Brian Heger — Co-Founder

I help internal HR practitioners drive business results faster by simplifying complexity. I do this through my 1) Talent Edge Weekly newsletter (57K+ 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 57,000+ 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

Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic HR consultant specializing in talent management and workforce planning.

Location: New York City, New York, United States

Experience: 27 yrs 6 mos

Skills

Talent Strategy
Employee Experience Optimization
Talent Management
Strategic Workforce Planning
Leadership Development

Career Highlights

Founder of Talent Edge Weekly with 57K+ subscribers.
Led global workforce planning at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Expert in simplifying HR complexities for business impact.

Work Experience

Brian Heger HR Advisory Services LLC.

Founder (1 yr 4 mos)

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Head of Strategic Talent and Workforce Planning (7 yrs 4 mos)

Hudson's Bay Company (Saks Fifth Ave, Lord & Taylor, Hudson's Bay)

SVP, Talent Management, Learning, Change Management (3 yrs 2 mos)

Saks Fifth Avenue

(Multiple roles) - VP, Talent Management, Learning, Change Management (6 yrs 5 mos)

AT&T

(Multiple roles) - Associate Director, Talent Management (7 yrs 11 mos)

Honeywell

Human Resources and Industrial Psychology Graduate Intern (1 yr 4 mos)

Education

M.A. at Fairleigh Dickinson University

B.A. at Fairleigh Dickinson University

Brian Heger

Co-Founder

New York City, New York, United States27 yrs 6 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Founder of Talent Edge Weekly with 57K+ subscribers.
Led global workforce planning at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Expert in simplifying HR complexities for business impact.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic HR consultant specializing in talent management and workforce planning.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Talent StrategyEmployee Experience OptimizationTalent ManagementStrategic Workforce PlanningLeadership Development

Other Skills

newsletter creationcontent strategyaudience engagementcommunity buildingfacilitationnetworkingadvisory servicesstrategic consultingworkforce planningstrategic designlearning strategychange managementprogram designexecutive coachingperformance management

About

Experience

27 yrs 6 mos

Total Experience

5 yrs 2 mos

Average Tenure

1 yr 4 mos

Current Experience

Brian heger hr advisory services llc.

Founder

Jan 2025 – Present · 1 yr 4 mos · Greater New York City Area

I help internal HR practitioners deliver business value faster by simplifying complexity. I do this through: 1) My private community for internal HR practitioners—Talent Edge Circle (see my featured section), 2) My Talent Edge Weekly newsletter, which reaches 55,000+ HR practitioners each week (see featured section), 3) Open access content I share on brianheger.com, and 4) Select 1x1 advisory with HR practitioners who need a thought partner to help them translate ideas into business impact.

Bristol-myers squibb

Head of Strategic Talent and Workforce Planning

Sep 2017 – Jan 2025 · 7 yrs 4 mos · Greater New York City Area

Leads the global company-wide Center of Expertise responsible for the strategic design of workforce planning and talent management.

Hudson's bay company (saks fifth ave, lord & taylor, hudson's bay)

SVP, Talent Management, Learning, Change Management

Nov 2013 – Jan 2017 · 3 yrs 2 mos · Greater New York City Areasl

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.

Saks fifth avenue

(Multiple roles) - VP, Talent Management, Learning, Change Management

Jun 2007 – Nov 2013 · 6 yrs 5 mos · Greater New York City Area

"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.

At&t

(Multiple roles) - Associate Director, Talent Management

Jun 1999 – May 2007 · 7 yrs 11 mos · Bedminster, NJ

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.

Honeywell

Human Resources and Industrial Psychology Graduate Intern

Feb 1997 – Jun 1998 · 1 yr 4 mos · Morristown, NJ

Part of Honeywell's Human Resources Development Program. Supported Corporate HR on various company-wide initiatives, including Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work, implementation of Employee Assistance Program, etc. Awarded AlliedSignal's prestigious ACE Award for work on EAP.