i.
AI & Technology Enablement
AI assisted enablement pathways, knowledge systems, and adoption frameworks. Technology learning that accelerates ramp and compliance in regulated environments.
Adoption & Readiness
Executive Brief · 01 Enterprise Learning · Transformation · Talent · AI Enablement
Strategy, capability, and measurable adoption at enterprise scale.
I build the learning, transformation, and talent infrastructure that turns ambitious strategy into real organizational capability. Fifteen years across regulated, complex enterprises connecting people, technology, and business outcomes.
Years in enterprise leadership15+
Advisors supported through integration7,000+
Annual transactions on platforms led1.4M+
Audit readiness improvement30%
II
I build the operating systems that turn enterprise strategy into organizational capability, measurable adoption, and durable performance.
01 · Where I operate
Regulated, matrixed, multi state environments.
Financial services, energy, education, public sector. Places where decisions touch compliance, risk, and talent in the same breath.
02 · What I build
Learning, talent, and transformation as one system.
AI enablement, workforce transformation, organizational effectiveness, and executive advisory, moving on one operating rhythm.
03 · What I leave behind
Evidence, not another program.
Governance, signal, and clarity that outlast the engagement. The enterprise still uses what I built after I have left the room.
Shika Mahdavi, Ph.D.
Executive Consultant · Learning · Talent · OE
03 What I Bring
Twelve capabilities, wired to outcomes.
Hover or tap any card to see how this capability shows up in my work. Each one is tied to a business result, not a program label.
ii.
Change Leadership
Workforce readiness for transformation. Leader enablement, adoption plans, communications, and feedback loops that keep large programs from quietly reverting.
Transformation
iii.
Organizational Effectiveness
Diagnosis, operating model design, role clarity, decision rights, and governance structures that make the org fit the strategy it has to deliver.
Org Design
iv.
Talent Strategy
Role readiness, succession, mobility, and development connected into one talent operating system rather than a catalog of disconnected programs.
Talent System
v.
Workforce Transformation
Capability modeling, workforce planning, and enablement strategy for distributed, matrixed, regulated workforces navigating significant change.
Workforce
vi.
Executive Consulting
Thought partnership to VPs and CHROs. Board ready narratives, executive dashboards, and the discipline to back candor with evidence.
Advisory
vii.
Adoption & Value Realization
Instrumenting adoption, execution quality, audit performance, and value realization so transformation investments actually cash in.
Value
viii.
Cross Functional Leadership
Native to Product, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, Operations, and Business Development. I build coalitions, not silos.
Partnership
ix.
Learning Strategy
Adaptive, data informed learning ecosystems. Academies, leader programs, and learning architectures built for scale and measurable capability.
Learning
x.
Operating Model Design
Decision rights, governance calendars, and evidence standards that turn organizational activity into dependable operating rhythm.
Operating Model
xi.
Performance Enablement
Connecting learning, quality, adoption, and business KPIs into a small number of signals leaders actually discuss and act on.
Performance
xii.
Program Leadership
Multi workstream program governance across strategy, change, enablement, and analytics. Delivery discipline without bureaucracy.
Delivery
04 Selected Impact
Proof, not positioning.
A selection of enterprise outcomes. Filter by lens, then click any row for the full situation, action, and result.
Platform adoption0%
Lift in enterprise platform adoption across compliance driven workflows.
Audit readiness0%
Improvement in audit readiness through structured enablement and governance.
Time to capability0%
Reduction in new hire ramp and time to competency across distributed teams.
Internal mobility+0%
Increase in internal promotions through connected talent and development systems.
i.
Enterprise capability and adoption strategy for a 1.4M plus transaction platform
Adoption +20%
Governance · Platform
Situation
High volume regulated platform supporting 8.9B dollars in annual charitable grants with uneven capability and fragmented talent rhythms.
Action
Built enterprise talent and capability strategy linking role readiness, onboarding, performance, mobility, and platform adoption into one governance cadence.
Result
20 percent lift in adoption, stronger executive visibility into readiness and talent risk, and a replicable operating model across lines of business.
ii.
Workforce readiness for the TD Ameritrade to Schwab integration
Advisors 7,000+
Transformation
Situation
Large scale integration affecting 7,000 plus financial advisors across remote, matrixed teams with shifting priorities and continuity risk.
