New York City Metropolitan Area
I help internal HR practitioners drive business results faster by simplifying complexity. I do this through my 1) Talent Edge Weekly newsletter (58K+ subscribers), 2) my private community, Talent Edge Circle, and 3) BrianHeger.com I've spent the majority of my career as an internal HR practitioner—working within an organization's HR function— with experience across roles ranging from Talent Management, Strategic Workforce Planning, Learning & Development, Talent Acquisition, and HR Business Partner. I’ve worked across industries—including pharma, retail, and telecommunications—with organizations such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Hudson’s Bay Company/Saks Fifth Avenue, and AT&T. Because my entire career has been working across HR functions as an internal HR practitioner, I understand the realities, pressures, and constraints HR practitioners face. I now leverage this experience to help internal HR practitioners simplify complexity so they can create business value faster. I do this by sharing practical ideas, tools, and resources through Talent Edge Weekly (read by 58,000+ HR professionals) and brianheger.com, fostering peer learning and problem-solving in Talent Edge Circle, my private community for internal HR practitioners, and serving as a strategic thought partner through 1:1 advisory partnerships with HR and Talent leaders. My work centers on helping organizations build practical, evidence-based talent strategies that improve performance, strengthen organizational capability, and drive competitive advantage. I believe clarity enables execution—and my passion is simplifying what is complex so leaders and teams can execute with confidence in the areas that drive the greatest stakeholder value and business impact. I've also shared my work in written articles and book chapters in publications such as SIOP's Professional Practices Books Series, the Organizational Development Journal, and People + Strategy. Expertise: | talent strategy | strategic workforce planning | talent management | talent assessment | workforce analytics| employee experience optimization | succession planning | performance management | leadership development | learning strategy | career experiences | high-potential and executive development
I help HR practitioners deliver business value faster by simplifying complexity. I do this through: 1 Talent Edge Weekly, my newsletter with 58,000+ direct subscribers, 2) Talent Edge Circle, my private community of internal HR practitioners, 3) BrianHeger.com, my open access website
Leads the global company-wide Center of Expertise responsible for the strategic design of workforce planning and talent management.
Promoted at the time of Hudson's Bay Company's acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue. Responsible for leading Talent Management, Learning and Change Management Center of Excellence for the new company (Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Outlets, Hudson’s Bay, Home Outfitters) representing 44k employees. Led team of talent, learning, and change management professionals across the US and Canada. Team was charged with providing strategic consultation, thought leadership, program/ process design and implementation across the 3 aforementioned areas.
"Brian is a terrific organizational executive. He was able to transform the Saks leadership and talent management programs and tailor them to our specific needs. He was well respected within the organization and I found him pleasure to work with. As CEO, leadership development was a passion of mine and Brian did a great job of serving my needs." Steve Sadove, Chairman/CEO Saks Fifth Avenue VP TALENT MANAGEMENT, LEARNING, CHANGE MANAGEMENT (2010 - 2013) - PROMOTION Expanded Talent Management responsibilities to include ownership of Saks's Learning organization. Responsibilities ranged from technical/functional and leadership training, Saks University online campus, career paths, learning strategy, on boarding, executive coaching, etc. Also, assumed ownership of newly formed Change Management function charged with developing organization-wide change management capabilities. Primary change management focus was to support Saks' $100+ million technological investment in Omni-channel. SENIOR DIRECTOR TALENT MANAGEMENT AND ACQUISITION (2008-2010) - PROMOTION Expanded talent management responsibilities to include talent acquisition and recruiting for the company enterprise--with the primary focus on building the talent acquisition staff, establishing core recruiting processes, introducing new selection tool for sales associate position, overseeing the implementation of new Applicant Tracking System, building the company's employment value proposition, and implementing new career website, etc. DIRECTOR TALENT MANAGEMENT (2007-2008) Hired to build Saks Fifth Avenue's talent management Center of Excellence Created all key talent management philosophies, processes and programs such as talent review process and assessment tools, new performance appraisal system, leadership development for high potentials, 360 assessment, career pathing, etc. Led RFP for selection and implementation of new TalentManagement Technology platform.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR TALENT MANAGEMENT - (2004 - 2007) - PROMOTION Promoted to lead the company-wide Talent Management Center of Excellence with responsibility for executive staffing, talent reviews & succession, performance management, employee engagement surveys, workforce planning, career roadmaps, success profiles for critical positions, etc. Supported a company population of 62,000 employees. STRATEGIC HR INITIATIVES LEADER - (2002-2004) Served as the liaison between the company-wide HR Talent Centers of Excellence and the HR Business Partners to ensure effective execution of company-wide talent INITIATIVES (e.g employee engagement survey, etc. ), PROCESSES (e.g. talent reviews, performance management, etc.), and PROGRAMS (e.g. high potential leadership programs, etc. ) HR BUSINESS PARTNER- (2000-2002) - PROMOTION Promoted to provide HR business partner support to four client organizations (M&A, Treasury, Tax, International Finance) in all aspects of HR. HR DATA ANALYST- (1999-2000) Gathered and interpreted various workforce analytics related to: diversity and staffing trends, turnover/retention reporting, employee trend survey analysis, workforce planning, etc.