The Promoted

At The Promoted, we help ambitious corporate leaders take charge of their careers and finally get noticed. No fluff—just real, practical tools and insider strategies to help you stand out and level up. Led by a former SVP and Head of HR, we offer an insider’s guide to getting noticed and unlocking the secrets of career advancement in the corporate world.

Founder & CEO

Bamboo Leader Group

At BLG, we are passionate about helping companies develop post-M&A people & culture integration plans that create engaged and productive employees and operational profitability. In addition to supporting institutions, we work directly with driven leaders within organizations facing large-scale change as they navigate through uncertainty while building strong personal-brands.

Founder & Principal 

Fractional Leadership

I am a member of Fractional Leadership, an elite community of independently vetted Fractional Leaders with the expertise, industry experience, and executive background to serve small and medium size businesses who need our level of support, producing results at a fraction of the time and cost.

Fractional Leadership is a great resource for the fractional executive leadership industry whether for fractional executives themselves or for business owners looking for information about it.

Fractional HR Leader 

Modis

Head of Human Resources North American Region

Florida Blue

Head of Human Resources, Enabling Functions

Entrepreneurs'​ Organization

Guest Speaker

Bank of America

Head of HR for US Dealer Services and US Business Asset Lending

SVP, Global Human Resources Executive

Senior Human Resources Manager

Deutsche Bank

HR support to Deutsche Bank's Global Sales & Trading division.

HR Generalist

I help companies accelerate M&A integration and large-scale change success 🔥 Expert Leadership & Career Advisor 🔥 Fractional HR Leader

As the CEO of The Promoted, I help ambitious corporate leaders break through career stagnation and achieve the promotions they deserve without sacrificing their well-being. With 20+ years of experience as a former F500 SVP and Head of HR, I’ve sat in countless rooms where decisions about promotions were made—and I know exactly what it takes to stand out, lead effectively, and advance to the next level.

At The Promoted, I teach leaders how to navigate the unwritten rules of the corporate game. Through my signature programs and one-on-one coaching, I provide the clarity, strategies, and tools leaders need to take control of their careers, build executive presence, and gain recognition for their contributions.

I also work as a Fractional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and a trusted partner to organizations undergoing transformational change, including mergers and acquisitions. My expertise in aligning leadership, people strategies, and operational objectives helps businesses navigate transitions with confidence, ensuring both cultural and operational success.

I’m passionate about empowering leaders to realize their full potential. Having coached thousands of executives, I’ve seen how the right mindset, skills, and strategies can turn frustration into fulfillment—and I’m here to help make that transformation a reality.

If you’re a corporate leader ready to take charge of your career, let’s connect.

Courtney Hughes-O'Connell, PCC, SHRM-SCP

Medical Solutions

As the Chief Human Resources Officer of Medical Solutions, I am responsible for leading and overseeing all aspects of the HR function to drive organizational success and support our employees. My team and I are dedicated to fostering a positive work culture, promoting employee engagement and development, and ensuring compliance with all HR policies and regulations. Our goal is to closely support the organization's operational strategies while creating a workplace where every individual can thrive and contribute to the overall success of the organization.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Podium X

Founder

XPG Recruit

A recruiting firm for the staffing industry built on a proven track record of recruiting excellence combined with extensive knowledge in operations, talent and culture at a strategic level.

Xtra Point Group

Xtra Point Group is a human resources solutions company devoted to enhancing the effectiveness and success rate of people within an organization. In addition to expertise in talent, performance and culture strategies, XPG offers special workforce development services for athletes to translate the unique skills and qualities of the athlete into advantages within the workplace.

The Adecco Group

Positioning internal Human Resources of $10B region as operational force behind commercial success; managing corporate portfolio of 15 individual and distinct country organizations; taking on Latin America in January 2019
● Originating a strategy focused on attraction (EVP), pragmatic development programs, a performance-based culture, and strong leadership initiatives
→ Increasing functional scope for revenue generating colleagues by 25% while achieving high functional rating by operational leaders
● Proving personal global market remit with repeated Adecco placement on international “Great Place to Work” lists and improved culture scores
● Increasing HR group retention by 9% and culture rating by 20%, achieving highest regional culture score globally
● Launching functional transformation to separate HR strategy from transaction with net neutral resource adjustment, driving effectiveness
● Rallying 17 direct reports in 3 crucial and functional buckets
● Remodeling strategic support of 23 Business Partners
→ Supporting operations segmentation in largest BU from blended business to retail/wholesale model aligning with customer needs
→ Raising retention with leadership through cultural shifts, stronger employee engagement and aligned expectations
→ Identifying relevant soft skills in talented people, connecting them to business goals
● HR Services team whose transactions enable over 10K internal colleagues and 140K external associates to succeed and include employee relations, compensation & benefits, compliance, education
→ Decreasing issues resolution time to 1.5 days from 7, while managing 64% more “cases” YOY
→ Department satisfaction score 9.5/10
● HR Services strategically supporting 11 global BU
● Optimizing dotted line to local business leaders, overseeing structure and function of more than 140 people in regional roles
● Leveraging vast data & technology load to facilitate functional analysis

