Your people strategy is your business strategy
Chen Advisory partners with founders, operators, and boards to bring clarity and confidence to the people decisions that shape companies.
Mike Chen
Mike is an independent HR advisor and the founder of Chen Advisory, a consulting practice that partners with founders, executives, and boards on the people decisions that shape organizations. Mike works with companies navigating growth, transformation, or complexity — helping leadership teams bring clarity and structure to hiring, leadership, compensation, organizational design, and governance.
Over the course of his career, Mike has worked across high-growth technology companies, mission-driven organizations, and global teams. His work focuses on translating business strategy into practical people strategies that support long-term performance.
Types of Engagement
On-Demand HR
For organizations that need experienced HR leadership from time to time, we provide on-demand support for leadership teams navigating people-related questions and decisions.
This model allows founders and executives to tap into trusted advice on topics like hiring strategy, leadership challenges, compensation decisions, and organizational design — without the need for a full-time internal role.
Project-specific Focus
For companies that need consistent senior-level HR leadership but are not yet ready for a full-time executive, we can serve in a fractional leadership capacity. In this role, Mike works closely with founders and executives to build and guide the company’s people strategy — helping establish foundational systems, support leadership teams, and scale the organization thoughtfully.
Fractional HR Leadership
Some situations call for focused work on a defined challenge or initiative. We partner with organizations on specific projects such as executive hiring, compensation frameworks, organizational design, policy development, or performance management systems.
These engagements typically have a clear scope, timeline, and set of deliverables.
Clients We’ve Worked With
What People Are Saying
“Mike stands apart from other HR leaders because he delivers real business impact. He doesn’t just talk about how talent and culture drive results—he proves it, time and time again. He has a knack for seeing how talent and culture actually drive the bottom line - and this translates directly to business wins, such as our most recent Series C. ”
— Michael Burdick, Founder
“Mike was extremely friendly, highly communicative, and very knowledgeable of the project we hired him for. He even provided HR/admin advice to us as we navigated some departmental changes in our company.”
— Tara Machado, Office Manager & Site Leader
“Mike has a way of making complicated HR issues feel manageable. He’s incredibly knowledgeable, but what really stood out to me was his communication style. He can talk to anyone, from the C-suite to individual contributors, and adjust his approach so everyone feels heard and understood.”