Action
Led organizational readiness and change enablement. Aligned leaders, workflows, communications, and adoption plans against a single change narrative.
Result
Continuity maintained through migration. Recognized by division President as best rated program in Advisor Services.
iii.
AI enabled operating models, dashboards, and enablement frameworks
Audit +30%
Operating model · AI
Situation
Multi state operating environments with audit exposure, inconsistent enablement, and long ramp curves across the workforce.
Action
Designed business automation dashboards, governance frameworks, executive reporting routines, and AI assisted enablement pathways.
Result
30 percent improvement in audit readiness, 25 percent faster time to competency, 15 to 20 percent lift in execution quality.
iv.
Adaptive, data informed learning ecosystem for distributed professionals
Engagement +15%
Learning · AI
Situation
Distributed professional audiences and advisor communities in hybrid environments with varied tenure, regulatory load, and readiness.
Action
Built adaptive learning ecosystems including Business Development University and Charitable Consulting Academy, and AI assisted knowledge systems.
Result
15 percent increase in engagement and retention. Three Schwab Charitable Excellence Awards for program leadership and outcomes.
v.
Governance, decision rights, and executive cadence redesign
Execution +15-20%
OE · Governance
Situation
Overlapping talent and operating rhythms across business units created drift between strategy, decisions, and execution quality.
Action
Redesigned governance calendar, decision rights, and evidence standards. Built one executive dashboard connecting learning, quality, and adoption signals.
Result
15 to 20 percent lift in execution quality, and a shared operating rhythm leaders could actually use together.
05 How I Think
Operating beliefs I bring to every mandate.
Six convictions that show up in how I build capability, change, and talent systems inside complex enterprises.
“
Learning is only real when business outcomes move.
Activity metrics are a starting point, not a scoreboard. The point of enablement is adoption, readiness, and measurable capability. Build backward from the outcome.
Outcome discipline“
Change lives or dies in the first 60 days of adoption.
Announcements do not change organizations. Leader enablement, process controls, coaching, and feedback loops do. Design for adoption from day one.
Change adoption“
Clarity is the unlock at scale.
Most execution problems are really clarity problems in disguise. Role clarity, decision rights, and evidence standards are the real productivity system.
Scaling clarity“
Design systems, not content.
Develop once, replicate often. Build the operating model, then the artifacts. Other leaders should be able to run the system without me in the room.
Systems thinking“
AI belongs where it accelerates human capability.
Used well, AI shortens ramp, personalizes enablement, and surfaces signals leaders miss. Used poorly, it adds noise. Governance decides which.
AI enablement“
Workforce capability is a strategic asset.
Treat capability the way finance treats capital. Plan for it, build it, measure it, and talk about it in executive forums. Everything else follows.
Capability building06 Why I Fit Roles Like These
Roles I am built for, with clarity.
Six role patterns I was built for. Each track carries the scope I operate at, the capabilities I bring, the mandates it maps to, and the shape of my first ninety days.
01 · AI & Technology Learning Enablement
AI enablement that moves adoption, not training hours.
I operate where AI adoption and technology enablement meet regulated, multi state workforces. I have built AI assisted enablement pathways and knowledge systems inside financial services operations that took ramp down twenty five percent and lifted audit readiness thirty percent. My brief is usually to make the investment visible on the leaders' scorecard within two quarters, not two years, and to stand up the governance that keeps the signal honest after the launch team goes home.
25%
Ramp reduction
30%
Audit readiness lift
7K+
Advisors enabled
15yr
Enterprise tenure
What I bring
Learning architectureAdaptive pathways, role based curricula, and knowledge systems tied to measurable capability, not training hours.
Adoption telemetryUsage, execution quality, and signal health surfaced in one executive view leaders renew against.
Responsible AI rolloutEnablement paired with data, measurement, and controls senior leaders can defend to audit and Board.
Knowledge systemsStructured content, retrieval, and reuse at the scale of multi state operations. AI meets governance.
Capability modelingRole readiness, proficiency, and progression mapped to what the business actually pays for.
Scale by defaultDistributed, regulated, matrixed audiences are the environment I operate in, not the exception.
