Peoplyst (formerly Mercury)

Head of Business Development

Lawrence Business Partners

Founder

2020 Companies

Vice President Of Business Development

Mosaic Sales Solutions

Director of Business Development

Helping Companies Thrive by Empowering and Optimizing Their People and Processes

As the Head of Business Development at Peoplyst (www.peoplyst.com), I empower people-first companies to create aligned and engaged workforces. With over 20 years of leadership experience in business development, client services, and consulting, I deliver customized, scalable solutions that transform workplace culture and performance.

My expertise lies in:

- Identifying and Solving Complex Business Challenges: Bringing clarity and actionable strategies to multifaceted issues.
- Building and Maintaining Strategic Partnerships: Fostering long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
- Mentoring and Coaching Teams: Developing talent and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
- Effective Presentations and Negotiations: Communicating ideas clearly and driving successful outcomes.

Tony Lawrence

Peoplyst

As CEO of Peoplyst, I lead the company’s vision, strategy, and operations, ensuring we deliver high-impact solutions in hiring, leadership, workforce training, HR technology, and business growth. I manage our team, drive business development, and work directly with companies to help them build stronger, more engaged workforces.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Company Strategy & Leadership – Setting Peoplyst’s vision, growing the business, and leading a high-performance team.

Talent Acquisition & Hiring Solutions – Helping businesses attract, hire, and retain top talent through optimized recruitment and workforce planning.

Leadership & Workforce Training – Leading Peoplyst in delivering scalable leadership development and workforce performance programs that improve engagement and retention.

HR Compliance & Technology – Advising companies on HR tech selection, implementation, and compliance strategies to streamline workforce operations.

Business Growth & Change Management – Helping organizations scale effectively by aligning leadership, workforce strategy, and culture with long-term goals.

Client Partnerships – Working directly with business owners and HR leaders to develop customized people strategies that drive measurable results.

Author & Speaker | Workforce Strategy & Leadership

Beyond Peoplyst, I am an author and keynote speaker, sharing insights on hiring, leadership, and workforce strategy. My book, The Vanguard Edge, provides a framework for building high-performing teams, and I speak at conferences and leadership summits on solving workforce challenges and creating people-first cultures.

Through Peoplyst and my thought leadership, I help businesses turn people problems into competitive advantages, ensuring they build stronger teams, improve engagement, and optimize performance.

Chief Executive Officer

Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching

As a Marshall Goldsmith Certified Executive Coach, I work with senior leaders, executives, and business owners to enhance leadership effectiveness, strengthen executive presence, and drive measurable improvement. Using the Stakeholder Centered Coaching model, I help leaders develop key behaviors that improve performance, engagement, and team dynamics—without taking valuable time away from their day-to-day responsibilities.

Proven, Measurable Leadership Coaching

Guaranteed & Measurable Results – 95% of leaders using this method show documented leadership improvement, based on direct stakeholder feedback.

Leadership Growth Without Disruption – Coaching integrates seamlessly into a leader’s workflow, ensuring growth happens on the job, in real time.

Behavior-Based Leadership Development – Focuses on accountability, feedback-driven improvement, and sustained behavioral change.

Stakeholder Involvement – Engages key team members in the coaching process to create lasting cultural impact and team-wide improvement.

Global Leadership Insights – Certified to deliver the Global Leader of the Future 360 Evaluation, a premier assessment tool used to identify high-impact leadership strengths and growth areas.

I have coached executives, senior leaders, and high-potential professionals across industries, helping them drive business results, improve leadership effectiveness, and build high-performing teams.

This proven coaching system is designed for successful leaders who want to be even more successful—leveraging direct feedback, structured accountability, and strategic coaching to ensure measurable growth.

Executive Coach

American Challenger Development Corporation

As the Chief People Officer for Bank Cache, a startup bank, I was responsible for designing and implementing the entire HR function from the ground up, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and aligning workforce strategy with the bank’s business goals.

Built HR From the Ground Up – Designed and launched all HR functions, including talent acquisition, workforce planning, compensation, benefits, compliance, employee relations, and training.

Hired the Team – Led full-cycle recruiting, hiring all employees across multiple departments.

Developed Compensation & Benefits Strategy – Created competitive salary structures, pay plans, and benefits programs to attract and retain top talent.

