you're working through. Whether it's a fractional CHRO, a project, or a couple of hours a month, reach out and we'll figure out the right fit together.

Email Suzanne