Chief Human Resources Officer — The Americas, UK, & Ireland

Revolutionizing transformative HR strategy in $5B region restructuring to shared services model supporting 6300 colleagues and 125+K associates in US, Canada, PR
● Propelling increased efficiency with no cost structure increase by realigning personnel in roles better suited to them and showcasing a 15 point increase in internal culture survey scores
● Streamlining quick response in high volume, repeated transactions managed by HR Services Team, an operations group of 92 persons
● Elevating HR Business Partner role to strategic, business-facing support of VP and SVP revenue targets
● 9.2/10 people indicate HR function is “great place to work”

Chief Human Resources Officer - North America

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, originating retention strategy and infrastructure for career growth of 31K colleagues in 60+ countries worldwide
● Partnering with in-country leadership for targeted succession planning, organizational restructuring, selection/assessment, HiPo interventions
● Uniting with INSEAD and IMD to build comprehensive curriculum for top 300 leaders globally
● Creating Global Adecco Academy, managing education and strategy
● Developing and delivering first known global service-oriented program, reaching over 10K colleagues in more than 40 countries and in 6 languages

Senior Vice President, Global Head of Talent Management

Transforming professional development for over 6K full time employees
● Leading SMEs in delivering enterprise-wide Learning Management System, increasing online course completions in 1100 branches by 54K in year 1
● >100K completions during tenure, garnering 77% satisfaction rate
● Reducing classroom spend by 60% and decreasing time spent away from branches for education by 30% resulting in 1% EVA

Vice President of Training and Development, North America

Linking asset development to executive direction and culture in producing training for 1200 employees in over 100 branches networked across US and Canada
● Creating and realizing Learning Management System, driving course completion rates up over 85% and reducing classroom training by 30%
● Increasing speed to competency rates for revenue generating roles by 30 days

Chief Learning Officer, SVP of Training and Development - Ajilon division of The Adecco Group, N.A.

Leading $30MM operation comprised of 16 branches and 50+ personnel in central United States, 50% of which realized profit growth in 2003
● Budgeting, forecasting, analyzing financial health of company’s largest region, including planning and negotiating real estate space
● Building infrastructure of branch leadership and sales roles

Regional Vice President,  Ajilon division of The Adecco Group, N.A.     

Promoted from volunteer to part-time training team member providing public speaking and written development materials in high profile presentation post
● “One of the best (public speakers) I’ve ever seen” – current Ajilon president
● Sought after for speaking engagements within and outside staffing industry
● Prolific writer of training manuals, modules, video presentations

Corporate Trainer, Ajilon division of The Adecco Group, N.A.

Managing daily operations of 7 MO/KS/OK branches generating $17MM in annual revenue
● Executing several cost savings measures resulting in profitable 01 and 02
● Garnering Vice President of the Year nomination, 2001
● Achieving 2nd most profitable area in company, 10% growth profits, 2002

Area Vice President, Ajilon division of The Adecco Group, N.A.

Overseeing $10MM operation of 3 Texas branches and over 20 people
● Growing profit 525%
● Top 5 ranking in every major category: Temp Revenue, Perm Revenue, Profit, GM%

Area Manager, Ajilon division of The Adecco Group, N.A.

Exceeding start-up pro-forma by growing Schaumburg, IL division to over 40 temps employed in “one of the most successful start-ups in company history” - Founder

Branch Manager, Ajilon division of The Adecco Group, N.A.

Robert Half

Revitalizing “broken” division into group ranked 13th globally with focused target account development
● Exceeding budget with 2 year average growth of 40%

Division Director

Growing territory to 1500 hours in 6 months
● Exceeding quotas to rank consistently in Top 5 and qualify for incentive program

Staffing Manager, Office Team

PrimeSource Building Products

Product Specialist

Inside Sales Representative

Green Bay Packers

Free Agent (1993, 1994) with the Packers. Scoring plays can be found at http://www.packershistory.net/1993PACKERS.html and http://www.packershistory.net/1994PACKERS.html

Kicker

With nearly three decades of experience in staffing, recruiting, and human resources, I've dedicated my career to optimizing organizational success through strategic HR leadership. In my career, I have designed and developed talent, culture, performance, and leadership programs for tens of thousands of individuals across 60 different countries and built strategic partnerships with three of the world's leading business schools. In 2023, I published a leadership book titled Relentless: Leading through Performance, Relationships, and the Lessons of Sports, which delivers tools for people strategies every manager, at every stage of their career, can embrace to build and lead a winning business team. 

By aligning HR functions with operational strategies and developing efficiencies, my holistic approach to organizational dynamics has led to increased engagement and productivity, driving sustainable organizational success. My passion for building strong cultures and nurturing winning teams underscores my unwavering dedication to excellence.

taplio

The Battle

Courtney Hughes-O'Connell, PCC, SHRM-SCP

Rich Thompson

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