Kristen Duncan
Spring
Summary
Dynamic HR executive driving organizational transformation and strategic alignment across global environments. Expertise in architecting scalable people systems and advising leadership on workforce planning, culture strategy, and HR analytics, resulting in enhanced retention and high-performance cultures.
Overview
2027
2027
years of professional experience
Work History
HR Director
Aquapharm PCHEM, LLC
The Woodlands
06.2026 - Current
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and executive leadership team, aligning talent, culture, organizational design, and workforce strategies with the company's long-term business objectives, growth initiatives, and financial goals.
- Leverage human capital analytics and workforce insights to inform strategic decision-making, providing the CEO and Chairman with actionable recommendations on talent, workforce planning, organizational trends, and people investments.
- Lead organizational effectiveness and transformation efforts, including change management, restructuring, acquisitions, integrations, and business expansions, to enhance scalability, performance, and organizational health.
- Partner with executive leadership to define, strengthen, and evolve the organizations mission, vision, values, culture, and employee engagement strategy while proactively identifying and mitigating people-related risks.
- Provide executive oversight of the full employee lifecycle and HR operations, driving operational excellence through process standardization, automation, continuous improvement, and optimization of HR technology platforms.
- Oversee the organizations total rewards strategy, including compensation, benefits, wellness, payroll, and retirement programs, ensuring market competitiveness, regulatory compliance, cost-effectiveness, and a positive employee experience.
- Lead relationships with key vendors, brokers, consultants, and service providers to maximize program effectiveness, optimize investments, and enhance service delivery.
DIRECTOR OF HR
Cyclx International
The Woodlands
11.2025 - 03.2026
- Led the HR function as the senior HR executive for a high-growth, innovation-driven organization, shaping enterprise people strategy to support rapid expansion and long-term business goals.
- Partnered directly with the CEO and executive leadership team to architect organizational structures, workforce planning models, and talent forecasts that enabled scalability, operational efficiency, and strategic growth.
- Built and matured enterprise HR frameworks across talent acquisition, onboarding, employee relations, compliance, compensation, benefits, and HR operations, ensuring market competitiveness and internal equity.
- Led culture strategy and organizational health initiatives, enhancing engagement and accountability while embedding a high-performance, values-driven culture.
- Drove enterprise-wide change management, guiding leaders through organizational redesign and policy modernization to implement scalable HR systems and processes.
- Established governance and compliance infrastructure, ensuring adherence to federal and state labor laws, mitigating organizational risk, and creating consistent, transparent HR practices.
- Leveraged HRIS and workforce analytics to inform executive decision-making, optimize organizational design, and identify talent trends that impacted business performance.
- Oversaw enterprise talent strategy, focusing on leadership development and succession planning to build a stronger leadership pipeline.
- Led compensation and total rewards strategy, ensuring competitive positioning, internal equity, and alignment with business performance and retention goals.
- Acted as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, coaching executives on organizational effectiveness, talent decisions, and culture stewardship to drive business outcomes.
GLOBAL HR DIRECTOR, CORPORATE FUNCTIONS & MANUFACTURING
Ketjen Corporation
Clear Lake
08.2022 - 11.2025
- Led global HR strategy for a multi-region corporate and manufacturing organization, aligning people, culture, and organizational design with enterprise business goals across Canada, Brazil, the EU, and APAC.
- Directed a global HR team supporting diverse corporate functions and manufacturing sites, strengthening capability, service delivery, and alignment to operational and commercial priorities.
- Served as a strategic advisor to executive leadership, shaping organizational structure, workforce planning, and talent strategies that supported growth, operational efficiency, and global consistency.
- Drove enterprise-wide culture and engagement initiatives, fostering a high-performance, inclusive environment and embedding DEIB principles across the employee lifecycle.
- Modernized global HR policies and governance, harmonizing practices across regions to ensure a consistent employee experience and reduce compliance and operational risk.
- Leveraged HR technology, data, and analytics to identify workforce trends, inform executive decision-making, and proactively address talent gaps across global operations.
- Strengthened global compliance infrastructure, ensuring adherence to international labor laws, mitigating risk, and establishing scalable, transparent HR processes.
- Led organizational change and transformation efforts, guiding leaders through policy alignment, workforce transitions, and global HR modernization initiatives.
- Enhanced talent acquisition and workforce planning capability, improving hiring quality, forecasting accuracy, and alignment of talent pipelines with global business needs.
- Championed DEIB strategy across global regions, promoting inclusive leadership, equitable practices, and a culture of belonging across corporate and manufacturing environments.
