Chief People Officer for sponsor-backed, acquisitive, and multi-site organizations.

Twenty-five years building people infrastructure for sponsor-backed, healthcare, and multi-site organizations, with two-time Interim COO experience. Led the people workstream for 25 acquisitions, retained 99 of about 100 designated leaders through year one, and governed payroll to $58M, benefits to $14M, and HR budgets to $3.2M. Reported to CEOs in five consecutive roles and presented workforce strategy to boards at three organizations. SPHR. Prosci. Master of Human Resources.

Email LinkedIn
Tedd Trabert, Chief People Officer
Executive scope

The scale and financial stewardship behind the results.

$58M

Payroll governed

$14M

Benefits programs governed

386

Employee platform built from inception, across 24 entities

25

Acquisitions integrated, people workstream owned

8,000+

Largest workforce supported, a 64-center health network

5

Consecutive roles reporting to the CEO

Leadership and governance: led HR teams of up to 11 people, managed HR operating budgets to $3.2M, and presented workforce strategy to boards at three organizations. Functions owned across roles include HR, talent acquisition, total rewards, benefits, payroll, HRIS, employee relations, and compliance, with M&A people integration and two-time Interim COO leadership across healthcare, sponsor-backed, and multi-site organizations.

Selected leadership results

Three mandates, with the exact responsibility and the measured outcome.

Venture-backed acquisition integration
2020 to 2025
Vice President, People & Success · Associated Veterinary Partners

Business need

A newly formed venture-backed veterinary platform was acquiring fragmented practices on 90-day cycles and needed a people function built from nothing that could scale with it and hold the leaders who made each practice worth buying.

What I owned

Joined as the first hire and built the people, talent acquisition, and M&A integration functions. Led a five-person people team, reporting to the CEO and Co-Founder. Owned HR diligence, Day 1 readiness, organizational design, and payroll and benefits conversion on every deal, and built the HR technology, payroll, and enterprise-risk infrastructure across all 24 legal entities.

How the integration ran

Pre-close people and organizational diligence, then Day 1 readiness, organizational design, and payroll and benefits conversion on a 90-day cycle for each deal, followed by a retention and performance review on every acquired leadership group.

Measured result

  • Platform scaled to 386 employees across 24 legal entities through 25 acquisitions.
  • Retained 99 of approximately 100 designated leaders through year one, and more than 90 through year two.
  • Cut annual healthcare spend from $1.02M to $650K, a 36% reduction, through market rebidding and tiered plan design, with no cost shift to employees.
  • Governed a $1.5M benefits program and $250K talent budget across the platform.
Healthcare culture and succession turnaround
2008 to 2017
Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief of Staff · Health Choice Network

Business need

A 64-center federally qualified health network supporting 8,000-plus employees and 950,000 patients needed stronger engagement, a real succession pipeline, and cost-disciplined benefits, delivered through a shared-services model.

What I owned

People strategy, succession, total rewards, and HR operations across the network, leading an 11-person HR team and presenting workforce strategy to the board quarterly. Governed $15M in corporate payroll, a $5M benefits program, and a $2.2M HR operating budget for the management services organization.

Measured result

  • Raised the engagement index from 65 to 82 in twelve months on the Studer Group survey, with more than 90% participation.
  • Increased internal promotions 27% in twelve months through the GROW MENTOR EXPLORE succession framework, developing 50-plus leaders.
  • Held healthcare renewals to single-digit increases for nine consecutive years, and raised the merit budget from 3% to 4% funded through salary administration and vacancy savings.
  • Led the organizational design and executive recruiting for the launch of Florida's third-largest Medicaid health plan and an ACO serving 16,000-plus seniors.
Total Rewards and HR-platform transformation
2017 to present
Director / Executive Director / VP, People · Cordell & Cordell · Major Brands · Just Glo Network

Business need

Across a 700-employee national law firm, a $200M distributor, and a national nurse-provider network, each organization needed compensation, benefits, and HR systems rebuilt to compete for talent while holding cost.

What I owned

Compensation philosophy, benefits strategy, and the HR technology stack, including broker and vendor negotiations, plan design, PEO strategy, and payroll and HRIS transformation across Workday, UKG Pro, and ADP.