Established HR Compliance & Policies – Built HR governance frameworks aligned with banking industry regulations and labor laws.

Implemented HR Technology & Systems – Integrated HRIS, payroll, learning management, and benefits administration platforms for streamlined workforce operations.

Led Workforce Transition & Closure – Managed the wind-down process, ensuring compliance, employee offboarding, and operational wrap-up as the last employee.

This experience reinforced my ability to build scalable HR functions, develop compensation strategies, hire top talent, and navigate complex business transitions—expertise I continue to bring to organizations today.

Chief People Officer

Acosta

Led global HR operations, talent acquisition, payroll, HR technology, and learning & performance systems for a workforce of 30,000 employees across multiple countries. Designed and executed workforce strategies that improved hiring efficiency, HR service delivery, employee engagement, and global HR technology integration.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Global Talent Acquisition Strategy – Led hiring for 25,000+ roles annually across domestic and international markets, ensuring alignment with long-term business objectives.

HR Technology & Process Optimization – Launched a new human capital management system that unified multiple subsidiaries and countries onto a single, scalable platform.

Cost Savings & Efficiency Gains – Reduced cost per hire by 22% by streamlining talent acquisition roles and processes in partnership with internal and external stakeholders.

Learning & Development Systems Transformation – Harmonized three learning management systems into one common platform, leading the selection process, learning consulting, and change management.

HR Operations & Employee Experience – Improved HR Call Center and Help Desk outcomes, reducing cost to serve by 18% while enhancing employee support across multiple locations.

Employee Engagement & Workforce Insights – Administered an employee engagement survey for 30,000+ employees, leading post-survey action planning and execution.

This role strengthened my expertise in global workforce strategy, talent acquisition, HR technology implementation, employee experience optimization, and operational efficiency, ensuring scalable and measurable HR solutions for enterprise-level organizations.

SVP, Head of HR Operations & Talent Acquisition

Led HR operations, payroll, and employee service functions for a global workforce, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and improved employee experience. Partnered with key stakeholders to enhance HR service delivery, workforce communications, and performance management across multiple countries.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Global Payroll Leadership – Managed a global payroll team processing nearly 1 million paychecks annually across five countries, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and efficiency.

HR Technology & Employee Communications – Implemented new digital platforms to improve how employees access HR information, creating a more responsive and accessible HR experience.

Performance Management & Leadership Development – Redesigned and launched a new performance management process focused on continuous employee engagement, succession planning, and coaching to develop top talent.

This role deepened my expertise in HR service delivery, payroll management, workforce communication, and performance optimization, ensuring a scalable and technology-driven approach to HR operations.

VP, Head of HR Operations and Services

EverBank

Led the transformation of talent strategy, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness for a workforce of 4,000+ employees across multiple U.S. locations. Oversaw the Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and Organizational Development functions, ensuring alignment with business strategy and workforce needs.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Leadership & Manager Development – Built programs to strengthen executive, managerial, and emerging leader capabilities, driving business performance.

Talent Acquisition Optimization – Reduced cost per hire by 42% ($1.5M savings in 18 months) by coaching the Talent Acquisition team and refining hiring processes.

Hiring Process Improvement – Decreased time to fill by 26% and candidate days in process by 28% through recruiter cross-training and hiring manager coaching.

Employee Engagement & Culture – Achieved 91% participation rate in a new annual employee engagement survey, driving actionable workforce insights.

Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives – Led D&I efforts in leadership training, hiring strategies, community outreach, and employee communications.

Workforce Communication & Engagement – Launched internal communication initiatives, including newsletters, electronic handbooks, site posters, and digital messaging via internal TV networks.

This role strengthened my expertise in leadership development, talent acquisition strategy, employee engagement, culture transformation, and organizational effectiveness, ensuring companies build high-performing, engaged, and diverse teams.

VP, Head of Talent and Organizational Development

Led the enterprise-wide learning and development strategy, ensuring leadership readiness, workforce capability building, and organizational effectiveness. Designed and implemented high-impact management training, risk assessment education, and customer experience development programs that drove measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Leadership & Management Training – Designed and launched the Foundations of Management Program, a 13-course voluntary leadership development program that increased promotion rates and improved performance scores across the organization.

