David Patrick, CCP
I Protect Enterprise Value by De-Risking Talent, Compliance, and Succession | Fractional CHRO | PE Portfolio Companies | 100-300 Employees
About
Most companies outgrow their people systems long before they realize it. And by then, the damage is done. Hiring slows, top performers leave, succession feels like Russian roulette, and you're still the one untangling compensation and retention fires.
Sound familiar? You're not alone.
I built 6 frameworks to fix these problems—systematically and measurably.
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THE FRAMEWORKS:
🧭 COMPASS Framework™ - Career & Compensation Architecture
→ Reduces pay-related turnover 30%+
→ Typical Savings: $500k - $1.2M Year 1 for 200-person companies
🌉 BRIDGE Framework™ - Hiring & Internal Mobility
→ Cuts time-to-fill by 20%+
→ Reduces external backfills 30%-50% through internal mobility
⚓ HARBOR Framework™ - Leadership & Succession Planning
→ Eliminates single-point-of-failure risk
→ 70-90% succession readiness vs 10-20% before
📡 RADAR System™ - People Analytics for Operators
→ Replaces gut decisions with data
→ Replaces 10-15 hours/month of manual reporting
🔒 ANCHOR Framework™ - HR Infrastructure & Compliance
→ Eliminates $400K-$800K in compliance exposure
→ Prevents lawsuits, DOL audits, penalties that cost 2-5x your HR budget
🔄 MERGE Protocol™ - M&A Integration & Harmonization
→ Protects deal value, retains critical talent
→ Harmonizes systems in 90 days vs 6-12 months
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I'm David, a builder and systems thinker who's spent nearly 20 years leading people strategy inside multi-site and PE-backed companies. I don't write policies and disappear. I build people infrastructure that sticks and help leaders stop firefighting so they can scale.
My expertise spans across talent acquisition strategy, onboarding, total rewards (compensation/benefits), compliance, payroll, employee relations, talent management, and building HR/people strategy from the ground up.
What drives me is clarity. I turn people problems into structured systems: hiring that moves fast, compensation that makes sense, and leadership pipelines that de-risk the business.
Recent Wins:
* Cut time-to-fill by 20%+ through data-driving processes
* Designed compensation architecture that reduced attrition and equity risk
* Built succession heat maps that revealed and solved leadership gaps
* Launched internal first mobility programs that accelerated promotions and retention
* Supported PE-backed companies through restructures and incentive plan design
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If you're scaling and the people side is starting to break, you don't have to fix it alone.
Let's talk.
DM me "DIAGNOSTIC" to get started.
Or visit: bridgeandharboradvisory.com
Experience
Founder & Fractional HR Executive
Bridge & Harbor Advisory · Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2025 – Present(1 yr 4 mos)
Bridge & Harbor Advisory helps executives and investors turn people challenges into systems that protect enterprise value and unlock growth. We partner with PE-backed and multi-site companies that need stronger hiring, retention, succession, and compensation systems to match their growth trajectory. Our work combines career architecture, talent strategy, and pragmatic execution, enabling leaders to scale without bottlenecks or people risk. Core Services: ➢ Fractional CHRO & People Systems Leadership ➢ Job architecture & compensation alignment ➢ Hiring process optimization & internal mobility programs ➢ Succession planning & leadership calibration ➢ People analytics & KPI dashboards for operators Industries Served: ➣ Private Equity-backed portfolio companies ➣ Multi-site consumer & retail businesses ➣ Healthcare & professional services firms ➣ Industrial & manufacturing organizations ➣ Tech-enabled and SaaS companies scaling fast Client Wins: ➣ Reduced time-to-fill by 30% for a national services firm, cutting vacancy costs significantly ➣ Lifted internal promotion rates by building a clear job architecture and comp bands ➣ Operationalized quarterly succession reviews, reducing single-point-of-failure risk in critical roles ➣ Improved early retention by overhauling onboarding and manager enablement processes ➣ Created compensation structures tied to performance and market data, reducing attrition risk Not sure where to start? Book a call and we’ll do a No-Cost People Systems Check-Up. It’s a fast, founder-friendly way to see where hiring, retention, succession, or compensation gaps may be slowing growth — and get 2–3 fixes you can apply immediately. Seats are limited each month, so DM me today.
Fractional - HR Leadership Contract Support
Directional Capital · Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Aug 2025 – Dec 2025(5 mos)
Providing fractional and contract HR leadership for organizations navigating growth, transition, or change. Partnering with executives, boards, and business owners to design and deliver people strategies that enable performance and scale. Key Contributions: Leading HR strategy at the VP/CHRO level across private equity portfolio companies and growing organizations. Building and stabilizing HR functions, including recruiting, onboarding, payroll, compliance, and total rewards. Supporting leadership teams through workforce reductions, reorganizations, and change management initiatives. Serving as an advisor on people strategy, leadership development, and employee engagement. Providing flexible HR executive support while actively pursuing full-time VP/CHRO opportunities.