Mandates that fit
VP · L&D Strategy
Director · AI Enablement
Head of Learning Technology
Chief Learning Officer
Fractional CLO
First ninety days
Days 1 – 30
BaselineMeasure current ramp, signal quality, and adoption against executive defensible benchmarks.
Days 31 – 60
ArchitectStand up enablement pathways, telemetry, and one leader scorecard across the priority roles.
Days 61 – 90
ProveLand early wins on adoption and audit readiness, then expand into the adjacent capability bets.
02 · Change Enablement & Adoption
Transformation investment, actually realized.
I lead workforce readiness for transformation across seven thousand plus regulated employees. The TD Ameritrade and Schwab integration work I shaped was called the best rated program in Advisor Services by the division President. My contribution is usually the adoption signal, the governance cadence, and the narrative leaders can actually land with their teams, without the slide deck theater or the consultant dependency.
7K+
Advisors integrated
9
Executive functions aligned
15%
Engagement lift
#1
Rated program in division
What I bring
Adoption by designEnablement, controls, coaching, and feedback loops wired in from mobilization, not retrofitted at go live.
Value realizationChange tied to audit, quality, retention, and risk outcomes the enterprise already tracks.
One narrativeStrategy through adoption in a single story leaders, teams, and customers can follow end to end.
Delivery disciplineMulti workstream governance without bureaucracy. Ship, measure, adjust on a visible cadence.
Coalition designProduct, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, and Ops moving on one operating rhythm.
Leader enablementManagers equipped with the tools, scripts, and decision rights to own the change in field.
Mandates that fit
Director · Change Enablement
VP · Transformation
Head of Integration Readiness
Senior Principal · Advisory
Program Lead · M&A Integration
First ninety days
Days 1 – 30
DiagnoseMap the real adoption risk across functions, geographies, and leader cohorts. Name the top three blockers.
Days 31 – 60
RewireGovernance, cadence, and signal. One scorecard, one narrative, one owner per outcome.
Days 61 – 90
AccelerateMove from activity reporting to outcome reporting. The Board sees value realized, not milestones met.
03 · Talent Management
One talent system. Not a catalogue of programs.
Readiness, succession, mobility, and development belong in one operating rhythm, not four disconnected tracks. Running them as one integrated system moved internal promotions up fifteen percent for the enterprise I was in, and gave executives a defensible readiness view on the roles that actually matter to the strategy. The output senior leaders pay for is clarity about who is ready, who is close, and where the bench is thin, with evidence behind every call.
15%
Internal promotion lift
9
Functions covered
4
Rhythms integrated
155K
Partner footprint
What I bring
Succession with teethReadiness evidence leaders can defend. Development that moves people, not labels.
Leadership developmentLeader programs, facilitation standards, and manager enablement at enterprise scale.
Mobility by designCross functional moves engineered into the system, not left to luck or loud advocates.
Performance as a systemLearning, quality, adoption, and business KPIs on the same scorecard leaders actually read.
Quarterly rhythmTalent reviews leaders co own across succession, mobility, and workforce planning.
Capability modelingRoles, proficiencies, and progressions mapped to the strategy the business has committed to.
Mandates that fit
Director · Talent Management
VP · Leadership Development
Head of Succession
Global Talent Lead
Head of Integrated Talent Solutions
First ninety days
Days 1 – 30
AssessThe true readiness picture for the roles the business cannot afford to lose. Name the bench risk.
Days 31 – 60
IntegrateSuccession, mobility, development, and performance onto one quarterly rhythm with one owner.
Days 61 – 90
DefendExecutive readiness review the SLT leaves confident in, not confused by. Decisions signed, actions owned.
04 · Organizational Effectiveness & Development
Design the organization for the work, not the org chart.
Most execution problems are clarity problems in disguise. I diagnose, redesign, and deploy operating models and governance structures at enterprise scale, including an eight point nine billion dollar charitable grants platform moving one point four million transactions a year. The result in my engagements is usually a fifteen to twenty percent lift in execution quality, grounded in real role clarity, explicit decision rights, and a governance cadence leaders actually run.
15–20%
Execution quality lift
$8.9B
Platform scale worked
1.4M
Transactions in scope
9
Functions redesigned
What I bring
DiagnosisStructured assessments, health signal reviews, and readiness analysis that name the real problem.
