C-Suite Conversation: Kate O'Brien - Founder, O'Brien Consulting

Anchoring Employees to Company Strategy and Vision

Recently we shared a zoom screen with Kate O’Brien, founder of O’Brien HR Consulting. With decades of HR experience, she shared some guidance on how principled HR strategies and help stable a workforce in times of unease.

She notes that amid widespread uncertainty, HR’s most powerful role is anchoring employees to company strategy to create clarity and focus. For example, with a fast-growing health tech startup, she implemented a “strategy map,” transparent compensation practices, and quarterly development conversations—reducing turnover and boosting engagement by helping employees feel calm, connected, and purposeful.

O’Brien brings a unique blend of business strategy and human behavior to her work. Beginning her career in management consulting, she helped organizations turn strategy into action before moving into HR at the Broad Institute, where she built the people analytics function and led organizational development and change initiatives. With degrees from Cornell and William James College, O’Brien focuses on helping leaders align people and purpose.

O’Brien also works with clients to address “collaborative overload,” helping teams find focus amid chaos. Her approach reminds organizations that clarity and connection, not perks or bonuses, are the true anchors that steady people through uncertainty.