Nick Wakefield

Chief People Officer @Ascend

Seattle, WA, US

Strategic HR executive who partners with CEOs and boards to align people strategy to business outcomes. Known for enterprise transformation, measurable cost takeout, and building inclusive, high-performance cultures. Career highlights include $2.2 million annual benefits savings, 82% reduction in HR staffing through automation and AI, 31% retention improvement, 40.9% fewer preventable accidents, and 44% fewer lost-time injuries.Core Leadership & Technical Skills• Strategic Workforce Planning; Organizational Design; Culture & Engagement; Change Management• Talent Acquisition, Retention & Succession; Leadership Development; Workforce Analytics• Total Rewards, Compensation & Benefits; Pay Equity; Vendor & GPO Consolidation• Risk, Safety & Compliance (workers’ comp, OSHA); Claims & Legal Coordination• HCM Platforms & HR Tech: enterprise HCM selection/implementation • DEI; M&A Integration; Employee Communications; HR Operating Model/COE BuildLeadership Results• Advanced data-driven HR: standardized KPIs, dashboards, and quarterly talent reviews to inform capital allocation and workforce decisions.• Negotiated benefit plans and redesigned employee value proposition strategy, reducing costs by 38.9% delivering $2.2M annual savings while improving coverage to 98% and improving bill accuracy to 99.4 %. • Strengthened workplace safety: reduced preventable accidents by 40.9% and lost-time injuries by 44%; lowered claims costs and business disruption.• Modernized talent acquisition using AI-enabled tools; cut hiring costs by 34.5%, reduced time-to-hire by 30%, and improved early retention by 38.6%.

University of Phoenix

MA

Western Washington University

BA