DesignOperating model, spans and layers, decision rights, and governance cadence wired to the strategy.
DeploymentLeader enablement, process controls, and feedback loops so the design holds after launch.
MeasurementAdoption, execution quality, risk, and continuity tracked against a documented baseline.
GovernanceQuarterly cadence the enterprise keeps using after I leave. No consultant dependency engineered in.
Coalition workProduct, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, BD, and Ops on one operating rhythm.
Mandates that fit
Director · Organizational Effectiveness
VP · Organization Development
Head of Operating Model Design
Senior Principal · OE
Transformation Architect
First ninety days
Days 1 – 30
DiagnoseHealth signals, structural friction, and a decision rights audit. Name the top three structural blockers.
Days 31 – 60
DesignOne operating model, one cadence, one scorecard. Decision rights in writing, not in implication.
Days 61 – 90
DeployLand the first turn of the quarterly rhythm and prove the design holds before any handoff.
05 · Workforce & Solution Consulting
Advisory that senior executives renew and expand.
I partner with senior leaders and Boards through real transformation across Product, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, and Business Development. Through a fractional Chief Learning Officer and advisory practice built over eight years, I have worked with VPs and CHROs on capability architecture, executive narrative, and the evidence that makes a workforce bet defensible at the Board. The partnerships tend to renew because I move ambiguity into structured decisions leaders can actually sign.
8yr
Advisory practice
VP/CHRO
Typical partner
CLO
Fractional practice model
9
Executive functions
What I bring
Diagnostic workAmbiguity translated into a small number of structured talent and capability decisions.
Executive dashboardsThe four or five signals leaders actually trust: adoption, readiness, audit, mobility, retention.
Growth motionLand value early, measure it, then expand into the adjacent capability bets the executive is ready for.
Enterprise fluencyFifteen years inside regulated, matrixed environments. Comfortable in ambiguity, unafraid of scale.
Narrative designBoard and SLT narratives that turn complexity into a decision leaders can sign with confidence.
Evidence standardsCalibrated candor with measurement leaders can defend to audit, risk, and finance.
Mandates that fit
VP · Workforce Strategy
Principal Consultant
Fractional CLO
Senior Advisor to the CHRO
Head of Talent Consulting
First ninety days
Days 1 – 30
FrameTranslate ambiguity into the two or three decisions the executive actually needs this quarter.
Days 31 – 60
InstrumentStand up the four or five signals they will renew against. A dashboard the SLT trusts on sight.
Days 61 – 90
LandFirst visible win in quarter one. Expansion built on evidence, not enthusiasm or ceremony.
06 · People & Culture Leadership
Senior People leadership, connected to business outcomes.
I operate as an extension of the People Team, fluent with HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, and Integrated Talent Solutions. Adaptive learning and engagement frameworks I put in place lifted engagement and retention fifteen percent in the environment I was in. I bring Board level comfort, calibrated candor, and the evidence to back both, and I build People programs that sit inside the operating rhythm of the business rather than parallel to it.
15%
Engagement & retention lift
9
Functions partnered
155K
Workforce footprint
4
HR CoEs integrated
What I bring
Culture as a systemLeadership behaviors, rituals, and recognition architected, not wished for or outsourced.
Engagement mechanicsListening, action, and measurement tied to retention and capability outcomes the business watches.
HR partnershipBuilt to extend HRBPs and Centers of Excellence, not to run a parallel track with a competing agenda.
Executive trustBoard and SLT comfort. Calibrated candor, with evidence ready the moment it is asked for.
DEIB disciplineEvidence based, systemic, and tied to business results rather than sentiment or slogan.
Leadership benchDeliberate development of the next two layers, not only the current SLT.
Mandates that fit
VP · People Strategy
Head of Culture
Director · People Experience
Fractional CHRO
Head of Integrated Talent Solutions
First ninety days
Days 1 – 30
ListenHear the real picture across HRBPs, leaders, and the people closest to the work. No filters.
Days 31 – 60
ChooseThree outcomes worth committing the organization to. Name the rest and stop them.
Days 61 – 90
RunQuarterly rhythm, one scorecard, executive co ownership. People programs inside the business, not beside it.