REGIONAL PEOPLE & CULTURE DIRECTOR
BDO USA, LLP
Houston
02.2018 - 08.2022
- Directed people strategy for a multi-site, professional services organization, aligning talent, culture, and organizational design with firmwide business priorities and growth objectives.
- Served as a strategic advisor to executive and site leadership, shaping workforce planning, performance management, and talent development strategies that strengthened organizational capability and leadership effectiveness.
- Led the annual HR strategic planning process, driving initiatives that improved engagement, retention, and performance across multiple offices and service lines.
- Modernized talent acquisition and workforce planning, implementing data-driven hiring and retention strategies that improved quality of hire, reduced time-to-fill, and strengthened leadership and technical talent pipelines.
- Enhanced candidate and employee experience by partnering with business leaders to create consistent, high-quality touchpoints throughout employee lifecycle.
- Established accountability for talent outcomes, embedding metrics and performance expectations for leaders related to hiring quality, retention, and team development.
- Built and sustained a high-performance culture, emphasizing empowerment, accountability, recognition, and continuous development to support a competitive, client-focused environment.
- Oversaw compensation, benefits, and HR policy strategy to ensure market competitiveness and internal equity while aligning with operational and financial goals.
- Managed HR budgets and vendor partnerships while overseeing contingent workforce strategy to optimize service delivery across region.
- Ensured compliance with federal and state employment laws, reducing risk through proactive policy development, leader coaching, and consistent application of HR practices.
HUMAN RESOURCES SR. MANAGER
Republic Services
Houston
05.2014 - 10.2017
- Directed HR strategy for a large, multi-site operational region, aligning people programs with business goals to support service delivery, operational efficiency, and workforce stability across a high-volume, frontline environment.
- Served as a strategic advisor to regional and site leadership, shaping organizational design, workforce planning, and talent strategies that improved productivity, engagement, and retention.
- Led workforce planning and staffing strategy, forecasting short- and long-term labor needs and partnering with operations and finance to ensure staffing levels aligned with business targets and budget requirements.
- Strengthened employee relations infrastructure by resolving complex issues, conducting objective investigations, and implementing proactive ER strategies that improved workplace climate.
- Drove culture and engagement initiatives in partnership with leaders to create an environment where employees felt supported and motivated to achieve business goals.
- Implemented talent and performance programs, coaching leaders on performance management, accountability, and development to elevate leadership capability and team effectiveness.
- Partnered cross-functionally with operations and finance to manage headcount, labor costs, and workforce planning, ensuring alignment between people strategy and operational priorities.
- Enhanced HR program delivery to improve consistency, responsiveness, and service quality across sites while ensuring compliance with federal and state employment laws.
- Led change management efforts during organizational shifts, policy updates, and workforce transitions, ensuring clear communication, leader readiness, and minimal disruption to operations.
HR MANAGER, CORPORATE FUNCTIONS
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
The Woodlands
HR SPECIALIST - TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
City of Houston/Houston Airport System
Houston
HR ADMINISTRATOR
Bank of America
Houston
Education
MASTER OF ARTS - HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PABACHELOR OF ARTS - COMMUNICATIONS
University of Houston
Houston, TXSkills
- Talent acquisition
- HR analytics
- Organizational design
- Change management
- Workforce optimization
- HR operations management
- Employee retention
- Compensation design
- Total rewards management
- Employee engagement
- Leadership development
- Onboarding programs
- Organizational development
- Strategic planning
- Compliance management
- Cultural stewardship
- Risk management
- Labor relations
- HR policies development
- Employee wellness initiatives
- Staffing models
Timeline
HR Director
Aquapharm PCHEM, LLC
06.2026 - Current
DIRECTOR OF HR
Cyclx International
11.2025 - 03.2026
GLOBAL HR DIRECTOR, CORPORATE FUNCTIONS & MANUFACTURING
Ketjen Corporation
08.2022 - 11.2025
REGIONAL PEOPLE & CULTURE DIRECTOR
BDO USA, LLP
02.2018 - 08.2022
HUMAN RESOURCES SR. MANAGER
Republic Services
05.2014 - 10.2017
HR MANAGER, CORPORATE FUNCTIONS
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
HR SPECIALIST - TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
City of Houston/Houston Airport System
HR ADMINISTRATOR
Bank of America
MASTER OF ARTS - HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Pennsylvania State University
BACHELOR OF ARTS - COMMUNICATIONS
University of Houston