Courtney Burns

Experience

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  Shine Talent Consulting

  Founder & Executive People & Talent Consultant

  Jan 2024 - Present

  Shine Talent Consulting specializes in HR and recruiting strategy, executive search, talent acquisition, organizational design and development, partnerships and program development services. I provide high-level solutions such as talent acquisition planning, workforce development programs, and organizational restructuring for hiring, growing, and retaining talent. My goal is to increase output, create efficiencies, and set a roadmap for continued success with my strategic recommendations. I take a holistic approach to reducing costs through better tools, systems, and processes.

  • Led Saige Consulting, an AI and Technology Consulting firm, through the acquisition of a Lithuanian Development firm and the sale of their Canadian entity.
  • Helped win 2 pitches for outsourced HR Transformation with Saige’s largest client, the Department of Revenue for the State of Alaska, resulting in $2 million in new revenue streams.
  • Continued collaboration with past clients, including Raw Materials and The Many, supporting talent acquisition needs by placing key roles such as Creative Directors and niche freelance designers, including 3D motion animators and brand identity specialist
  • Partnered with Delve, a performance marketing firm, to develop a strategic resource management system that integrated utilization metrics with performance goals and KPIs, aligning them with talent strategy and employee engagement.
  • Generated $330K in cost savings by identifying and eliminating redundancies at the Director level.
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  Raw Materials

  Head of People & Talent

  Sep 2022 - Dec 2023

  Raw Materials is an independent product design agency specializing in building and designing bespoke digital products and connected experiences to solve business challenges and improve the human experience.

  • Sole HR lead, reported directly to the CEO, supporting 150 employees globally.
  • Aligned the new compensation and rate bands with a broader goal of developing an organizational structure centered around core competencies, enabling clearer career progression pathways.
  • Supported teams across North and South America, Europe (London, Milan, Portugal), and Canada.
  • Achieved $250K in annual cost savings by implementing compensation bands and optimizing resource management practices.
  • Reduced project timelines by 3 weeks by transitioning the agency from a reactive to a proactive hiring approach, leveraging Greenhouse ATS.
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  The Many

  Executive Director, Talent & Culture

  Sep 2021 - Aug 2022

  The Many is an integrated advertising agency that combines creative, strategy, media and production to deliver relevant integrated brand experiences, social movements, influencer campaigns and earned media stunts.

  • Led recruiting and culture initiatives across the agency with a focus on diversity and growth.
  • Increased agency staff by 25% and BIPOC hires by 30% across all departments in 6 months, supporting diversity and inclusion goals.
  • Expanded recruiting efforts beyond California, targeting talent across the U.S. to better match client demands.
  • Delivered $2M in new workstreams for the eBay account by staffing 25 key positions across various verticals.
  • Redesigned the agency’s careers page and launched the Flip the Script campaign, resulting in a 73% increase in site traffic and applications within 3 months.
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  Huge, Inc.

  VP, Global People & Talent

  Apr 2019 - Aug 2021

  Part of the Interpublic Group of companies, Huge is a design and innovation company that creates products and experiences by leveraging creative talent, data-based insights & emerging technologies to develop unforgettable digital experiences for the age of AI.

  • Led a team of 30+ recruiters, managing 500+ hires annually across 12 global offices by centralizing global recruitment and aligning hiring priorities with strategic skill sets, resulting in reduced open-to-fill rates from 65 to 31 days.
  • Facilitated strategic partnerships between clients and in-house talent to drive new revenue opportunities, resulting in the successful development of innovative solutions and securing multiple high-value contracts.
  • Oversaw talent operations across North America, LATAM, Europe, and APAC, fostering global cohesion and optimizing cross-office collaboration.
  • Launched the Huge Schools initiative, bringing in 8 diverse UX Interns, all of whom were hired full-time within 12 months.
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  Edelman

  VP, Creative Talent Strategy & Acquisition

  Feb 2014 - Mar 2019

  Edelman is the world leader in global communications, partnering with businesses and organizations to develop powerful ideas and tell magnetic stories that move at the speed of news, transform culture and spark movements. Responsible for building a creative agency within the world's leading PR firm, growing a team of fewer than 10 to an award-winning creative and production powerhouse of 175+, successfully hiring our Creative leadership team and building out Edelman’s capabilities in Art Direction, Copywriting, Design, User Experience, Experiential, Content Production and Editorial.

  • Managed 2 direct reports and reported to the Chief Creative Officer. Supported creative teams globally.
  • Grew Edelman’s creative team from fewer than 10 to 175+, establishing the creative arm as a profitable standalone P&L within the world’s leading PR firm.
  • Built and scaled creative teams across New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, and Europe.
  • Generated $10M in new revenue by hiring and scaling the creative team in the second year.
  • Hired 12 Executive Vice Presidents across creative verticals within 18 months, building Edelman’s creative capacity.