Kristin brings with her over 25 years of progressive HR experience. Prior to joining HR/Advantage Advisory, she was an Executive Consultant for The Ayers Group providing outplacement and services to a variety of clients/industries. Prior to The Ayers Group, Kristin held the role of VP, Global Human Resources for Percepta (JV between Ford Motor Company and TeleTech). In this role, Kristin was a member of the senior executive team and was responsible for leading the HR function for a $100M, 1800 employee organization which operated in 14 countries. Kristin has also held senior-level leadership roles for Fortune 500 companies including Kelly Services, BASF, and General Electric.

Kristin has a solid HR background in a variety of areas with particular strengths in Employee/Labor Relations, Recruiting/Staffing, Leadership Development, Strategic Planning, Compensation, Team Building/Development, Executive Coaching, Employee Engagement, Change Management, M&A, Organizational Development/Design and Training.

Kristin holds a B.A. in Social Science and an M.A. in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University. She is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Detroit SHRM and a variety of volunteer organizations.

Articles:

• 5 Things HR Managers Say About Sexual Harassment in #MeToo Era, The Detroit Free Press (March 14, 2018)
• Staying Ahead in Business, DBusiness (October 25, 2017)

Annette Cataldi is an experienced senior executive coach and business and strategy consultant.  Annette has been coaching executives for over 15 years. She has corporate management experience in both private and public companies including working as a Vice President of Human Resources for a Fortune 200 automotive company with responsibility for over 50 plants worldwide.  Her human resources and talent management background provide her with many diverse experiences to bring to her engagements.  Annette has extensive experience in strategy development and implementation, organizational change, and cultural assimilation due to mergers and acquisitions.

Annette has her MSA and BS in Business from Central Michigan University, is a Certified Maxwell Leadership Coach, Speaker, and Trainer,  a Mind Gym Certified Coach, a Certified DISC Trainer, and is certified in multiple professional assessment tools. Annette has had the privilege of supporting a wide range of senior/C-Suite executives across multiple industries.  Annette’s passion is the power of vision and works with organizations and leaders to propel success by formulating a clear vision and a strategy to attainment.  She is a published author on the topics of career transition and vision development and holds various leadership positions in both philanthropic and community organizations.

John is the Practice Group Director supporting Clark Hill’s Intellectual Property & Technology, International Trade, and Labor & Employment Law Practice Groups. In this role, John is responsible for managing the daily operations of the practice group, as well as directing the strategic planning and business development activities that will allow the practice group to achieve its ambitious objectives. In addition, John serves as President of HR/Advantage Advisory.

At Clark Hill, John brings significant cross-functional leadership experience in the corporate world, acquired by directing global finance, operating and business planning activities.  Prior to joining Clark Hill, John spent over 19 years as an executive at Compuware Corporation, which was one of the world’s largest independent software vendors and IT professional services providers.  Prior to joining Compuware, John spent 10 years at General Motors in various finance positions on GM’s Corporate Financial Staff, at General Motors Acceptance Corporation and at Delphi Automotive Systems.

At Compuware, John most recently held the position of Vice President International Finance, responsible for all financial activities outside of the United States.  Reporting to the CFO in this role, John led a team of 100 finance professionals in 24 countries.  Previously, John was a Vice President in Operations, functioning as the chief of staff for the COO and leading a 100 person organization that included inside sales, telemarketing, global pricing and quality planning.  John also managed worldwide corporate planning activities while reporting to the CEO, which included the development of the company’s annual operating plan, the consolidation of monthly revenue and earnings forecasts and providing analytical decision support for all departments.

John’s corporate experience includes the integration of acquisitions; facilitating carve-out divestitures to strategic and private equity buyers; establishing finance shared service centers in Europe and coordinating corporate restructuring and reorganization initiatives.  During his corporate career, John served as a member of Corporate Executive and Operating Committees.  John also served on the Board of Directors for numerous country entities.

Sophia Granobles brings more than 20 years of HR experience to HR/AA. She started her HR career in the U.S. Army as an HR Specialist that included a one-year deployment to Afghanistan. She has worked in generalist and lead HR roles in manufacturing industries such as gears, steel, and food. Sophia’s areas of expertise include employee recruitment, performance management, labor and employee relation issues, unemployment claims, conflict resolution, harassment & discrimination training, benefits administration, safety, complaint and accident investigations, grievances, change management, wellness, training policy development to ensure compliance in federal/state labor law (IL, WI, NY).

Sophia had proven experience in transforming human resources from an administrative role to a strategic business partner to drive and implement key business initiatives. Sophia has navigated through HRIS and payroll integrations for two organizations including structuring annual workforce training. She has led multiple successful third-party audits – Supplier Workplace Accountability (SWA) program, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audit, multiple Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) audits and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA).

Sophia holds a B.A. in Human Resources Development from Northeastern Illinois University and an M.S. in Human Resources Management and Development from National Louis University. She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and is currently an Illinois notary.

