Professional services
10 fractional CHROs
These ten fractional CHROs currently hold fractional chief HR officer roles, and each has also held a senior HR, people or talent leadership title. A reader can learn when a fractional CHRO makes sense, how the engagement is scoped and which people systems to build first as a company grows.
Professionals to explore
01—10Christine Mason
LinkedInExperience: CEO, Fractional CHRO & Coach · Cheval Coaching & Consulting Inc
CEO, Fractional CHRO & Coach at Cheval Coaching & Consulting Inc since 2022, working with growth-stage, founder-led and PE/VC-backed companies according to her profile. She was also EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at letus (previously RentMoola) from 2020 to 2022 and EVP, Chief People Officer at Uphold (2015–2017).
Judy Alban
LinkedInExperience: Founder l Fractional CHRO · Peopleverve Strategic Solutions
Founder l Fractional CHRO at Peopleverve Strategic Solutions since April 2024 and former Fractional CHRO at Reverie Language Technologies (2018–2019). She was also Vice President - People Success Team at Perfios (2020–2024) and Head of Human Resources at Simplilearn (2015–2016), and her profile describes working with founders and leadership teams when growth stretches their people systems.
Karine Shahar
LinkedInExperience: Founder - Fractional CHRO Culture Advisor Coach Predictive Index Facilitator · Strategic Global Talent
Founder - Fractional CHRO Culture Advisor Coach Predictive Index Facilitator at Strategic Global Talent since 2017 and Fractional HR Executive Advisor at Tower 28 since 2019. She was also Chief Human Resources Officer at Blumhouse (2019–2022), and her profile headline describes her as an ex-Apple people operations and culture advisor and coach to HR and talent teams.
Kim Mack PHR SHRM-CP
LinkedInExperience: Fractional CHRO · HR-Reinforced
Fractional CHRO at HR-Reinforced since February 2025. The listing also shows Senior Director Human Resources Operations (2024–2025), Senior Director Human Resources (2022–2024) and Human Resources Consultant (2021–2022) roles at Menarini Stemline, and the profile cites experience in life sciences, finance, SaaS and PE-backed organizations and expertise in building HR infrastructure.
Matt Willden
LinkedInExperience: Fractional CHRO & CPO, People Operations Advisor, Founder · Harness Human Capital Consulting
Fractional CHRO & CPO, People Operations Advisor, Founder at Harness Human Capital Consulting since April 2026. He was also Chief Human Resources Officer at SupplyHouse (2023–2026), Chief People Officer at Overstock (2022–2023) and HR & Talent Management Leader at Aramco (2019–2022), and his profile describes helping growth-stage companies build the people systems, leadership capacity and operational rigor required to scale.
Renni Jessup
LinkedInExperience: Fractional CHRO · Playa Bowls
Fractional CHRO at Playa Bowls since June 2026 and CEO and Founder of The RNJ Group since 2022. The listing also shows Chief Talent Officer (2021–2022) and Chief Learning Officer (2018–2021) roles at McGuckin Group, and the profile headline reads Fractional CHRO, Executive Coach and Offsite Facilitator.
Ronald Shuman
LinkedInExperience: Founder & Fractional Chief HR Officer · Talent Forge Consulting
Founder & Fractional Chief HR Officer at Talent Forge Consulting since 2019. He was also Head of People and Culture at BATHHOUSE (2022–2025), Sr. Director, People Partner at Komodo Health (2018–2019) and Senior Director, HR Business Partner M&A Integration Leader (Office of Change Management) at LearnVest (2016–2018), and his profile describes leading people strategy across hypergrowth startups and enterprise integrations.
Stephanie Bonnet
LinkedInExperience: Fractional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Executive Advisor · Confidential - Private Equity
Fractional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Executive Advisor for a confidential private equity client since May 2026. She was also Chief People Officer CHRO at TrueNAS (2023–2026) and Chief Human Resources Officer at Measurabl (2021–2023), and her profile describes aligning workforce strategy, executive compensation and organizational design to revenue, execution and enterprise value creation.
Sue Olson
LinkedInExperience: Transformational Leader Advisor and Coach Board Member Fractional CHRO · Red Thread Consulting
Transformational Leader Advisor and Coach Board Member Fractional CHRO at Red Thread Consulting since 2019, where her profile describes expertise in organizational transformation, change management and cultural reinvention for private and public emerging-growth companies. She was also Vice President of People at Course Hero (2018–2019) and has been Expert in Residence at Rippleworks since 2023.
Traci Kaplan
LinkedInExperience: Fractional CHRO · StraighterLine
Fractional CHRO at StraighterLine since July 2026 and Fractional HR Leader HR Consultant at PeopleSense HR Consulting since March 2026. She was also Vice President of HR - US, Canada & Europe at Emeritus (2021–2026) and Head of People (HR) at Territory Foods (2020–2021), and her profile focuses on organizational design, talent strategy and scalable people operations for high-growth companies.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's background to your stage and ownership, since leading HR at a scaling startup differs from supporting a PE-backed company through M&A or restructuring. Ask how many clients they serve at once and how they hand work over to a full-time HR leader.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What signs tell you a company is ready for a fractional CHRO rather than an HR generalist or a full-time CHRO?
- 02Which people systems do you build first when a company is scaling quickly?
- 03How do you split time across clients and hand work over when a company hires its first full-time HR leader?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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