Colin A. Fish
Human Resources | Strategy | Business Optimization
An MBA-educated HR Director architecting scalable people operations that drive organizational growth and transformation.
Professional Journey
My career began not in a corporate office, but in the United States Air Force. The military exposed me to a wider world and instilled a deep appreciation for the impact of intellectual investment and disciplined execution. After more than seven years of service, I transitioned to civilian life with a clear goal: to apply the leadership skills I had honed toward building effective organizations. This led me to pursue my BBA and later my MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, where I discovered my passion for the intersection of business strategy and people operations.
My post-military career started in the fast-paced world of talent acquisition, where I built a new recruiting market from the ground up for a national staffing firm and later led high-volume hiring for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Today, as a Director of Human Resources, I leverage this comprehensive background to build and scale entire HR functions, transforming them into strategic assets that drive business optimization and foster a culture of excellence.
Core Competencies
HR Strategy & Leadership
Architecting and scaling HR functions from the ground up, I create the foundational infrastructure, policies, and systems necessary to support rapid workforce expansion and align with key corporate objectives.
HRIS & Technology Implementation
Leading the selection and company-wide implementation of modern HRIS platforms like ADP Workforce Now. I consolidate disparate systems to streamline operations, enhance data accuracy, and build a foundation for strategic HR analytics.
Compensation & Benefits Design
Developing and launching unified job and compensation architectures. This includes benchmarking roles, establishing equitable salary bands, and designing benefits programs that are both competitive and cost-effective.
Talent Acquisition & Management
Managing the full recruitment lifecycle through periods of intense growth, personally hiring hundreds of employees. I develop scalable processes for requisition, onboarding, performance management, and retention.
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Integration
Serving as the HR project lead for business acquisitions. I manage all HR due diligence, assess policies and liabilities, and execute comprehensive integration plans to harmonize benefits and payroll for a seamless employee transition.
Compliance & Employee Relations
Ensuring strict adherence to all relevant labor laws and regulations. I have extensive experience authoring comprehensive employee handbooks, managing sensitive employee relations issues, and navigating complex terminations professionally.
Key Projects & Initiatives
- Function Design & Execution: Architected the company's first formal HR department. Successfully established and managed all core HR functions, including talent acquisition, HRIS, performance management, employee relations, and compensation.
- Organizational Design: Developed the company's first formal organizational chart, providing critical clarity on reporting structures and departmental alignment during a period of significant change.
- Workforce Management: Effectively managed the entire employee lifecycle, from onboarding to separation. This included navigating 81 sensitive terminations professionally and overseeing the recruitment and integration of 146 new hires.
Career Timeline
- Led strategic planning and financial modeling for a workforce adjustment, optimizing organizational structure and achieving a $3.5M labor cost reduction.
- Led recruitment efforts through significant workforce expansion, personally hiring 146 employees in 2 years.
- Launched a new job and compensation architecture, unifying career tracks and titles.
- Built a scalable financial model to calculate the total labor burden.
- Led the implementation of ADP HRIS, consolidating benefits, 401(k), and payroll.
- Developed the company's first Employee Handbook and suite of foundational HR documents.
- Drafted the company's first formal organizational chart.
- Managed the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, development, and professionally handling 81 terminations.
- Acted as HR Project Lead for an acquisition, managing all human resources integration.