Enterprise Risk Training – Developed and delivered Risk Control Self-Assessment training for all risk control owners, including executive team members, ensuring compliance and proactive risk management.

Customer Experience & Service Training – Designed and delivered client focus training for the Mortgage Servicing team, leading to significant, sustained increases in net promoter scores (NPS) and customer satisfaction.

This role strengthened my expertise in leadership development, workforce training, risk management education, and customer experience transformation, ensuring employees at all levels were equipped to lead, manage risk, and enhance client interactions.

VP, Head of Learning & Organizational Development

Wells Fargo

Advised and coached managers on human performance improvement (HPI/HPT methodologies) to address performance gaps, enhance team effectiveness, and resolve workplace challenges. Partnered with leaders to develop structured interventions, coaching strategies, and performance management solutions that drove measurable workforce improvements.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Manager Coaching & Performance Strategy – Counseled leaders on identifying and addressing employee performance gaps, ensuring successful outcomes through structured coaching and corrective action plans.

Human Performance Improvement (HPI/HPT) – Applied proven methodologies to analyze performance barriers, design targeted interventions, and enhance individual and team productivity.

Conflict Resolution & Behavioral Coaching – Guided managers in handling sensitive workplace issues, including behavioral concerns, team conflicts, and engagement challenges, ensuring alignment with company values and HR policies.

This role strengthened my expertise in performance consulting, leadership coaching, workplace conflict resolution, and human performance improvement strategies, helping organizations build more engaged, high-performing teams.

VP, Performance Consultant

JPMorgan Chase - Learning and Performance Solutions

Led and managed a team of 75 HR and learning professionals across the U.S., overseeing the planning, execution, and evaluation of learning programs for 14,000+ employees in Mortgage Banking Borrower Assistance. Ensured training initiatives were delivered on time, at scale, and in alignment with compliance and business needs while applying change management strategies to enhance adoption and effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Enterprise Learning Strategy & Execution – Delivered 350,000+ learner hours and developed 500 unique courses for 14,000+ employees in just five months.

Regulatory Compliance Training – Designed and implemented 270+ training deliverables to meet OCC Consent Order requirements within 120 days.

Stakeholder Collaboration – Partnered with Policy & Procedure, Legal, Compliance, and Business teams to improve training consistency and client satisfaction.

Curriculum Development & Continuous Improvement – Evaluated training effectiveness, implemented enhancements, and created reusable learning solutions that aligned with evolving business needs.

Change Management & Large-Scale Learning Initiatives – Applied structured change management practices to ensure seamless training execution and organizational readiness.

This role strengthened my expertise in corporate learning strategy, compliance training, large-scale training delivery, and organizational change management, ensuring training programs were efficient, scalable, and business-aligned.

Vice President, Training Director

Led a team of 35 instructional designers across the U.S., overseeing the design, development, and implementation of mortgage banking training materials. Focused on enhancing learning effectiveness, developing leadership talent, and optimizing instructional design processes to support enterprise-wide training initiatives.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Instructional Design Leadership – Managed a team responsible for creating and delivering mortgage banking training programs, ensuring alignment with business goals and compliance requirements.

Mentorship & Leadership Development – Identified and developed high-potential instructional designers, resulting in three internal promotions into supervisory and management roles.

Training Content Optimization – Ensured the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of training materials to drive learner engagement and retention.

This role strengthened my expertise in instructional design leadership, talent development, mortgage banking training, and workforce learning strategy, ensuring scalable and high-impact learning solutions.

AVP, Training & Instructional Design Manager

Unison Industries / GE Aviation

Designed and developed education and training materials for diverse audiences, ensuring effective knowledge transfer and skill development. Worked across all stages of technical content development, supporting enterprise training initiatives through instructional design best practices and innovative learning solutions.

Key Responsibilities & Impact:

Instructional Design & Content Development – Created technical training materials across multiple learning formats, ensuring clarity, effectiveness, and alignment with business needs.

Template & Learning Framework Development – Assisted in designing standardized instructional templates and elements to enhance consistency across training materials.

Multi-Modal Learning Design – Developed content for various delivery modes, including instructor-led training (ILT), eLearning, and blended learning solutions.

