People & Culture Consulting
Fractional People leadership for Seed through Series C startups
Bringing deep expertise in building high-performing, engaged and inclusive cultures.
About
High energy People leadership.
Amy Forrester partners with CEOs to get People right the first time, building exceptional, values-driven cultures. As a Chief People Officer with deep experience scaling mission-forward startups from seed through Series C, Amy brings strategic people leadership in the shape and size that's right for your company. She has seen around the corner and knows how and when to establish foundational philosophies that guide hundreds of hiring decisions.
Amy has been forged in the fire of dynamic hyper-growth startups, and understands how to navigate the hard stuff with humanity and transparency. Most importantly, Amy knows what to build when: which investments pay off at 20 people, which can wait until 100, and which problems you can avoid entirely with the right frameworks and systems of work. Her speciality is in supporting first-time founders and CEOs, particularly of mission-focused organizations.
Notable outcomes:
Services
Ritual People Practice
Advisory
Strategic thought partnership on all People and Culture related matters.
- •People strategy for scaling companies
- •Executive & People leader coaching
- •Codify philosophies and values
Consulting
Hands-on support and guidance on specific initiatives.
- •Culture & engagement diagnostics
- •Develop and roll out Values
- •Create internal communications plans and strategies
- •Develop programs including manager training, performance management
Embedded
An extension of your leadership team, guiding the People function.
- •Interim or fractional Chief People Officer
- •Support or uplevel existing People orgs
- •Bridge support leading exec search during critical transitions
Testimonials
What people are saying
“Amy and I partnered at firsthand for more than four years. She owned all of People, starting when we were fewer than 15 employees and continuing as we grew past 450. Through all of that growth, firsthand's employee engagement rate was always well above 80% - generally in the top 5% of comparable organizations. This was in large part thanks to the reinforcement of values, the creation of company-wide rituals, and the excellent training and recruiting operation Amy led. Anyone can build culture in the good times, but Amy led us to strengthen our culture in the difficult ones. If you view people as the foundation of your organization, and not just a function to be executed, Amy is your person.”
Samir Malik
Co-founder & CEO, firsthand Health
“Amy and I worked together at Compass, where she took on streamlining high-friction programs like performance management, while supporting heavy M&A integration during what was also a period of hyper organic growth. Amy brings calm and clarity to chaos, and works quickly through noise to deliver results. I'd recommend her without hesitation to anyone who needs a strong people leader who can operate independently when things are ambiguous and moving fast.”
Madan Nagaldinne
Partner, a16z
“Amy is one of the most talented, insightful, and thoughtful people leaders that I have ever worked with. I've known Amy for years, and when a fast-growing, mission-driven startup asked me to recommend an interim Head of People, I connected them to Amy without hesitation. The company was scaling fast with the People function still half-built. It was the kind of role where you show up and the ground is still being poured under your feet. It takes a specific person to walk into that: someone who can hold the ambiguity, take ownership early, and build the structure a fast-moving team needs before anyone's told them what it should look like. That work is uncomfortable, and most people avoid it. Amy runs toward it.”
Molly Graham
Host, TED's Work Life