Operators.
Not Observers.
THE DIFFERENCE
We've been in your seat. We know what the uncertainty feels like, what the pressure does to decision-making, and what it takes to get the people side right when everything is moving fast.
Scott Gardiner
Founder & CEO · CHRO · CPO
"I didn't start in HR. I started at Toyota. I worked with a CHRO who wanted a businessperson to help tear down the tradition HR function and build it back better. That experience has defined how I approach human capital ever since."
When Scott first came to Toyota, in the MBA Rotational Program, he worked on next-generation Lexus vehicle strategy and helped launch ToyotaFinancialServices.com before being recruited by the CHRO to rebuild HR for North America — not because he was an HR expert, but because he wasn't.
What followed was a career built at the intersection of business, deals, transformation, and the people strategy.
Scott's background includes Mercer, Cognizant, Bank of America, MUFG, and Toyota — consulting rigor with an operator's lens. Industry experience spans banking, technology, software, advisory, transportation, and oil & gas.
100+
M&A Transactions
$55B+
Deal Value
5+
HR Function Builds & Redesigns
25+
Years Experience
What Sets Us Apart
Traditional Advisory
Is a Dinosaur
We are not a bloated team of generalist. We are seasoned operators with both corporate and advisory experience - showing up with real expertise, not buzzwords, and partnering like we are on the team.
We build, not just advise
We've stood up HR functions, led integrations, and driven restructurings ourselves. The advice comes from having done the work, not from observing it.
The playbook is industry agnostic
100+ transactions across industries taught us that the people challenges in a deal are largely industry-agnostic. We bring a proven framework and adapt it — not a blank sheet and good intentions.
No junior teams & no hidden agendas
Senior expertise. Direct engagement. Practical outcomes at a fraction of the cost of a large firm that sends its least experienced people to do the work.