Measured result

  • Repositioned pay from the 50th to the 65th market percentile across 50-plus markets, a $1.8M investment phased over 18 months, closing pay-equity gaps, and cut attorney time-to-fill from six months to under 60 days. Cordell & Cordell
  • Governed $58M in payroll, a $14M self-insured benefits program, and a $3.2M HR operating budget. Cordell & Cordell
  • Cut voluntary turnover more than 20% in twelve months through a Total Rewards redesign, and aligned rewards across three collective bargaining units covering about 250 employees. Major Brands
  • Built the HR function from the ground up and launched a 401(k) program, onboarding 300 nurse providers in 90 days. Just Glo Network
Leadership approach

How I operate, in plain terms.

01

Workforce and business strategy, built together

People planning belongs in the room where the business plan is made, not bolted on afterward. That is where headcount, cost, and capability decisions actually get made well.

02

Retain and develop the right leaders

The goal after an acquisition or a reorganization is not to keep everyone. It is to identify the leaders who carry the relationships, knowledge, and standards, and to keep those.

03

Scalable systems without bureaucracy

One HRIS, one set of pay bands, one benefits architecture across many entities lowers cost and raises equity. The discipline is adding structure without adding drag.

04

Financial discipline on workforce investment

Compensation, benefits, and recruiting are real money. Every change should carry a clear economic case, and the outcome should be measured the same way any other investment is.

Career

Twenty-five years across healthcare, sponsor-backed, retail, and professional services.

2025 to present
Vice President, Total Rewards
JUST GLO NETWORK · REMOTE · NATIONAL NURSE-PROVIDER NETWORK
  • Recruited by the CEO to lead enterprise HR transformation; leads a three-person team and delivers quarterly strategy to the owner.
  • Built the HR function from the ground up, launched a 401(k) program, and led the plan to onboard 300 nurse providers in 90 days.
2020 to 2025
Vice President, People & Success
ASSOCIATED VETERINARY PARTNERS · REMOTE / ST. LOUIS, MO
  • Joined a newly formed venture-backed platform as the first hire, led a five-person team reporting to the CEO and Co-Founder, and built the people function as it scaled to 386 employees across 24 entities.
  • Led the people workstream for all 25 acquisitions and governed a $1.5M benefits program and $250K talent budget. Departed when the role relocated to New Jersey with no remote option.
2019 to 2020
Executive Director, People & Engagement · Interim COO
MAJOR BRANDS · ST. LOUIS, MO · $200M DISTRIBUTOR, 800+ EMPLOYEES
  • Top people executive across three regions, leading a five-person HR team; cut voluntary turnover more than 20% in twelve months through a Total Rewards redesign.
  • As Interim COO, delivered an enterprise SAP three-day production cutover on schedule with no material disruption.
2017 to 2019
Director of People & Culture · Interim COO
CORDELL & CORDELL · ST. LOUIS, MO · 700 EMPLOYEES, 112 OFFICES, 39 STATES AND LONDON
  • Led a nine-person HR team and governed $58M in payroll, a $14M self-insured benefits program, a $3.2M HR operating budget, and $1.5M in annual recruiting spend.
  • Cut attorney time-to-fill from six months to under 60 days through a redesigned employee-ambassador recruiting model.
2008 to 2017
Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief of Staff
HEALTH CHOICE NETWORK · MIAMI, FL · 64-CENTER NETWORK, 8,000+ EMPLOYEES
  • Led an 11-person HR team through a shared-services model and presented workforce strategy to the board quarterly.
  • Raised the engagement index from 65 to 82 and lifted internal promotions 27% in twelve months, and held healthcare renewals to single digits for nine consecutive years.
1997 to 2007
Earlier HR Leadership
FMC / JETWAY · THE HOME DEPOT · CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
  • FMC / Jetway: led HR for 5,000-plus employees across 25 airport operations in the US and Jamaica, building the full people infrastructure for the Jamaica startup.
  • The Home Depot: led regional HR for 30,000-plus associates, developed 156 HR professionals, and earned the Marcus Award twice.
Credentials

Education, certifications, and board service.

Education & certifications

Master of Human Resources
La Roche College · Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining
B.A. Industrial Psychology
Saint Vincent College · Latrobe, PA
Certifications
SPHR · HRCI Prosci Change Management Practitioner

Board service & recognition

Current board service
Circus Flora · Missouri Historical Society
Former board service
SHRM St. Louis · Saint Louis Ballet · COCA
Recognition
Apogee Award, 2014 · Executive Leadership Excellence, 2014 · HR Distinguished Leader, 2016
Tedd Trabert
Contact

Exploring Chief People Officer opportunities with sponsor-backed, healthcare, and multi-site organizations entering their next stage of growth.

Email Tedd LinkedIn (954) 881-1528