People
Teams that perform
Hiring, performance and leadership practices that make accountability and growth the default.
Shawna Stewart
People & Operations Leader · Advisor · Coach · Speaker
People systems.
Operating clarity.
Teams that perform.
I build the people and operating systems behind high-performing companies.
People and Operations leader. Two startups led through acquisition. Founder of SS Collective.
Three things I get hired for.
People · Operations · Leadership
Operations
Systems that hold
Operating models, decision rights and structure that survive growth, change and integration.
Leadership
People who lead well
Coaching and facilitation for the managers and executives carrying the work day to day.
2
Startups led to acquisition
12+
Years in People & Operations
15+
Stages, panels and keynotes
1
HR playbook in the works
The path
Built inside the companies, not beside them.
Three chapters
01 · Acquisition #1
PostBeyond
Interim COO · VP, People & Operations
Held the company together while it grew.
- Executive operational leadership through to acquisition
- Organizational planning and company-wide execution
- Built the conditions for teams to perform
02 · Acquisition #2 · Acquired by FIS Global
Railz
VP, People & Operations
Scaled the people and operating infrastructure, then carried it through an acquisition.
- Led People and Operations end to end: hiring, performance, culture, systems
- Guided the company through acquisition and integration into FIS Global
- Built the clarity that made fast scale survivable
03 · Today
SS Collective
Founder
Advisory, coaching, facilitation and speaking — on a selective basis.
- Advising founders and leadership teams, including through DMZ
- Coaching emerging and established leaders
- Writing an HR playbook for building peak-performing teams
The titles changed. The work stayed the same — understand the system, find the friction, help the business move.
Work with me
Pick the room you need me in.
Tap an option below to see how we can work together.
People and operating strategy for companies in motion.
For founders and leadership teams who need to know what is actually getting in the way — and what to change.
- 01Hiring, performance and feedback systems
- 02Operating-model and org design
- 03Role and accountability clarity
- 04Leadership-team alignment
- 05Change, acquisition readiness and integration
Where every engagement starts
Three questions.
- 01
What are you working on right now?
- 02
What is getting in your way?
- 03
If you could change one process, what would it be — and why?
What I believe
- People strategy is business strategy.
- Friction is information.
- Clarity beats process.
- Serious work can still be human.
Stages & rooms
- DMZ
- The People People Group
- Toronto Metropolitan University
- Black Business Student Association
- DisruptHR
- TechTO
- Elevate
- Talent Tech
- RBC Womxn in Tech
- Tech Talent North
- Ted Rogers Management Conference
- Mentor Canada
- Scale HR
- Dream Legacy Foundation
- Social Camp HR
- FIS Emerald
Media & writing
Talks, podcasts and published conversations.
A selection of places I've talked about people strategy, operating excellence, career mobility and the practical use of AI inside HR teams.
In progress
An HR playbook for building peak-performing teams.
I'm writing the playbook I wish I'd had while building People and Operations functions inside fast-growing technology companies — the systems, conversations and decisions that make teams perform, written for the people actually doing the work.
Publication details to follow. If you'd like to know when it's available, get in touch.
About
Operator by experience. Connector by instinct.
I'm a Toronto-based People and Operations leader. I've spent over a decade inside growing technology companies — building the hiring, performance and operating systems that let teams do their best work.
Two of those companies went through acquisition with me in the room. Today I run SS Collective: advisory, coaching, facilitation and speaking, plus an HR playbook in progress on building peak-performing teams.
Serious work can still be human, clear and occasionally funny.
- Based in
- Toronto, Canada
- Practice
- Founder, SS Collective
- Track record
- Two startups led to acquisition
- Writing
- HR playbook on peak-performing teams
Contact
Let's talk about what is getting in the way.
Whether you are navigating a product challenge, organizational shift, leadership transition or room that needs a clear and credible voice, tell me what you are working through.
- Toronto, Canada — available for select remote and in-person engagements
- info@shawnastewartcollective.com