Michele Hanson is a Vice President with HR Advantage Advisory with more than 20 years of strategic and practical HR experience.

Michele is the consulting lead for a variety of clients across multiple industries. Some example engagements include helping set up all HR and payroll processes for a start-up chemical manufacturer.  Michele implemented an HR technology system that allows the client’s HR processes to be virtually paperless. She has also worked on a large-scale hiring process improvement initiative with one of the largest municipalities in the US. Other engagements and projects include investigations, individual leader coaching, policy creation, employee relations support and customized training creation and delivery. Michele is skilled at quickly being able to understand a client’s business needs and challenges, she offers practical and compliant HR solutions that meet and exceed client expectations.

Prior to working as a consultant, she led the Talent and Recruiting function for Learning Care Group, a leader in the early childhood education industry with over 900 childcare centers in 37 states where she and her team were responsible for over 11,000 hires annually. Michele also worked at the world headquarters for Fortune 500 Kelly Services for ten years, where she was HR Director for seven years and started Kelly’s first Talent Management function.

Michele earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. She has been certified through the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in HR since 1998.

Melinda has over 20 years of Generalist experience in Human Resources, having worked in various HR leadership roles across multiple industries prior to joining HR/Advantage Advisory.

Melinda is a trusted advisor to clients, as they look to her for her expertise and guidance throughout the entire employee lifecycle from recruiting to the end of employment. Melinda supports businesses with due diligence of the HR function for M&A transactions, she conducts thorough assessments of existing HR operations, and she helps clients implement solutions for continuous improvement.  Melinda also services clients in a variety of other ways, such as assisting with 401K implementations and audits of 401K Plans and she delivers a variety of training programs. Melinda has served as an interim HR Leader when an unexpected vacancy occurs or she can provide temporary on-site support to businesses who need an HR presence for a period of time.

Melinda earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She is a Six Sigma Green Belt and is a Certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and is a SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). Melinda has been a long-time member of and volunteer with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) at the National, State, and Local level.

Holly Maurer-Klein has worked extensively as a senior-level practitioner, executive consultant and coach in a variety of industries. Most recently as Vice President at HR/Advantage Advisory, and in her roles as Director of HR at a rapid-growth corporate relocation company and CEO of an HR consulting firm focused on providing strategic advice and consultation to corporate and non-profit clients, she has served as a trusted advisor, a leadership trainer and consultant.   Holly is a frequent presenter, including being selected as a speaker at the national SHRM conference, on the topic, “Introverts and Extroverts: How much Space is Too Much Space?”

A graduate of the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program at the Katz Graduate School of Business, Holly has a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.  She is certified by the Society of Human Resource Management as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and by Duquesne University as a Professional Coach (PC) and a certified LEA360 administrator.  She is also a winner of the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s award, “Best 50 Women in Business”.  With a focus on enhancing communication and connection, she is a published writer, experienced mediator, and passionate life-long learner.  Her strategic focus and belief in the ability of people to learn, grow, and change fuels and informs her coaching practice.  Holly lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Paul.

Business Articles

• The Changing Role of HR, Talent Development (January 2019)

Shannon brings 20 years of progressive HR experience to the HR-AA team. Originally rooted in Talent Acquisition, she supported and led recruiting operations for both private and public corporations during times of significant growth. Her knowledge and interest then drove her into HR Operations, focusing on process improvement, automation and the effective management of benefits and payroll.  As a project manager, she has led HRIS and payroll system integrations for 4 different companies.  Shannon has strategically managed HR operations for Jack Morton Worldwide and AAA Life Insurance and Revere Plastics.

A proven partner to executive leadership, Shannon has also led HR teams through multiple M&A challenges including the divestiture of key business units and the collective bargaining process in the US and Canada. Her work with executive teams includes coaching, authoring annual communication plans, speech writing, and the creation of strategic annual plans for the HR discipline.

Shannon holds a BA in Psychology from Taylor University and studied with honors at the graduate level in the MA in Professional Psychology program at Geneva College.  She is an experienced facilitator of the Gallup strength-based assessments and has multiple training certificates from the American Society of Employers.

Sarah Smolarek brings more than 10 years of human resources, program management, and paralegal experience to HR/AA. Her background includes experience across the full lifecycle of HR Administration, including but not limited to FMLA and leave administration, performance management, labor and employee relation issues, payroll, immigration, workers compensation, and conflict resolution. Sarah has a demonstrated history of establishing trusted client relationships and offering detailed, impactful guidance tailored to meet an organization’s evolving needs.

Prior to joining HR Advantage Advisory, Sarah worked as a Senior HR Specialist for a large organization that managed employee/vendor contracts with various entities within the Allegheny County Government. Sarah has a proven track record of working across highly matrixed organizations and building dedicated, effective teams.

Sarah holds a B.A. in Political Science from Mercyhurst University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She is also certified as a Senior Certified Professional through the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM-SCP).