Tara Fournier SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Privately-funded cultural institution founded by George Lucas & Mellody Hobson, opening in 2026

• Oversight of the People & Culture division encompassing operational structure development, organizational design, staffing plans, and human resources frameworks to successfully scale operations from 100 to 300 employees in preparation for the museum opening in 2026.
• Collaboration with the executive team to develop a multi-year operational budget, long-term strategy, and start-up guidance supporting seamless organizational growth.
• Redesigning key HR functions for both pre- and post-opening phases, including talent acquisition, onboarding, career development and succession planning, performance management systems, retention initiatives, compensation structures, and benefits administration.
• Implementation of employee engagement strategies through the design and deployment of engagement surveys (new hire survey, exit survey) to inform retention and recruitment efforts based on sentiment analysis.
• Drafting updated policy manuals for both 2024 and 2025, along with revising institution-wide policies and operational workflows, to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and alignment with public policy requirements.
• Development of training programs tailored to enhance employee competencies while providing coaching and mentorship for all levels of leadership.

NASDAQ/TSX: EGLX .TO       Revenue: $100M          Employees: 300 (United States, UK, Canada); 150 Contractors

• Oversee multiple areas of the organization's G&A function, including People & Culture, Administration & Facilities, Internal Communications, and Marketing, as the Chief People Officer of Enthusiast Gaming.
• Partner with the CEO and CFO to develop and execute the strategic plan for the organization, providing oversight into daily operations, headcount and budget management, financial planning and forecasting, and organizational design in a declining revenue environment.
• Lead the People & Culture organization, managing all facets of Human Resources, including People Ops, Talent & Culture, DEIB, HR Business Partners, Total Rewards, Payroll, and Employer Branding.
• Successfully built an internal talent acquisition function, bringing all recruiting processes in-house and saving over $525,000 in external hiring fees within the first 6 months.
• Designed compensation strategy and implemented a compensation benchmarking tool and developed comprehensive compensation plans, job levels, job families, and refined the organizational structure.
• Completed previously uncompleted M&A processes and merged operational functions of 7 organizations into one parent company, harmonizing benefits plans, total rewards, and introducing universal time off plans.
• Consolidated multiple payroll providers into one universal timekeeping and payroll system, partnering with the Finance & Accounting team to design and implement NetSuite for accounting, travel & expense, and payroll reporting.
• Introduced quarterly employee engagement surveys to track and measure employee sentiment, leading to increased transparency through monthly Town Halls, Company Spotlight meetings, open Q&A sessions, and public Slack channels for important company updates.
• Lead DEIB initiatives, including the initiation and rollout of four Employee Resource Groups, signing the California Equal Pay Pledge, and developing an internship program partnership with HBCUs. Increased the number of women in senior leadership roles by 3x. 

NASDAQ: TRMR         Revenue: $357M           Employees: 1,100 (United States, Israel, UK, Australia, Singapore)

• Provided strategic leadership as the Global Head of Human Resources and Chief Talent Officer, overseeing all aspects of the People/Human Resources organization, including Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, HR Business Partners, HR Operations, Culture, DEIB, Compensation, and Benefits.
• Led a global team of 28 full-time employees and 8 administrative/facilities employees, fostering collaboration and driving excellence in HR practices.
• Collaborated with the executive leadership team to advise and strategize on short- and long-term initiatives and business objectives, aligning organizational culture with business outcomes and driving change management processes.
• Successfully prepared, implemented, and organized the People strategy and deliverables for a merger/acquisition transaction, leading due diligence activities, headcount planning, financial reporting and forecasting, and legal/regulatory preparations.
• Led the post-pandemic return to office initiative, Amobee Forward, ensuring a smooth transition to a hybrid/remote-first work environment and re-engaging the workforce to define a new culture.
• Developed and executed a talent retention strategy to address organization-wide attrition challenges, focusing on engagement and retention initiatives.
• Evaluated and redesigned the organizational structure to meet the needs and objectives of the organization, including developing job families, levels, and classifications, updating job descriptions, and conducting internal and external compensation benchmarking.
• Utilized people data to develop a comprehensive long- and short-term strategic plan to engage, retain, and attract talent during a period of organizational transition.

NASDAQ: VZIO          Revenue: ~$2.0B           Employees: 850 U.S.-based FTEs; 200 Global Contractors