07 Executive Capabilities Snapshot
Twelve senior capabilities, at depth.
A structured view of where I operate and at what level. Sort to filter for the lens you care about.
CapabilityDepthLevel
Enterprise Learning Strategy
Deep
I design enterprise learning as an operating system, not a catalog. Academies, pathways, adaptive architectures, and governance, all wired to business outcomes.
Architecture
Built enterprise learning architectures for regulated, multi state workforces, including Business Development University and the Charitable Consulting Academy. Designed role based pathways, capability models, and learning analytics tied to mobility and audit readiness.
Scale
Led learning strategy across 7,000 plus advisors and internal professionals during the TD Ameritrade to Schwab integration. Learning became the connective tissue between strategy, technology rollout, and business continuity.
Outcomes
15 percent increase in engagement and retention. 25 percent faster time to competency. Three Schwab Charitable Excellence Awards for program leadership.
Operating belief
Learning is only real when business outcomes move. If adoption, audit, ramp, or retention do not shift, the program has not earned its budget.
25%
Faster time to competency
15%
Lift in engagement & retention
7K+
Advisors enabled through integration
3
Charitable Excellence Awards
AI Upskilling & Enablement
Deep
AI enablement that accelerates human capability, used with governance in regulated, multi state environments.
Frameworks
Designed AI assisted enablement pathways and knowledge systems across charitable services, business development, and operations. Focus on judgment accelerators, not task replacement.
Governance
Paired AI adoption with executive dashboards and audit friendly controls so leaders could see where AI helped, where it did not, and where it introduced new risk.
Outcomes
30 percent improvement in audit readiness, 25 percent faster ramp, and 15 to 20 percent lift in execution quality across distributed teams.
Operating belief
AI belongs where it shortens ramp, personalizes enablement, and surfaces signals leaders miss. Used poorly, it adds noise. Governance decides which.
30%
Audit readiness lift
25%
Ramp acceleration
20%
Execution quality lift
1.4M+
Annual transactions on platform
Workforce Transformation
Deep
Capability modeling and workforce planning for distributed, matrixed, regulated populations navigating real change.
Integration
Led workforce readiness for the TD Ameritrade to Schwab integration across 7,000 plus financial advisors. Aligned leaders, workflows, communications, and adoption plans against shifting priorities.
Planning
Built capability models connecting roles, critical skills, learning pathways, and succession, so workforce planning reflected the strategy ahead, not the org chart behind.
Continuity
Continuity maintained through migration. Recognized by division President as the best rated program in Advisor Services during the transition year.
Operating belief
Treat workforce capability the way finance treats capital. Plan for it, build it, measure it, and talk about it in executive forums. Everything else follows.
7K+
Advisors migrated
#1
Rated program in Advisor Services
0
Material continuity gaps
15yr
Regulated enterprise experience
Talent Development
Deep
One talent system across readiness, succession, mobility, and development. Not a catalog of disconnected programs.
System design
Linked role readiness, onboarding, performance, and mobility into a single operating rhythm with quarterly talent reviews leaders co owned, not attended.
Mobility
Built succession depth, evidence standards, and development paths that moved people through roles, not through labels. 15 percent lift in internal promotions.
Academies
Stood up Business Development University and the Charitable Consulting Academy as scalable capability engines for distributed professional audiences.
Operating belief
Talent is a system, not a season. If succession is a spreadsheet no one uses, it is not a plan. It is a document.
+15%
Internal promotion lift
2
Enterprise academies built
155K+
Partners supported on platform
4
Quarterly talent review cadence
Organizational Change Management
Deep
Change that actually lands: leader enablement, process controls, and adoption telemetry built in from day one.
Strategy
Designed change strategies for major technology rollouts, operating model shifts, and M and A integrations. One narrative from strategy to adoption that leaders, teams, and customers could follow.
Leader enablement
Equipped leaders as the primary change mechanism. Behavior contracts, cascade toolkits, office hours, and feedback loops, so managers did not have to improvise.
Adoption
Instrumented adoption signals across training, process, and business outcomes so program reviews were about evidence, not optics. 20 percent lift in platform adoption.
Operating belief
Change lives or dies in the first 60 days of adoption. Announcements do not change organizations. Leader enablement, process controls, and feedback loops do.