This role strengthened my expertise in technical training design, instructional content development, and learning framework standardization, ensuring training programs were scalable, structured, and impactful.

Instructional Design Consultant

I help businesses solve people problems.

Solving People Problems. Driving Business Success.

At Peoplyst, we help businesses solve workforce challenges with solutions that get it done - and keep it done. Whether it's hiring, leadership, compliance, or organizational change, we create and implement strategies that improve performance and simplify people operations.

With decades of experience in talent acquisition, workforce strategy, leadership development, and HR technology, I’ve helped companies from startups to Fortune 50 firms build stronger teams, improve engagement, and scale effectively.

Where Companies Struggle (And How We Fix It)

Talent & Hiring
Finding and keeping the right people shouldn’t be a struggle. We help businesses align hiring with growth, improve candidate experience, and optimize onboarding to retain top talent.

Workforce Performance
A high-performing team isn’t built by chance—it’s built with strategy. We create engagement, leadership, and accountability systems that turn employees into a company’s greatest asset.

HR Compliance & Technology
HR should work for you, not against you. We streamline operations, implement the right HR tech, and ensure compliance so businesses reduce risk and stay efficient.

Change & Growth Strategy
Growth is good—when it’s managed well. We help companies navigate transitions, scale effectively, and align leadership and culture with their long-term vision.
If your people aren’t thriving, your business isn’t either. Let’s fix that.

Message me to discuss how Peoplyst can help.

Want free content on People Problem topics? Click the Connect or Follow button.

Want more free content? Visit our Blog at https://peoplyst.com/blogs/

Had enough pain and want to discuss making your People Problems disappear?
Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/bryan-howard-mpg/fix-your-people-problem

Bryan Howard

"We can't afford to give raises," the division leader said.

"But we're hiring aggressively."

I was reviewing their Q3 budget.

"What's the average raise request you've denied?" I asked.

"About 15-20%."

"And what are you paying new hires?"

"Market rate. Usually 30% more than internal folks."

"So you won't pay someone 15% more to stay,
but you'll pay someone else 30% more to start?"

He shifted. "That's different."

"What about Jennifer?" I asked.
"She asked for 18K more. 
You said no. She left. 
You just hired her replacement."

"Yeah. Took three months to fill."

"What did you pay the replacement?"

"85K."

"Jennifer was making 62K. Asked for 80K."

"Right."

"So you saved 18K by saying no,
then spent 23K more to get someone new.
Plus signing bonus?"

"10K."

"What about lost productivity while they ramp up?"

"Maybe six months to get to Jennifer's level."

"That's another 30K in lost output.
Plus recruiting costs?"

He opened a spreadsheet.
"Recruiter was 17K. Training about 15K."

I wrote on his whiteboard:
- Salary increase: 33K
- Signing bonus: 10K  
- Lost productivity: 30K
- Recruiter fee: 17K
- Training costs: 15K
Total: 105K

"You spent 105K to avoid paying 18K."

He stared at the board.

"How many Jennifers did you lose this year?"

"Twelve."

"So you burned 1.2 million
to save maybe 200K in raises."

A few months later, he called.

"I just approved every raise request in the queue."

"All of them?"

"Cost me 340K.
Would have cost me 2 million in replacements."

"How'd your team react?"

"Shocked. Then productive.
We're hitting numbers we haven't seen in years."

Here's the truth about retention economics:

Companies will spend a dollar to save a dime.
Then spend ten dollars to fix what broke.

We treat current employees like costs
and new employees like investments.

But retention isn't an expense.
It's the highest ROI investment you'll ever make.

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Solving People Problems | Recruiting, Leadership & Employee Development, HR Tech and Change Management

"Why does our top performer get the worst reviews?" the VP asked me.

I was reviewing their annual performance data.

"Show me," I said.

She pulled up the ratings.
Diana: 2.8 out of 5.
Below average on "collaboration."
Low marks for "team player."

"What's her actual performance?" I asked.

"Exceeded every target.
Landed our biggest client.
Trained three new hires."

"So why the low scores?"

"Her peer reviews are dragging her down."

I scanned the comments.
"Too direct."
"Challenges ideas too much."
"Not supportive enough."

"Let me talk to Diana," I said.

