Melisa Guerbi — Fractional CPO services
Fractional Chief People Officer (CPO) — people strategy, engineered.
A fractional CPO — sometimes called a fractional CHRO — gives you senior people leadership on a part-time cadence: the judgment of a twenty-year Chief People Officer, scoped to what your stage actually needs. My version comes with systems, analytics, and AI governance built in from day one. Every program is designed to be measured, handed off, and defended in P&L terms — not in engagement-survey sentiment.
What you get.
Senior leadership without the full-time cost
Twenty-plus years of CPO experience in your exec meetings and on your hard calls — scoped to the hours you actually need.
Systems designed to be handed off
Every program is built to be inherited: documented, instrumented, and ready for your first in-house people hire.
Every program with an ROI case
Talent decisions tied to P&L outcomes — turnover cost, hiring efficiency, retention value — not engagement-survey sentiment.
$4.7M+
EBITDA improvement
$100M+
Pipeline supported
90%
M&A talent retention
35%
Turnover reduction
Questions, answered.
What does a fractional CPO do?
Everything a full-time Chief People Officer does — comp architecture, hiring systems, performance cadence, leadership coaching, M&A people work — on a part-time cadence matched to your stage. The difference is focus: a fractional CPO builds the systems and makes the decisions that matter most, rather than absorbing daily operational work. You get senior judgment and accountability, without the full-time executive cost.
Fractional CPO vs. HR consultant?
A consultant advises and leaves a deck. I own outcomes on an executive cadence — sitting in your leadership meetings, making the calls, and being measured on the results. The deliverable is a working people system and a number that moved, not a set of recommendations.
How many hours per week?
Typically one to two days equivalent per week, scoped per stage or per deal. Early-stage builds and post-close integrations run heavier for a quarter, then taper as the system takes over. We agree the cadence up front, and you always know what you're paying for.
When should we hire full-time instead?
Honestly: around 150+ people, or when people work becomes daily-operational — constant hiring, employee relations, and manager support that needs someone in the building every day. When you reach that point, the system should be ready to hand off, and I'll help you recruit and onboard the full-time hire who inherits it.
The next conversation
Let's talk about what your people data isn't telling you.
Thirty minutes. Bring your hardest people problem — I'll bring a way to measure it.