Transformational HR and Culture Leader

www.ElissaMahendra.com LINKEDIN.COM/IN/EMAHENDRA/ 1

ELISSA MAHENDRA 773-***-**** *******@**************.*** TRANSFORMATIONAL HR & TALENT EXECUTIVE

18+ Years Positioning HR as a Strategic and Credible Business Partner Successive scope of influence and impact across dynamic private equity and global public landscapes—including the U.S., U.K., and India. Recognized for driving organizational growth through people—in critical inflection points such as scale, complexity, and reinvention.

Led through multiple acquisitions and ownership shifts, CEO and CHRO transitions, and a global pandemic— architecting culture strategies, leadership systems, scalable talent infrastructure, and award-winning programs to meet evolving business and workforce demands.

BY-THE-NUMBERS HIGHLIGHTS

● 18+ years of business impact

● Onboarded and integrated 13 acquisitions; 4 ownership changes + 5 CEOs supported

● E-NPS (Engagement measure) doubled (from 18 to 31 to 40) and sustained for 3 years (with 86% response rate)

● Surpassed internal mobility annual benchmark (~8% of workforce, 80% of which were promotions)

● 2.1% YoY attrition reduction (9.2% - 5% lower than industry average in financial services)

● Boosted recognition program usage by +25% YoY, by promoting and reinforcing cultural values and behaviors

● Inclusion measures in first year trended +7pts benchmark, and YoY +10-14pts above benchmark

● Led DEIB Advisor conference with record 91 NPS and 99% favorability—highest-rated event in company history

● Grew Advisor Resource Groups (ARGs) 3x YoY and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) 2x YoY to 20% of FTE

● Built and managed robust people systems for 3,000+ employees with lean teams (1:1000 ratio)

● 4x recipient of the CEO Award for exceptional contributions to creating value at Cetera (2015, 2019, 2022, 2023)

● 3x recipient of the Chairman’s Award for excellence in execution at Northern Trust (2009, 2010, 2012)

● 1,000s of hours of facilitation across development, culture, executive sessions, and transformation programs

● Enabled pandemic resiliency by transitioning workforce from 7% to 93% work-from-home over 10 days, across 55 locations

● Thought-leader & Contributor to i4cp, McLean, and FranklinCovey research and client solutions SIGNATURE HR EXPERTISE

● Business Transformation & Culture Renovation

● Integrated Talent Management & Organizational Design/Development

● Talent Planning, Workforce Analytics & Span-of-Control Modeling

● Pay-for-Performance Culture Design and Talent-to-Comp Alignment

● Recruiting, Onboarding & Internal Mobility

● Leadership & Manager Effectiveness, Career Development & Succession

● Employee Experience Design and Journey Mapping

● Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

● Change Management & Enterprise Project Management

● HR Optimization, Tech Enablement & Employee Self-Service (Process and System Design) PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

CETERA FINANCIAL GROUP Las Vegas, NV (Hybrid/Remote) 01/2014 – Present

$3B+; One of the nation’s largest independent financial advisor networks, with 3,000 employees serving 12,000+ financial advisors. Managing Director, Head of Talent Management 08/2024 – Present Stepped into a focused enterprise leadership role to scale Talent Management in a high-growth, PE-backed environment As the company expanded through rapid M&A, led efforts to unify talent systems and performance frameworks across a complex, evolving enterprise - enabling sustainable growth and value creation.

● Revenue Transformation Enablement: Spearheaded talent enablement strategy for a full-scale revenue transformation, following a Chief Growth Officer transition and org model overhaul. Created and delivered 30-60-90 and 12-month reboarding plans for 150+ employees. Built adoption and performance trackers to identify needs, model excellence, and accelerate ramp time.

● Strategic Workforce Design: Led enterprise-wide org design initiative, implementing spans and layers modeling and partnering with HRBPs and execs to optimize structures. Created dashboards, trained HRBPs and leaders, and developed ongoing governance for workforce planning.

● Job Architecture & Leveling Framework: Built enterprise-wide job leveling guide and framework used in hiring, promotions, and internal mobility—delivered independently in 8 weeks, replacing a costly external project. Became backbone for career growth conversations and compensation alignment.

● Pay-for-Performance Redesign: Simplified performance management process and system, moving from 5-point to 3-point scale. Achieved 100% budget adherence and in-range ratings as a result of 23 calibration sessions. Supported talent-to-comp link in performance culture reset. www.ElissaMahendra.com LINKEDIN.COM/IN/EMAHENDRA/ 2 Chief Talent and Inclusion Officer 04/2022 – 08/2024 Elevated to dual role as Head of Talent and Chief Inclusion Officer, expanding enterprise scope Designed and led a modern talent and inclusion strategy—guiding a network of stakeholders to advance an inclusive, high-performance culture.

