Compensation & Workday Transformation Leader

John S. Estrada, MBA, CCP

**** **********, *** *******, ** 78253 210-***-**** *************@*******.***

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Strategic Compensation and HR Technology Leader with expertise in compensation strategy, Workday HCM and Advanced Compensation, global pay equity and transparency, market benchmarking, job architecture, incentive design, and compliance. Proven success leading compensation transformations, annual pay programs, and technology initiatives while using advanced analytics to strengthen planning, governance, and decision-making. Trusted advisor to C-suite and senior leadership, delivering competitive, equitable, and scalable compensation solutions aligned with business and workforce strategies.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Compensation Strategy & Planning

Data Analytics & Business Intelligence (Power BI, Excel)

Regulatory Compliance & Governance

Executive Compensation & Equity Solutions

HR Program Development & Optimization

Cross-functional Leadership & Team Management

Project Management & Process Improvement

Change Management & Stakeholder Engagement

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Viasat Inc. (Contract) Carlsbad, CA (Remote)

Sr. Workday Compensation Consultant December 2025 – Present

Led global compensation transformation and compliance initiatives spanning pay transparency, pay equity, Workday Advanced Compensation, and Time & Attendance/FTO implementations. Directed global UAT activities across Oracle, Infor, Teamseer, and Cozone, developing test strategies and coordinating testing to support successful process alignment. Served as a Workday Compensation SME, leading annual compensation cycles, system enhancements, reporting, testing, and process optimization. Advanced market benchmarking, salary structures, sales compensation design, and compensation analytics, leveraging Excel and Workday to model costs and support data-driven pay decisions. Partnered with HR, Finance, Compliance, and business leadership to strengthen compensation governance, automate processes, improve data accuracy, and support competitive, equitable, and compliant pay practices across multiple countries and jurisdictions.

CSL (Contract thru Side Road Consultants) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Remote)

Functional Workday Compensation Consultant October 2025 – December 2025

Served as a techno-functional Workday Compensation consultant, leading the design, testing, and validation of compensation structures, salary ranges, grade profiles, security, and reporting. Partnered with HR Technology teams and implementation partners to translate compensation strategies into scalable Workday solutions, while advising HR and Compensation leaders on system optimization, governance, and compensation planning. Supported end-to-end delivery from requirements through UAT, bridging business and technical teams to improve solution accuracy, usability, and alignment with organizational goals.

Shriners Children’s Hospitals (Contract thru Innovo Advisors, LLC) Tampa, FL (Remote)

Workday HR & Compensation Consultant April 2025 – October 2025

Consulted on the design and implementation of Workday Core HCM and Advanced Compensation, including annual merit and bonus cycles, compensation plans, eligibility rules, one-time payments, and system enhancements. Partnered with HR leadership, IT, and external stakeholders to translate compensation strategy into scalable solutions while advising on job architecture, geographic pay structures, market analysis, and equitable pay adjustments. Led implementation activities, including End-to-end and UAT testing, training, and ongoing system optimization to strengthen data integrity, compliance, and compensation processes.

NorthStar Anesthesia Dallas, TX

Compensation Manager May 2024 – February 2025

Transformed enterprise compensation and people analytics capabilities through Workday HCM and Advanced Compensation, leading pay structure, merit, bonus, equity, and job architecture initiatives. Designed job architecture and established market benchmarking initiatives while modernizing analytics through Workday, Power BI, and Excel dashboards to strengthen workforce planning and executive decision-making. Partnered with HRBPs and senior leadership to deliver strategic insights across compensation, turnover, workforce planning, organizational networks, employee surveys, and workforce risk.

AT&T Corporation Dallas, TX

Lead Compensation Consultant September 2021 – May 2024

Led the end-to-end Annual Compensation Process for 90,000+ employees in Workday, including merit and bonus planning, merit matrix design, configuration, and post-cycle reporting. Enhanced compensation analytics through Power BI dashboards supporting executive decision-making, workforce planning, and sales compensation audits. Drove process improvements to increase reporting accuracy and operational efficiency while conducting compensation compliance audits focused on employee movements, OFCCP requirements, and regulatory reporting.

Cook Children’s Healthcare System Fort Worth, TX

Manager, Compensation October 2019 – September 2021

Led a team of four compensation professionals, providing strategic guidance to senior leadership on pay equity, market competitiveness, annual compensation planning, and incentive design. Modernized compensation operations through Workday, JDXpert, and MarketPay implementations, developed cost models and executive HR analytics to support data-driven decisions, and redesigned enterprise incentive and performance management programs while leading annual pay recommendations presented to the C-suite.

UT Health, San Antonio San Antonio, TX

Manager, Compensation February 2018 – May 2019

Provided strategic leadership for compensation programs, leading a team of two and supporting 3,900 employees, including market analysis, annual merit planning, executive compensation, job architecture, and benchmarking. Led a comprehensive market study with SullivanCotter, directed compensation reviews for 14 senior executives, and oversaw the development of 1,000+ job descriptions as part of a large-scale job architecture initiative. Managed the cross-functional implementation of JDXpert and compensation survey/vendor relationships while leading a team responsible for 40–60 off-cycle compensation requests each month.

BioBridge Global San Antonio, TX

Manager, Compensation March 2015 – February 2018

Provided strategic leadership for Compensation, partnering with executives and Sales Leadership to design competitive compensation and incentive programs that supported business objectives, pay equity, and compliance. Led enterprise salary planning, merit and variable pay processes, and compensation structure adjustments, including variable pay programs supporting 750 employees across multiple subsidiaries. Directed the implementation of SuccessFactors Compensation and Variable Pay, strengthening compensation administration, automation, and reporting capabilities.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)

Global Remuneration Professional (GRP) certification – 7/9 courses completed

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Finance – Our Lady of the Lake University

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), HR Management – The University of Texas at San Antonio

TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS

HRIS Systems: Workday Core Compensation & Advanced Compensation configuration & testing; SAP HRM; SuccessFactors; ABRA Suite (HRIS); Ultipro HRIS; Cognos Impromptu; Taleo Applicant Tracking; ADP Payroll and Time & Attendance.

Data Analytics: Power BI, MS Excel (Advanced, using PowerPivots)

Project Management: Led implementations of SuccessFactors, JDXpert, MarketPay, Absorb LMS

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