Old Home — Phenix Advisors

Phenix Advisors was established to help organizations achieve better

Results Through People

Email: jranton@phenixadvisors.com

Cell: 203-722-2117

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimranton

Jim Ranton

Founder & Principal

Jim Ranton is a results-driven senior advisor. He has a successful track record improving sales and profit performance for both emerging and established companies across a range of industries. He advises organizations in developing and implementing talent strategies that align with desired outcomes. His areas of expertise include organization performance planning, talent management, compensation design, labor relations strategy and acquisition integration. He is recognized for his ability to partner with the CEO and his or her executive team to support major growth initiatives and develop a high performance, metrics-based system and culture. He has worked for large (PepsiCo, Citigroup, United Technologies), mid-size (Citizens Utilities, New York Racing Association) and small growth companies (Surescripts).

Prior to forming Phenix Advisors, Jim was the Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer for the New York Racing Association (NYRA), one of the nation’s leading thoroughbred horse racing organizations. On joining NYRA in 2015, Jim provided leadership in transitioning the organization to a more performance-based and inclusive culture. Working across a patchwork of more than 20 unions, he made significant improvements in labor relations, leading to more than $1 million in annual cost savings. The operating income target was surpassed in each of the years from 2015 to 2018.

Prior to NYRA, Jim was the Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer for Surescripts, a leader in healthcare information technology. At Surescripts, Jim designed and implemented a performance management process that aligned corporate, functional, and individual performance objectives, which was a major contributing factor to the organization exceeding revenue and profit objectives, by an average of 20 percent, from 2010 to 2013.

As Senior Vice President of Human Resources for the Guardian Life Insurance Company, Jim implemented new executive assessment, development, and succession programs that improved leadership performance. Pre-tax operating income grew 14 percent to $1 Billion in two years.

Prior to that role, as Senior Human Resources Officer at Citigroup, Jim directed planning and implementation of the human resources acquisition plan for California Federal Bank. Project targets where met on time within all financial parameters. Earlier, in his career, Jim served as the Vice President of Human Resources for Citizens Utilities (now Frontier Communications) and held several roles of increasing management responsibility at Carrier Corporation and PepsiCo.

Jim received a BS degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. In addition, he earned an MBA from the International Management Center at ESC Rouen in France, and a MS degree from the Krannert Graduate School of Management at Purdue University.

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Services

Phenix Advisors was established to help organizations achieve better results through people. This can take the form of interim and fractional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) assignments as well as projects in specific areas.

Interim AssignmentsJim will come into your organization and run your human resources function, easing a transition and changeover in executive management. He will assess the state of your HR function, identify opportunities for improvement, implemen… — **Interim Assignments**
Jim will come into your organization and run your human resources function, easing a transition and changeover in executive management. He will assess the state of your HR function, identify opportunities for improvement, implement change, lead the recruiting process for a new CHRO and ensure an effective transition occurs.

Fractional AssignmentsIn cases where organizations do not have a need for a full-time strategic human resources executive, and, the CEO has recognized the need for leadership and planning that can be addressed on a part-time basis, Jim will work wit… — **Fractional Assignments**
In cases where organizations do not have a need for a full-time strategic human resources executive, and, the CEO has recognized the need for leadership and planning that can be addressed on a part-time basis, Jim will work with the CEO and the management team to structure an arrangement that leads to improved people processes and results.

Projects

With regard to specific projects, Phenix Advisors will provide your organization assistance in the areas of assessment, recommendations for improvement, planning and finally, implementation:

Acquisition Due Diligence and Integration

Working with your team, we will identify and assess the human resources practices, identify issues and opportunities and develop an action plan that fits with the integration. If requested, we will manage the assimilation of the new entity.

Business Process Change

If you are experiencing controversy with the execution of a business process, we will work with you to assess the situation and facilitate resolution in order to improve process execution.

Culture Change

With organizations facing increased demands from their customers, a positive, inclusive and performance-oriented culture is required. We will work with your organization to assess the current culture through a series of interviews and focus groups. In addition, we will facilitate a process to develop a mission, shared values and supporting behaviors. Lastly, we will provide leadership to develop an implementation plan that will lead to improved organization performance.

Executive Coaching

We will work with executives in a collaborative and supportive manner to enhance their performance as business leaders. We will gather data through structured interviews, identify specific development objectives, put a coaching plan in place for the executive’s superior and check in on progress.

Labor Relations Strategy

If you are having issues with your union-management relations, we will work with your team to assess the situation and develop a labor relations strategy that is aligned with your organizational goals.

Organizational Performance Planning

Most organizations have a robust annual financial planning process to determine the most effective allocation of their resources. In many cases, the process is not broad enough in considering and integrating functional objectives. We will assess the process and assist you in developing and implementing an organizational planning process that has strong linkage down to the individual level.

People Strategy

If you are struggling with the deployment and utilization of your human resources, you may need to take a fresh look at the processes and systems you use to optimize the investment in and performance of your people. We will work with you to complete an assessment and facilitate a robust process to identify opportunities for improvement. We will ensure a complete plan is place at the conclusion of the project.

Reward System Evaluation & Design

Compensation and benefits are major investments that organizations make in their people every year. As a result, you want to be certain you are paying competitive wages and offering a competitive benefits package to attract and retain the best talent. We will work with you to assess your current processes and communications and make specific recommendations for improvement.

Talent Management

Talent management encompasses the acquisition, assessment, on-boarding and development of people. We will work with you to assess the processes in place and make specific recommendations for improvement. We are also available to assist with the implementation.

Services

Phenix Advisors was established to help organizations achieve better results through people. This can take the form of interim and fractional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) assignments as well as projects in specific areas.