+20%
Platform adoption lift
30%
Audit readiness improvement
60d
Adoption window instrumented
1
Executive narrative, end to end
Consulting & Advisory Leadership
Deep
Trusted advisor to VPs and CHROs. Board ready narratives, executive dashboards, and the discipline to back judgment with evidence.
Thought partnership
Advised senior executives on talent, capability, and operating model decisions through ambiguity. Translated unstructured problems into a small number of decisions leaders could actually take.
Executive communication
Built board ready narratives connecting talent, adoption, audit, and financial outcomes, so Business Unit Leaders could brief their Boards in a single integrated story.
Calibrated candor
Operate with calibrated candor. Willing to name what others avoid, with data and options in hand, not just the concern.
Operating belief
Advisory is earned by what the leader can do differently on Monday, not by how elegant the deck was on Friday.
C
Suite & Board audience
8.9B$
Annual grants on advised platform
1
Integrated executive narrative
15yr
Enterprise advisory experience
Stakeholder Influence
Deep
Coalition building across Product, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, Operations, and Business Development. Silos are a symptom.
Cross functional fluency
Native to every function that touches enterprise transformation. Translate between HR, finance, product, and operations without flattening any of them into generic language.
Alignment
Pull leaders into shared decisions on role clarity, decision rights, and investment trade offs. Alignment is an outcome, not a meeting.
Executive presence
Comfortable in Board, SLT, and regulator facing settings. Clear, concise, and willing to say what others will not, with evidence to back it.
Operating belief
If stakeholders do not co own the outcome, they do not co own the work. Build the coalition before you need it.
9
Executive functions partnered
1
Shared governance cadence
SLT
And Board facing
Multi
State, regulated operations
Operating Model Improvement
Deep
Decision rights, governance calendars, and evidence standards. Turning activity into reliable operating rhythm.
Diagnosis
Health signal reviews and readiness analysis surface where the operating model is silently drifting, before leaders feel the symptom.
Design
Redesigned spans and layers, decision rights, and governance cadence so leaders actually know who decides what, and when.
Deployment
Leader enablement, process controls, and feedback loops turn design documents into operating behavior. 15 to 20 percent execution lift.
Operating belief
Most execution problems are really clarity problems in disguise. Role clarity, decision rights, and evidence standards are the real productivity system.
+15-20%
Execution quality lift
1
Governance cadence, all BUs
4
Evidence standards codified
Multi
State operating environments
Leadership Development
Deep
Leaders as the primary change mechanism. Programs, facilitation standards, and coaching tied to measurable leadership signal.
Programs
Built leader development curriculums tied to real talent outcomes, not generic competency lists. Tied to performance reviews and mobility decisions.
Facilitation
Raised the facilitation bar across the enterprise, setting standards for leader learning, executive offsites, and manager enablement experiences.
Coaching
One on one executive coaching for senior leaders through transformation, integration, and succession moments. Support with accountability, not just support.
Operating belief
Managers are the operating system. If the leader cannot run the capability, no program will.
Multi
Level leader curriculum
1:1
Executive coaching cadence
Ph.D.
In learning and leadership
3
Excellence awards as program leader
Process Enablement
Applied
Quality, controls, and readiness inside the flow of work. Enablement that lives inside process, not next to it.
Dashboards
Designed business automation dashboards connecting learning, quality, adoption, and audit signals into a single executive view leaders discussed and acted on.
Workflow integration
Embedded enablement into the flow of regulated processes so new capability showed up at the moment of work, not in a learning portal.
Controls
Paired enablement with process controls and evidence standards so audit readiness and quality improved together.
Operating belief
Enablement that lives outside the work does not survive contact with it. Build it into the process and the process will teach people.
30%
Audit readiness lift
25%
Ramp acceleration
1
Executive dashboard, all signals
Multi
State regulatory coverage
Program Governance
Deep
Multi workstream delivery across strategy, change, enablement, and analytics. Discipline without bureaucracy.
Structure
Stood up multi workstream governance for enterprise programs, covering strategy, change, enablement, and analytics, with a single operating calendar.
Cadence
Quarterly business reviews, monthly adoption reviews, and weekly delivery rhythm, each with a clear purpose and documented decisions.