● Inclusive Talent Strategy: Led a third-party-reviewed audit of talent programs across the employee lifecycle - identifying strengths and opportunities to mitigate potential bias and optimize processes - to ensure equitable people practices representative of Cetera culture.

● Optimize People Practices: Executed against a roadmap for closing gaps, starting with enhancements to: Handbook + policies, PM, succession, calibration, onboarding, inclusive interviewing, unconscious bias and allyship training, value awards, marketing monthly observances and award-winning courageous conversations series.

● Deepen Client Relationships and Growth: Led and oversaw strategy to cultivate a thriving community of Advisor Resource Groups (clients) to reach growing diverse and emerging talent and client markets. Created and launched Cetera’s Financial Inclusion Program to connect employees, advisors, and underserved communities—helping more people earn, manage, and build wealth. Partner with industry leaders to provide access to resources to serve diversified client markets, including multi-lingual marketing support. Vice President, Learning, Talent, and Culture 06/2018 – 04/2022 Promoted from Head of Talent to include Culture and EX in 2019 as part of HR Leadership Team during rapid growth and transformation Led a lean team focused on culture and reimagining the employee experience. Supporting HR Programs included: Onboarding, Learning & Career Development, Performance Management, Talent Reviews and Succession, Recognition, Employee Engagement and Culture.

● Culture Renovation: Led i4cp Culture Renovation initiative to reshape purpose, culture statements, and leadership behaviors integrated throughout employee lifecycle programs. Launched playbook, culture pledge, manager expectations and training. Resulted in 82% survey participation, +13pts E-NPS (18 to 31), and Culture Index +12pts above benchmark.

● M&A/Post-Acquisition HR Integration: Engaged with M&A team to lead culture and communications workstream from due diligence process through onboarding and integration of large-scale acquisitions to ensure Day 1 readiness. Responsible for assessing talent impacts, crafting the change management plan, and serving as a culture ambassador in pre-boarding meetings and Top Advisor client conference.

● Reimagine and Modernize the Employee Experience: In collaboration with senior leadership, reimagine how Cetera delivers an experience where employees can thrive and cultivates a high-performance culture. Led team focused on enterprise engagement (from strategy to tactics), resulting in consecutive years of improved engagement scores from 2019-2021. Director, Head of Learning and Development 01/2014 – 06/2018 Recruited to build learning and development CoE aligned to business strategy, as part of a complete re-build and revitalization of the HR function.

● Build and Launch Center of Excellence: Built and led L&D function during hyper-growth (800 to 1600 employees), launching the first enterprise learning agenda and custom programs for manager development, individual effectiveness, and service excellence—grounded in adult learning, performance, and change principles.

● Change Management: Within 6 months of hire, contributed as part of a team that led the integration of 1600 employees (11 firms, as a result of 7 acquisitions) onto one HR platform, while navigating a challenging implementation of a new Oracle HR System. Streamlined processes and practices between legacy organizations to improve compliance and efficiency, while setting the foundation for a cohesive culture.

● Organization Effectiveness and Talent: Consulted with the Executive Team on organization and talent assessments through a prolonged period of ambiguity and challenging headwinds (including several changes in CEO leadership and ownership structures). Part of the Talent Management leadership team that built and launched inaugural enterprise-wide talent, engagement, and recognition programs. Trusted with responsibility as Senior HRBP for 2 Business Units, in addition to L&D role (9/2017 – 6/2018)

● Senior HR Business Partner: Seamless transition with Executive leaders during organizational change planning. Supported and coached leaders in all aspects of hiring, onboarding, performance management and calibration process, development, retention, engagement, compensation, and rewards. Mitigated employee relations risk through effectively evaluating and managing situations to determine appropriate actions.

www.ElissaMahendra.com LINKEDIN.COM/IN/EMAHENDRA/ 3 NORTHERN TRUST Chicago, IL and Expat Assignments in UK and India 03/2003 – 01/2014