• Led and scaled the end-to-end Human Resources function for VIZIO, driving strategy and culture, overseeing Talent Acquisition, HR Operations, Benefits, Compensation, Payroll, Talent Management, HRIS, Compliance, Learning & Development, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
• Successfully led VIZIO through its initial public offering (IPO) and transition from a private to a public entity, implementing enhanced post-public Total Rewards philosophy and executive and employee equity structure.
• Developed and implemented improved benefits offerings to attract and retain talent in a competitive market, including expanded time off, paid leave, 401(k) matching, tuition repayment program, and ESPP.
• Updated HR operations function to align with SOX compliance, process documentation, operational controls, and segregation of duties.
• Partnered with C-Suite executives on transformational organic headcount expansion, resulting in a 95% growth in 24 months.
• Built and scaled the Talent Acquisition function, expanding employer branding efforts, optimizing social media interactions, and streamlining interview processes to reduce time to fill metrics by 35% YoY.
• Evaluated and upgraded HR systems and tools to improve efficiencies, including implementing Workday HRIS, iCIMS for Talent Acquisition, Certent/Fidelity for Equity Administration, ReturnSafe for COVID safety, and LinkedIn Learning.
• Enriched people analytics and implemented data-oriented solutions to enhance employee engagement, including quarterly pulse surveys, new hire check-ins, exit and stay interviews, and people health index analysis.
• Expanded the DEI program, developing a diversity hiring strategy, launching internal affinity groups, and championing veterans' hiring initiatives and women in leadership development programs.
• Negotiated and secured $1M in savings for the organization through reduced employer benefits costs and discounted broker fees.
• Led the cross-functional COVID-19 Task Force, transforming business operations from in-office to virtual during the pandemic, ensuring employee health and safety, and providing compliance guidance to the HR community through podcasts, webinars, and conferences.

Revenue: $100M        Employees: 1,800 in 185 locations - United States & Canada

• Partner with the CEO, CHRO, and CFO to create business strategy to reduce turnover, retain key talent through building and implementing  a talent development program, a rewards and recognition program, and increased internal promotions.  Through first year of strategic plan implementation, turnover in key positions reduced from 53% to 34% year over year and internal promotions increased by 23%.  In fiscal year 2019, turnover reduced to 25%, and 50% of all key vacancies were filled by internal promotions.

• Strategic people advisor to executive leadership and field operations leadership teams in the United States and Canada; including succession planning, workforce readiness, professional development and skills gap training.  

• Lead the Human Resources functional teams, including  HR Business Partners, HR Operations, and Talent Acquisition, to deliver on employee acquisition, engagement and retention metrics, compliance and business operations goals. 

• Responsible for national employment law compliance, including state and municipal minimum wage regulations, overtime regulations, meal and rest periods, payroll compliance, leaves, harassment prevention, etc.  
  

• Designed and implemented tools such as the "People Health Index" to help field leaders assess talent and the "Operational Health Index",  to assess key performance indicators, business results and staffing/talent levels/skills gaps and create action plans to improve EBITDA and develop talent.

• Develop and deliver customized management skills training programs to field people managers and leaders, such as "Management Style Under Stress," "Building Effective Teams," "Crucial Conversations," and "Managing within the Law." 

• In partnership with legal counsel, mitigate risk and resolve any potential or existing legal matters by providing solutions in compliance with all governing entities, preparing documentation, researching data or exploring solutions; draft and amend the Employee Handbook. 

NASDAQ: TTEC      Revenue:  $1.4B        Employees:  40,000 Global  (NA, APAC, LATAM, EMEA)

• Partnered with, coached and influenced key business leaders on change management practices to successfully integrate acquired entity into the parent organization.

• Developed comprehensive people strategy, focusing on employee engagement and retention, and led the integration of human resource plans and strategies with overall business strategy and organizational planning efforts of the parent company.

• Analyzed and redesigned talent management process to increase operational efficiency within the business and reduce cost of vacancy. Median time to fill metric was reduced from 47 days to 33 days within 3 months of new process implementation.

• Trained leaders and employees of the acquired company to understand parent company TeleTech’s obligations and corporate policies.

• Ensured compliance with state and federal employment laws and regulations, including wages (salaried and hourly), onboarding and offboarding documents and pay practices, and recruiting practices.

• In partnership with legal counsel, mitigate risk and resolve any potential or existing legal matters by providing solutions in compliance with all governing entities, preparing documentation, researching data or exploring solutions through amendments to the Employee Handbook or Operations Manual.

NASDAQ: ZG       Revenue: $3.5B       Employees: 5,000 United States & Canada

Partnered with client leaders to develop and implement HR plans and solutions in order to achieve strategic business initiatives during a period of organizational hyper-growth, expanding from 800 employees to over 3,000 through both acquisition and organic expansion.  Led the implementation of key HR programs and process with client groups in Sales, Technology, Engineering and Business divisions, including performance, total rewards, employee engagement, leadership assessments and talent planning.  Analyzed business challenges and HR programs to identify improvement opportunities and integrate/define organizational culture. Reviewed and analyzed business data to identify trends and recommend solutions to improve employee engagement, productivity, retention and employee experience. Partnered with organizational and divisional leaders to retain, develop and motivate people to achieve their fullest potential.

• Successfully partnered with executive leadership and HR team to complete acquisition of Trulia (1,000+ employees), including integration of HRIS systems, policies, benefits/total rewards and HR operations/policies as well as managing redundancies and reorganization of client groups and leadership structure.
• Continuously led the employee experience and employment life cycle for California tech offices in Irvine and San Francisco, including employee on-boarding, orientation and exit processes. Developed exit interview program for Inside Sales organization, conducted “stay interviews” and reviewed job descriptions. Based on analysis and recommendations from this program, attrition rates in Sales organization dropped from 48% to 26% in 6 months. 
• Acting as the California employment law lead for the organization, managed compliance across client groups, including policy creation, release and adoption. Consulted with leaders and legal counsel on employee relations issues.  Conducted investigations and recommended/implemented courses of action to mitigate risk.  
• Collaborated with business leaders in employee development and talent planning decisions. Identified training and development needs, designed training initiatives to develop organizational talent across all levels. Created common language for organization through Insights Discovery program, a Jungian-based skills/strengths assessment designed to increase cross-functional communications and bridge multiple organizational cultures during hypergrowth and 9 acquisitions.
• Created and implemented comprehensive manager training program for Sales client group, including employment law, interviewing & onboarding, positive employee relations, communications and diversity/inclusion.