Risk
Early warning reviews for adoption, audit, and workforce risk so surprises were rare and recoverable. Red flags were encouraged, not penalized.
Operating belief
Governance should be the lightest thing that still lets leaders sleep. Anything more is theater, anything less is gambling.
4
Workstream governance model
QBR
Executive review cadence
0
Unrecovered material surprises
1
Integrated operating calendar
Value Realization
Deep
Instrumenting adoption, quality, audit, and financial outcomes, so transformation investments actually cash in.
Measurement
Built KPI architectures tying learning, quality, adoption, and financial outcomes into one executive scorecard. Leaders stopped arguing about which metric to use.
Business alignment
Anchored capability investments to P and L reality. Fluent translating learning spend into margin, retention, audit, and risk language.
Outcomes
20 percent adoption lift, 30 percent audit readiness, 25 percent ramp acceleration, and 15 percent retention lift. Evidence, not slideware.
Operating belief
If leaders cannot point to the financial consequence of an enablement investment in 90 days, the measurement system is the problem, not the work.
+20%
Adoption
+30%
Audit readiness
+25%
Ramp
+15%
Engagement & retention
08 Experience Highlights
The level and type of work I have led.
Not a resume. A curated executive view of the environments, mandates, and transformations that shaped how I operate, and the scope I have carried in each.
Current mandate2023 to 2026
Enterprise capability, AI enabled learning, and operational effectiveness
Charitable & Financial Services · Donor Advised Fund Platform
Senior leader, enterprise learning, AI enablement, and organizational effectiveness
Own enterprise talent and capability strategy for a donor advised fund platform carrying 1.4M plus transactions, 155K plus nonprofit partners, and $8.9B in annual charitable grants. Operate at the intersection of Product, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, Operations, and Business Development, with accountability to senior executives and Board facing narratives.
- AI enabled enablement pathways tied to adoption, audit readiness, and ramp, deployed across distributed operations teams.
- Executive dashboards and governance frameworks that converted activity into operating rhythm, including the OpenClaw style capability and adoption signal view.
- 30 percent ramp time reduction for critical operations roles through redesigned leader enablement, role clarity, and feedback loops.
- 20 percent lift in audit readiness via closed loop evidence standards, governance cadence, and control uplift.
- 15 percent engagement and retention gains in high attrition operations populations, tracked through workforce analytics.
- Integrated Board narrative linking talent, adoption, audit outcomes, and financial results into a single executive story.
8.9B$
Annual charitable grants
1.4M+
Platform transactions
155K+
Nonprofit partners
9
Executive functions partnered
Enterprise learningAI enablementOperational effectivenessExecutive advisoryRegulated
Transformation2020 to 2023
Workforce readiness and change leadership through a major enterprise integration
TD Ameritrade · Charles Schwab · Advisor Services
Change leadership and adoption strategy across 7,000 plus financial advisors
Led organizational readiness and change enablement through the TD Ameritrade to Schwab integration, aligning leaders, communications, workflow design, and adoption plans against shifting priorities across a remote, matrixed, regulated workforce. Partnered with business leads, Risk, Compliance, Technology, and Communications to hold a single integrated change narrative across a multi year program.
- Adoption plans across 7,000 plus advisors, sequenced by persona, platform, and risk surface.
- Leader enablement toolkits equipping front line managers to carry change conversations with their own teams.
- Stakeholder alignment cadence across Product, Operations, Risk, Compliance, and Communications held the integration narrative coherent.
- Measured adoption and health signals from pilot through steady state, with calibrated interventions when signals slipped.
7K+
Advisors in scope
Multi
Year integration
Remote
Matrixed workforce
Regulated
Risk & compliance partnered
Change leadershipAdoption strategyIntegrationAdvisor workforce
Advisory practice2018 to present
Chief Learning Officer consulting and executive advisory
Independent Advisory · Enterprise Clients
Fractional Chief Learning Officer and enterprise capability advisor
Served as a Chief Learning Officer level advisor to enterprise clients sitting between strategy and operations. Translated unstructured talent and capability problems into a small number of decisions leaders could actually take, with evidence, options, and clear ownership. Operated as trusted thought partner to VPs and CHROs in financial services and regulated environments.
