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FAQ
Questions CEOs, boards and investors ask.
Straight answers about who we are, how we work, what each solution covers, and fractional and interim CPO support. Don't see yours? Ask us directly.
About Nathan
The person behind the work.
Who is Nathan Sheranian?
Nathan Sheranian is the founder and executive partner of Sheranian People Strategy and a people advisor to CEOs, based in Salt Lake City. He helps growth-stage and investor-backed companies get their people through big change: rapid growth, a deal, AI reshaping the org, or a first team in the US.
What experience does he bring?
Nathan has spent his career on the people side of big change at GE, Cisco, Freshworks and Connor Group. At Freshworks he was part of the IPO, including public-company readiness, work with investors and bankers, and listing compliance. He brings deep M&A experience across a long run of transactions and integrations, and knows what keeps key talent, revenue and culture intact when companies come together.
Has he worked internationally?
Yes. Nathan has lived and worked on three continents: in the US, in Hong Kong and across Africa. He also has deep experience with India, across multiple companies and projects. That experience shapes how he builds teams that work across cultures, and what he knows about helping an international company land well in the US.
What makes his approach different?
He treats culture as a business system, not a poster. Values only stick when hiring, leadership, recognition and measurement carry them, and when the leaders who run the business run those systems. Every recommendation answers one question: how does this move revenue, profit or performance, and how will we know?
Where does he work, and with whom?
Nathan is based in Salt Lake City and works with growth-stage and investor-backed companies wherever they are, usually with about 80 or more people, including international companies expanding into the US. He works directly with CEOs, leadership teams, boards and investors.
Working together
How an engagement starts, runs and ends.
How does an engagement usually start?
Most start with a diagnostic of about a month. We agree what a win looks like in business terms, set a baseline, and score where the people systems are real or still a poster. You get a one-page answer naming the constraint costing the business most and a plan to close it.
How long do engagements last?
After the diagnostic, most engagements run 6 to 12 months, tied to your growth plan or integration milestones. After that, you can move to ongoing advisory if you want it.
How do you measure success?
Before scope is written, we agree on one business number, a counterweight that must not break, and a date. Progress is tracked on one scoreboard, and at handoff we re-score against the week one baseline so you can see what moved.
How are fees set?
Fees are set by the outcome we agree with you, not by hours. Every proposal offers three options of rising scope, and each engagement has a set cadence, a quarterly outcome and a scope review every quarter.
Will you replace our HR team?
No. We set direction and advise; your people team builds and runs the systems, with a development plan for each person. Rebuilding is only on the table when the evidence calls for it.
How do you use AI?
AI is a tool in the kit, not the headline. It takes routine admin off people's plates and speeds up analysis. People set direction, review the output and own every decision.
Do you work with investors and boards?
Yes. Investors bring us in for portfolio companies after a fundraise or a deal, and we report to boards in their language: one page, one chart per point, and a decision at the end.
Solutions
What each solution covers. See all seven solutions.
When should we bring you in for change management?
Early, before the announcement, while the plan is still being shaped. That's when you can score the plan and people's ownership of it separately, test the change story, and get leaders ready to carry it. We stay through launch and the 90 days after, until adoption holds.
What does the culture diagnostic involve?
Leader interviews, an employee pulse and real artifacts like interview guides, recognition data and dashboards. Each system is scored from 0 (absent) to 3 (a real system). You get a one-page heat map, an answer-first read-out and a 90-day action plan.
What is an executive assessment?
An assessment of your current leaders, or of finalists for a key hire, against the work ahead. We map the seats the strategy needs before names, then assess each person's strengths, seat fit and composure under pressure, and whether any gap is skill or will.
Are you a recruiting or executive search firm?
No. We define the seats, build the scorecards and assess finalists. Your recruiter or search partner runs the search.
Can you help before a sale, not just after an acquisition?
Yes. On the sell side we prepare the people side for diligence, build a retention plan for key talent and shape the leadership story for buyers. On the buy side we run Day 1 through the first year of integration.
Does AI workforce transformation mean cutting headcount?
Not by default. It means redesigning work so people and AI each do what they do best. We sort recurring work into automate, eliminate or prioritize, redesign roles from the work, and plan people and AI together.
How do you help international companies enter the US?
With a US entry people plan covering entity and employment setup, first hires, compliance and benefits, and a US leader who can bridge both cultures. You can take the plan on its own, add an advisory retainer, or add hands-on launch support.
How is HR strategy different from HR operations?
HR operations keep the basics running. HR strategy is the senior work that decides whether the plan gets executed: org design, hiring systems, leadership, recognition and a people scoreboard. If the basics carry real risk, we fix those first.
Fractional and interim CPO
A senior people leader beside your CEO. See how it works.
What is a fractional Chief People Officer?
A senior people executive who works with your CEO and leadership team part time, typically around a day a week. You get CPO-level judgment on talent, leadership, culture and change without a full-time executive hire.
What is the difference between a fractional and an interim CPO?
A fractional CPO is an ongoing seat at the leadership table for companies that need CPO judgment now and a full-time CPO later, or never. An interim CPO covers a gap, such as a sudden departure or a deal that can't wait, with more hours up front and a defined end once a permanent CPO is hired and onboarded.
When does a company need a CPO-level people leader?
Usually at a moment of big change: after a fundraise, during an acquisition or sale, once headcount passes about 80 people, when a CPO leaves, when AI starts reshaping roles, or when an international company opens in the US.
How much time does a fractional CPO spend with the company?
Typically around a day a week, flexing up in heavy periods and down when steady, anchored to a weekly CEO session and a quarterly outcome.
What happens at the end of an interim engagement?
We help define the permanent CPO seat, build the scorecard, assess finalists and hand off a working team, so the new CPO starts with a clear plan.