Hi, I’m Faith Kibria, HR and People Operations Consultant.

I don’t know if there are kids who dream of being in HR - at age 12 all I knew was I wanted to be a leader of people (and also that I could cook a full American Thanksgiving dinner, much to the surprise of my Bangladeshi immigrant family).

I heard my father swear once in my life: when I told him I didn’t want to be a doctor, and was switching out of pre-med. “Faith, what the f--- is anthropology?” he said. I still didn’t know HR was the flavor of leader I would become, but I did know I was interested in how large groups of people work.

I cut my teeth on the corporate ladder at Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan, and soon developed a hunger for change - not just for myself, but for the work culture around me.

I got my first opportunity to “be the change” as the lone HR person in a small (but global) marble importer. I was inspired to learn first-hand that making companies work better for people… makes companies work better! 

I went on to lead HR in the US at a company considered “the Spotify of India”. Working in a tech company opened my eyes to the strategic role of HR, and the difference between merely implementing copy-paste bureaucratic processes, and actually building HR and People Operations into the business strategy. This experience also provided me with an education in the challenges of bridging American work culture with that of the continent of my birth, requiring regular trips to our offices in India.

It hasn’t just been a smooth ride up though. In a subsequent role I had the unenviable experience of downsizing a whole company - including myself - across six global offices. Stressful as it was in the moment, it was also educational and inspiring. While it would be hubris to say that they could have avoided disaster if they’d hired me sooner, I can confidently say they would have had a much better chance by investing in HR at an earlier stage of the company, but there’s the rub: what 30 person company can justify an executive-level HR hire? The first seed of FMK+ Consulting was planted: let’s find a way to make best-in-class HR strategy available to companies which are not yet in a position to hire a full-time leader.

The second seed came during my time at a recent culturally conscious company, when I realized that the principles and best practices of tech-style People Operations can be applied equally effectively in other industries. Indeed, whereas strategic HR is a given in tech these days, other sectors are yet to benefit - there is potential waiting to be unlocked out there.

So, I had learned what great leadership can be and what it definitely ought not to be. I learned that your “culture” shouldn't just be slogans decorating a wall or a handbook; employees feel that culture, and feel its absence. I learned that HR initiatives are intrinsically tied to the health of an organization. I learned that HR doesn’t have to add “complexity” (like many founders have told me) but - done right - will enable startups to graduate from bootstrapping mode. I also learned that if you're burning wads of other people’s cash and your business model isn't generating revenue, you will fail to raise your next round of funding and have to lay off your entire company!

Now I work independently with a handful of companies and am able to bring them just what they need, when they need it, whilst still maintaining the compassion and empathy I apply to any one of my full time roles.