- Capability architecture linking roles, skills, decision rights, and learning investments to business outcomes.
- Executive narrative design converting scattered initiatives into a coherent Board level story leaders could brief in one meeting.
- Operating model diagnosis identifying where execution was silently drifting, before the symptom reached the scorecard.
- Coaching engagements with senior leaders on talent, capability, and transformation decisions under ambiguity.
Fractional CLOExecutive advisoryCapability strategyCHRO partnership
Academic leadership2015 to present
Associate Professor, dissertation chair, and learning science researcher
Graduate Faculty · Leadership & Adult Learning
Associate Professor and Dissertation Chair, Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs
Faculty appointment and active research program on adult capability development, leadership efficacy, and organizational learning. Chair and committee member on doctoral dissertations at the Ed.D. and Ph.D. level. The research discipline sits under the executive work, which is why every recommendation carries evidence, not rhetoric.
- Dissertation chair for multiple doctoral candidates across leadership and adult learning domains.
- Peer reviewed scholarship on learning science, leader efficacy, and capability at scale.
- Research to practice translation, keeping enterprise programs honest to what actually moves human behavior.
- Invited speaker and facilitator on leadership, capability, and change across professional audiences.
Ph.D. researcherDissertation chairLearning sciencePublished scholarship
Enterprise learning2017 to 2020
Enterprise learning strategy, academies, and leader development
Business Development University · Charitable Consulting Academy
Enterprise learning leader, distributed professional workforce
Built and led adaptive, data informed learning ecosystems for distributed professional audiences in a regulated enterprise. Established the leader development standards, facilitation quality bar, and manager enablement frameworks that scaled across multiple business units and functional populations.
- Business Development University, end to end learning architecture for revenue facing teams.
- Charitable Consulting Academy, capability pathway for specialist consulting roles.
- Three Schwab Charitable Excellence Awards recognizing adoption, measurable outcomes, and executive alignment.
- Leader development standards and facilitation quality bar adopted enterprise wide.
Learning strategyLeader developmentFacilitation qualityPerformance enablement
Foundation2010 to 2017
Multi workstream program leadership across talent, learning, and organizational development
Financial Services · Regulated Enterprise
Program leadership, talent, learning, and organizational development
Built the cross functional discipline and fluency that sits under the executive work today. Operated as program owner across talent, learning, and organizational development workstreams, partnering natively with Product, IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, Analytics, Operations, and Business Development. Learned early that silos are a symptom, not a cause, and that most execution problems are clarity problems in disguise.
- Program leadership across concurrent talent, learning, and OD workstreams.
- Cross functional coalition design across nine executive functions, with shared decision rights and cadence.
- Role clarity and governance discipline embedded in program delivery, not bolted on at the end.
- Operator foundation for the strategic and advisory work that followed.
Program leadershipTalentOrganizational developmentCross functional
09 · Personal Differentiator
What makes me different from the next senior candidate.
I blend strategic thinking with operating discipline. I can draft the Board ready narrative, build the dashboard behind it, and coach the leader who will use both. That combination is rare at this level, and it is what lets transformation actually land.
i.
Strategy and execution in the same person
Equal parts thought partner and operator. I do not hand off from vision to delivery.
ii.
Human centered leadership with operating discipline
Calibrated candor with leaders and teams. Evidence and adoption behind every recommendation.
iii.
Learning science and business alignment
Ph.D. level rigor on how humans build capability, paired with P and L fluency and executive narrative.
iv.
Change strategy that actually sticks
Designed for adoption from day one. Leader enablement, process controls, and feedback loops as first class citizens.
v.
Innovation mindset inside regulated environments
AI and new operating models, delivered responsibly in industries where compliance is not optional.
vi.
Executive presence grounded in evidence
Board and SLT comfort. Clear, concise, and willing to say what others will not, with data to back it.
10 Closing
I would welcome a conversation about how I can help your organization scale capability and adoption.
If you are hiring senior leadership across AI and learning enablement, transformation, organizational effectiveness, talent, workforce, or consulting, I would bring fifteen years of enterprise experience to the mandate with discipline, clarity, and speed.
Candidate
Shika Mahdavi, Ph.D.
Email
Website