Anthony Azar

HR Consultant & Organizational Coach

Hi, I’m Anthony.

I live and work on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples – xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I acknowledge the ongoing consequences of colonization that disproportionately harm Indigenous peoples.

My Values & Beliefs

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Community

Creating programs from a community mindset prioritizes diversity, inclusion and accessibility. I also see community as connection to others which requires empathy and vulnerability.

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Growth

Long-term impact requires a growth mindset – working at the edge of comfort & discomfort. I focus on an agile and continuous improvement approach.

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People-First

Great talent processes & programs are built on trust, focusing on the benefit to humans and how we work together to succeed. My focus will always be on the impact to you and your team.

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Data-Informed

Data informs how we assess challenges and measure success. I believe that combining data with leader’s perceptions ensures the right solutions to the right problems.

My Story

I’ve always been a person that was curious about humans and how I might help them be better. Early exploration into this passion led me to pivot from pursuing a career in medicine to a career in human resources.

Some of my early career experiences helped me understand some core lessons: managers are not necessarily leaders and policy and procedure are often broad tools that work against people instead of for them.

Over my career, I’ve seen some of the most innovative talent practices from tech, consulting, retail and non-profit. These organizations have been recognized with awards like Great Place to Work, Best Managed, Deloitte Fast 50, LinkedIn Top Startups and more. Building great in other organizations before enables me to drive business results and steward incredible cultures.

Some growth stories are below.

Traction on Demand

Traction on Demand was North America’s largest, values-based, dedicated Salesforce.com implementation partner – acquired by salesforce 2022.

I joined the organization at 130 people with operations in Canada as the third HR person and first with a focus on talent. My remit was to build the organization sustainably, with a focus on values. I oversaw talent acquisition and also delivered impact projects in people analytics, employee engagement, workforce planning, leadership development, organizational design, coaching, and compensation.

When I left the organization in 2022 we had grown the organization to 1500 people with operations in 5 countries (CA, US, IN, AU, NZ) as well as scaled 3 separate product companies, one through to series A and separation.

BenchSci

BenchSci uses AI and machine learning to create tools that help scientists bring new medicine to market faster.

I joined BenchSci to solve their talent acquisition challenges. The organization sought to double in headcount and hire 250 people that year and was struggling to hire at scale, especially for its highly technical workforce. I worked to deploy a scaling hiring model for the organization that included deployment and customization of new tools and systems, development of streamlined processes, coaching and training for talent acquisition team members & hiring managers, reporting & dashboarding, employer branding programs and events.

Exceeded on 2023 hiring goals, hiring 258 (target 250), with 48% (target 40%) from racialized groups and an increase in women in engineering by 20%

Issued March 2019 – Expires April 2025

Issued January 2013 – Expired January 2020