"I used to give honest feedback," Diana told me.
"Said our pricing model was broken.
Got dinged for 'negativity.'"

"What happened with the pricing?"

"They finally fixed it six months later.
After we lost two major accounts."

"What else?"

"I questioned why we needed 
eleven approvals for a simple contract change.
Manager said I wasn't being collaborative."

"Are you still giving feedback?"

"No. I learned my lesson.
Now I smile. Nod. Say everything's great.
My reviews are improving."

"But nothing's actually improving?"

"We're making the same mistakes.
Just with better vibes." She chuckled.

I went back to the VP.

"Your review system doesn't measure performance," I said.
"It measures compliance."

"That's not true."

"When was the last time someone
got promoted for challenging bad ideas?"

Silence.

"When did someone get rewarded for preventing a mistake?"

More silence.

"You've trained your best people to stay quiet.
And your mediocre people to stay nice."

A few months later, they redesigned the system.

Added a category: "Constructive Challenge."
Points for identifying problems early.
Rewards for preventing costly mistakes.

Diana got promoted.

"What changed?" I asked the VP.

"We stopped confusing agreement with alignment.
Stopped mistaking silence for harmony."

"And?"

"Turns out our 'difficult' people
were our most valuable.
They actually cared enough to speak up."

Here's the truth about performance reviews:

Most companies don't reward performance.
They reward performance theater.

The person who says the meeting was great
beats the person who says it wasted an hour.

The person who agrees with bad ideas
beats the person who prevents disasters.

You think you're measuring contribution.
You're measuring conformity.

And your best people?
They've already figured out the game.

They're just deciding whether to play it
or find somewhere that values truth over comfort.

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"We're losing too many good people," the CEO said.

We were at a leadership summit cocktail hour.
He'd approached me after my panel on retention.

"What do your exit interviews tell you?" I asked.

"HR does those. It's always the same."
He swirled his drink. "Better opportunities. Work-life balance."

"What do you do with that information?"

"HR makes recommendations. Sometimes we adjust."

"After they're gone?"

"Well, yes. That's when we know why they left."

"Who's at risk right now?" I asked.

"My CFO says Marcus in operations. 
Sarah in marketing. A few others.
All high performers."

"Have you talked to them?"

"That's HR's job."

"I'm asking if YOU talked to them?"

He looked puzzled. "About what?"

"About why they might leave."

"If they're unhappy, they'll tell us."

"Would they tell you?"

"My door's always open."

"When's the last time someone walked through it?"

He thought for a moment. "Fair point."

"Here's an idea," I said. 
"Have coffee with Marcus.
Assure him he's safe.
Then ask three questions:
What makes you stay with us?
What might make you leave?
What would you change if you could?"

"That's HR territory."

"No. That's leadership territory."

He looked skeptical. "And if he's honest?"

"Then you'll know what to fix
before HR schedules his exit interview."

A week later, he called me.

"I had coffee with Marcus," he said.

"And?"

"Twenty minutes. Changed everything.
He's been passed over twice for promotion.
Trained both people who got the jobs.
He doesn't want a promotion tomorrow.
He wants to know it's possible."

"What did you do?"

"We created a development path 
on a coffee ring stained napkin.
I laid out the next 18 months for him.
His whole demeanor changed."

"That's great! Now do the others."

"Already scheduled."

I saw him at another event a few months later.

"How's the retention?" I asked.

"Remember those flight risks?
Zero resignations.
Marcus is now managing a team.
Sarah restructured her whole department.
Turns out they didn't want to leave.
They wanted to be heard."

"And your exit interviews?"

"Down 60%. My head of HR is thrilled.
Wants to know what changed."

"You did," I said. "You stopped waiting
for HR and the goodbye to ask why."

He laughed. "She's implementing 
'stay interviews' for the company now."

"Good idea," I said. 
"Your leaders should ask the questions. Not HR."

He shook my hand.
"I'd like you to help us get it off the ground."

Here's the truth about retention:

Exit interviews are autopsies.
Stay interviews are preventive care.

Your employees know what will make them stay.
But they need to believe you actually want to know.

So the most powerful stay interview
is from the leader who actually has the power
to change what needs changing.

And if it isn't the leader asking,
it's just another survey in a drawer.

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