$5B+ global financial services firm providing investment management, asset/fund administration, fiduciary, and other banking services to high-net-worth clients. In 2014, employed 15,000+ partners across 100+ offices globally. Vice President, Organizational Development – Talent Consulting and Engagement 05/2013 – 01/2014 Selected for a newly created enterprise role (1 of 4) to consult across a 15,000+ person organization. Led talent and succession planning, high- potential coaching, and mobility strategies to build internal pipeline and accelerate development through career maps and critical experience design. Vice President, Change Management – Enterprise Enablement 02/2012 – 05/2013 Fast-tracked to VP to build a global CoE during large-scale transformation. Developed change frameworks, playbooks, and resources to guide organizational changes and workforce transitions. Advised HRBPs and senior leaders on org redesign and change adoption strategy. 2nd VP, eLearning Solutions – Human Resources Expatriate Assignment, Bangalore, India 03/2011 – 02/2012 Pioneered the ground-floor build of a new shared service function and scaled solutions enterprise-wide. As part of new global strategy, led the eLearning function during early stages of operations center in India to support Global Talent Development organization by hiring local talent, setting performance expectations, and managing daily operations of the team. Quickly built relationships and earned trust of local employees as an Expat. 2nd VP, Talent Acquisition – Human Resources 06/2008 – 03/2011 Promoted to lead NT’s flagship enterprise leadership program, plus INROADS, internship, and early-career pipelines. Designed and executed rigorous campus recruiting, internal mobility, and development strategies. Human Resources Consultant, Enterprise Leadership Development 07/2006 – 06/2008 Enterprise High-Potential Leadership Rotational Program: 1 of 16 participants selected; First HR participant in company history Rotations Include: Global Compensation, Office of Diversity, London HR (Expat Assignment) and Talent Acquisition - Notable Impacts:

● Conducted a Job Structure Review, including job descriptions, job library, market mapping; Established written procedures for short-term and expatriate assignments; Redesigned NT Careers website; Implemented Employee Referral Gateway.

● Developed UK Governance, Organizational Charts and Executive Job Descriptions, for regulatory review by the (FSA) Financial Services Authority with an increase of 58% to the initial project scope, with no increase to budget or delivery date.

● Executed an enterprise-wide Diversity Assessment; Primary liaison to Employee Resource Groups; Received Chairman’s Diversity Award for founding the Advancing Professionals Business Resource Council and Executive-Sponsored Business Case Challenge. Project Manager; Portfolio Analyst 03/2003 – 07/2006 Early-career roles across operations and analytics supporting client portfolio delivery and internal systems implementation. ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE ADJUNCT FACULTY

DeVry University/Keller Graduate School of Management Chicago, IL (Multiple Campus Sites) 02/2010 – 05/2015 An innovative, accredited institution that thrives on developing hands-on, career-driven programs that elevate working adult students and positively impact the companies that employ them.

● Graduate Courses Taught: Managing Global Diversity, Strategic Staffing, Strategic Compensation

● Undergraduate Courses Taught: HR Systems, Strategic Staffing, Organizational Development, Compensation & Benefits, HR Management FORMAL EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS

Master of Business Administration, Concentration: Organizational Development, Summa Cum Laude North Park University, Chicago Bachelor of Science, Dual Concentration: Finance and Management University of Illinois at Chicago Artificial Intelligence (AI) for HR, Academy for Innovative HR (In Progress, Expected May 2025) Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP), Human Capital Institute (HCI) Certified Diversity Executive (CDE)®, Institute for Diversity Certification (Coursework Complete, Pending Exam) Certified Change Manager, Prosci Change Management, Professional Sciences (PROSCI, Inc.) Six Sigma Yellow Belt (with D&I Specialization), Six Sigma Global Institute Master Performance Consultant & Master Trainer, Association of Talent Development (ATD) Certified Coach and Facilitator, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI), CAPT, Inc. Certified Training Facilitator, Franklin Covey: Speed of Trust; 4DX, 4 Essential Roles, 6 Critical Practices, Unconscious Bias, Inclusive Leadership COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

Board Member Affiliations (Past): i4cp Chief Diversity Officer Board, SIFMA D&I Council, Financial Services Institute (FSI) NextGen Council, Institute of Management Studies Advisory Board, Keller Graduate HR Advisory Board, Shedd Aquarium Auxiliary Board Industry Affiliations: Association of Change Management Professionals, Association for Talent Development, Society for Human Resource Management, HR Certification Institute, CEO ACT!ON for Diversity & Inclusion, Six Sigma Global Institute, Institute for Diversity Certification Philanthropic Affiliations: Children’s Army, Red Cross Auxiliary Council, Feed My Starving Children, Feeding America, All God’s Children

(Honduras Mission Trip)

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