As a designated expert in Human Resources practices and philosophies for the organization, conducted research into workforce trends, current and proposed state and federal employment laws, and other Human Resource industry-related topics.

Educated thousands of Human Resources young professionals across North America as part of an educational outreach effort to attract/retain future HR leaders through presenting educational sessions, delivering keynote addresses and leading Twitter/Facebook chats and webinars on a variety of Human Resources trends and topics, including succession planning, career development, salary negotiations, social media & personal branding, workplace investigations, generational issues and impacts of political elections and measures in the workplace.

• Served as the editor and publisher of StudentFocus magazine, a quarterly e-publication targeting SHRM student members.  Researched and drafted articles.
• Developed and implemented strategic plans to recruit and retain SHRM student members, young professionals and volunteer leaders; sourced and developed innovative engagement and educational opportunities; planned, managed and delivered educational content at six yearly student conferences; oversaw the Society’s student chapter affiliate program with 450 chapters and 19,000 student members.
• Developed and implemented strategic engagement and retention initiatives to acquire and retain 35,000 Young Professional members.  Increased number of student members converting to professional membership by 22% in one year through enhanced communications, data integrity and collaboration with internal stakeholders. Drove increase in total student membership by 14.7% from 16,561 in 2012 to 19,185 in 2013.
• Chartered 43 new student chapters through sustained university outreach and collaboration with SHRM’s Academic Initiatives program.
• Increased student conference attendance by 85.5% year-over-year.
• Increased website traffic by 60% year-over-year.
• Listed as #21 of the Top 50 All-Time episodes of DriveThru HR, a daily online radio program for HR professionals, for a guest radio appearance in February 2013. (At time of list publication, there had been 824 episodes.)

Created recruiting and orientation processes and implemented onboarding program; worked daily alongside legal counsel and VP, Human Resources to create and implement HR policies and procedures; managed hiring and termination of employees and developed training and incentive programs. Managed external audits, maintained leave-of-absence programs and personnel records; administered benefits enrollment and programs; administered HR budget and handled HR generalist workplace issues.

• Created and implemented company-wide recruitment/talent management program, including development of a careers website, applicant tracking system, sourcing and online job postings.
•  Recruited, offered, hired, trained and on-boarded 144 highly-qualified exempt and non-exempt employees across company’s three facilities, reducing turnover rate from 32% to 16% in a 2-year period.
• Re-drafted employee handbook to ensure company’s compliance with new employment laws (Federal & California), covering issues including disciplinary procedures, wage and hour policies, code of conduct, leave of absence policies, social media, benefits information, etc.
• Brought immigration and recruiting into full compliance. Worked alongside Department of Homeland Security and counsel to complete an extensive, 14-month I-9 audit process, saving the company over $100,000 in administrative fines.
• Revised and rolled out new internal investigation process. Created report template for spectrum of policy violations, including sexual harassment, workplace violence, conduct and safety. Conducted employee relations and facilitated training programs.
• Managed 40-60 temporary employees per week, including payroll, hiring, replacement and retention. Successfully re-negotiated contracts with multiple staffing agencies, saving 6% in fees.
• Worked with legal counsel to prepare and respond to DFEH complaints, EDD appeals and lawsuits, with company prevailing in 83% of all cases and complaints.
• Provided benefits administration and timekeeping using HRIS technologies. Worked with VP, HR to administer annual open enrollment both in English and Spanish.
• Worked with executive leadership and Board Members to develop organizational strategy for relocation of 100+ employees post-acquisition.

*Previous employment from 6/1999 - 6/2000 as Recruiter/Human Resources Coordinator

• Successfully sourced, interviewed, and placed qualified candidates in client organizations, ranging from entry-level to executive roles, resulting in the fulfillment of critical staffing needs.
• Managed full-cycle talent acquisition processes, including talent identification, drafting compelling job postings, conducting pre-employment screenings, and facilitating smooth onboarding processes.
• Developed and maintained strong relationships with candidates, ensuring a positive candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.
• Expanded candidate pools by implementing innovative strategies, resulting in a 20% increase in the number of high-level talent applicants.
• Responded promptly and professionally to candidate inquiries, providing accurate and helpful information to support their application process.
• Conducted immigration verifications to ensure compliance with legal requirements and facilitate smooth onboarding for international hires.
• Assisted with various talent acquisition projects, contributing to the continuous improvement of recruitment processes and strategies.
• Maintained clear and concise documentation of all recruitment activities, ensuring accuracy and compliance with company policies and procedures.