Vice President Human Resources
Directional Capital
2025 – Sep 2025(9 mos)
Set portfolio-wide HR strategy and stand up the function including org design, policies, and leadership cadence. Run day-to-day HR across multiple states (HRIS/payroll/timekeeping, benefits, leaves, employee relations, investigations, record keeping Talent management & org design: Workforce planning, onboarding/offboarding, manager enablement and partnering with Operations/Finance on structure and labor budgets. Own the compensation function, job architecture, market pricing, maintaining ranges/bands, incentive plan design and frameworks, pay equity reviews and governance.
Vice President Human Resources
The Aaron's Company, Inc.
Jul 2023 – Feb 2025(1 yr 8 mos)
Senior Director, Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, and Corporate HR
The Aaron's Company, Inc. · Atlanta Metropolitan Area
Mar 2022 – Jul 2023(1 yr 5 mos)
President, Aaron's Black Leadership Exchange (ABLE)
The Aaron's Company, Inc.
Apr 2021 – Jul 2023(2 yrs 4 mos)
Director Compensation
The Aaron's Company, Inc. · Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Jun 2020 – Mar 2022(1 yr 10 mos)
I work with business leaders across the organization to manage the overall planning and execution of the compensation life cycle at Aaron's. I provide both tactical and strategic support to ensure compensation programs are competitive, sustainable, and have a positive impact on company goals.
Manager Compensation
The Aaron's Company, Inc. · Greater Atlanta Area
Jul 2017 – Jun 2020(3 yrs)
I manage a team of compensation analysts and the day-to-day operations of the department and support the Vice President of Total Rewards in managing the salary planning and administration process. This includes developing, implementing and administering compensation programs to meet objectives and ensure competitive positioning and ensuring that company compensation programs are consistently administered in compliance with policies and government regulations.
Founder
The Milo Investment Group, LLC and MiloHaus.com · Atlanta, GA
Nov 2016 – Jul 2023(6 yrs 9 mos)
I put together lucrative real estate deals that provide safe and consistent profits for my investment partners to achieve a higher rate of return by providing them opportunities to partner in my short term rental arbitrage ventures.
Manager Compensation Operations
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta · Greater Atlanta Area
Jan 2015 – Jul 2017(2 yrs 7 mos)
I managed the day-to-day operations of the Compensation department including design, implementation, and administration of compensation programs to ensure internal equity, market competitiveness, financial prudence and regulatory compliance.
Compensation Consultant
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta · Greater Atlanta Area
Oct 2014 – Feb 2015(5 mos)
I partnered with the Compensation Director to develop compensation guidelines, policies, and practices, and to deliver innovative solutions and resolve complex compensation issues.
Manager, Human Resources
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta · Greater Atlanta Area
Sep 2012 – Oct 2014(2 yrs 2 mos)
I added value to the organization by providing prospective to business changes and evaluated business cases for impact to employees. I served as a business partner to leaders by advising on general human resources matters and providing cousel that positively affected business and reduced organizational liability.
Senior Compensation Analyst
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta · Greater Atlanta Area
Jul 2011 – Sep 2012(1 yr 3 mos)
I made my department leaders look good by supporting and participating in the development, implementation, and administration of Compensation Programs and serving as the project lead on research and analysis.
Compensation Analyst
Rollins, Inc. · Greater Atlanta Area
Apr 2008 – Jul 2011(3 yrs 4 mos)
I received my start in Human Resources Compensation and learned to research, collect, evaluate and analyze compensation data for decision-making purposes.
Executive Team Lead (Assistant Manager)
Target · Greater Atlanta Area
Nov 2007 – Apr 2008(6 mos)
I was the Assistant Store Manager for a $40M store. I was responsible for driving sales by overseeing the merchandising and guest service function of seven departments and managing floor leadership during the hours of operation.
Benefits Analyst
Hewitt Associates · Greater Atlanta Area
Jan 2007 – Nov 2007(11 mos)
This role was my first introduction to the world of Human Resources. I worked on an outsourced client team who administered benefits plan for a large department store organization with locations across the country. I learned how to read Summary Plan Descriptions and based on the information executed manual processes requiring plan knowledge and analysis and championed process improvements by identifying root causes of issues and I created solutions to streamline, automate, and standardized processes.
Education
Georgia State University
Bachelor's degree, Business Administration and Management
2000 – 2006
Expertise
Specialties
