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Mackenzie Kelley — People Operations Leader
People & Operations Leader

Mackenzie Kelley

Employee Experience • People Integration • Organizational Systems

I'm Mack — a People Operations and organizational systems leader with over 10 years of experience helping organizations scale without losing the human element. I build the systems, processes, and communication that make growth feel intentional rather than chaotic.

About

I build things that actually last.

People Operations Organizational Design M&A Integration Employee Experience Workforce Analytics Change Management AI & Automation Executive Partnership

I've spent more than a decade designing, leading, and improving the systems that shape employee experience. Not from a distance, but from inside the work itself.

My focus is people operations, integration, and organizational effectiveness. I pay attention to where work flows smoothly and where it breaks down, because friction is often a signal that a process, expectation, or system needs attention.

I've led people integration through talent and equity acquisitions, built HR infrastructure from the ground up, and spent a decade in leadership roles across high-growth organizations. Different industries, different challenges, same objective: understand the people involved, simplify complexity, and build systems that scale without losing their human foundation.

I hold certifications as a Professional Scrum Master (PSM I), ATD Virtual Training & Facilitation Specialist, and WRITER AI Pro. I studied Organizational Communication at UW–La Crosse, where my interest in the connection between people, systems, and organizational behavior first took shape.

I'm less interested in quick fixes than sustainable outcomes. Culture is not an abstract concept. It's reflected in onboarding experiences, manager behaviors, performance conversations, decision-making processes, and how organizations navigate change. The strongest organizations treat culture as an operational discipline, not a side initiative.

I believe empathy and accountability are complementary forces, and the most effective systems are the ones that support both.

Experience

A decade of doing the work.

I've operated as both a strategic advisor to executive teams and a hands-on implementer — often at the same time.

Apr 2026 – Present
Current
Northwestern Mutual

Employee Experience & Integration Manager

Northwestern Mutual – Socium Advisors

Leading People Operations integration through organic growth and acquisition — building onboarding, communication, and workflow systems to support a growing multi-state workforce.

Built scalable onboarding and enablement systems that accelerated integration across multiple locations
Served as HRIS system administrator across Inova, Employee Navigator, and SurePayroll — maintaining data integrity and audit-ready records
Designed a knowledge management system of SOPs and playbooks that improved consistency and reduced onboarding friction
Jun 2023 – Apr 2026
Northwestern Mutual

Director of People Operations

Northwestern Mutual – Amplify Wealth Partners

Built the People Operations function from scratch for a $2.1B+ AUM firm — taking the organization from informal people practices to a fully structured, scalable HR infrastructure.

Designed a full employee lifecycle framework spanning recruiting, onboarding, development, performance, and offboarding
Partnered with executive leadership on workforce planning, org design, and leadership coaching through a period of significant growth
Built standardized HRIS administration, data governance, and payroll processes across a distributed workforce
Feb 2022 – Jun 2023
Northwestern Mutual

People Operations Manager

Northwestern Mutual – Infinity Benefits Solutions

Standardized People Operations processes, communication workflows, and accountability structures for a high-volume team navigating rapid growth.

Served as central coordinator between employees, executive leadership, and Northwestern Mutual Home Office
Developed executive communications that improved transparency and supported informed decision-making
Built standardized HR workflows and documentation practices that improved consistency and audit readiness
Apr 2018 – Feb 2022
Nonprofit Sector

Chief of Staff

Groundwork Milwaukee, 501(c)(3)

Strategic partner to executive leadership — translating vision into operational plans and building the infrastructure that kept a growing nonprofit running consistently.

Led people operations including payroll, benefits administration, and employee experience
Built centralized documentation and collaboration systems in Google Workspace, improving transparency across the organization
May 2013 – Apr 2018
Nonprofit Sector

Senior Program Director

Best Buddies Wisconsin, 501(c)(3)

Built operational consistency across multiple statewide programs, establishing standardized processes and compliance practices for a growing mission-driven organization.

Managed and developed a team of program leaders, strengthening ownership and leadership capacity
Established HRIS practices in ADP and designed automated compliance tracking that reduced audit preparation time
Endorsements

What others have found to be true.

After three years working alongside Mack, I know her to be a highly capable and trusted leader who provides structure and momentum. Her leadership is grounded, pragmatic, and values-driven – with a consistent track record of making lasting contributions.

Jerod Spaeth
Jerod Spaeth
Partner & Private Wealth Advisor
Northwestern Mutual – Socium Wealth Advisors  •  Previous CEO, Amplify Wealth Partners

Mackenzie brings a deep sense of purpose to her work, with a clear commitment to building connection and belonging. She leads with intention and advances meaningful outcomes that extend beyond the organization and into the community.

Theresa Dodson Nemetz
Theresa Dodson Nemetz
Founder & President
Milwaukee Food & City Tours  •  Previous Executive Director, Best Buddies Wisconsin
Case Study

Building people systems that actually scale.

Employee Onboarding & Experience — Amplify Wealth Partners

The Challenge

Amplify was in a period of rapid growth – expanding the team by approximately 66% over two years. The real challenge wasn't scaling the hiring process. It was doing so without losing the sense of connection that defined the employee experience. At the same time, leadership had valid concerns about whether flexibility and autonomy could remain sustainable as the team grew.

My Role

I led the design and build of the talent acquisition and onboarding framework, working closely with leadership to balance business scalability with a people-first experience. My role was to translate both data and cultural priorities into systems that could grow with the organization – without requiring constant reinvention.

The Approach

I started by pulling together onboarding feedback, engagement surveys, retention data, candidate insights, and external research. What consistently stood out was that high-performing organizations weren't winning on compensation alone – they were building trust early, creating transparency, and supporting employees meaningfully from day one.

With that in mind, I built systems that reinforced those values in practice. A key principle throughout: people should have real autonomy and also understand expectations clearly, feeling supported in meeting them.

Structured, consistent hiring workflows that reduced ambiguity for candidates and hiring managers alike
Scalable onboarding and enablement processes designed for a distributed, growing team
Transparent communication standards that set clear expectations from offer through first 90 days
AI-accelerated insight generation across talent data, enabling personalized onboarding experiences at scale
The Outcomes
~20%
Faster time from hiring need to accepted offer
−10
Business days off new hire ramp time
85→92%
18-month retention improvement

Just as importantly, employee feedback consistently reflected trust as a defining part of the experience – from the hiring process through onboarding and across the full employee lifecycle. The systems created space for people to do their best work, and that showed up in the numbers.

Areas of Expertise

Where I do my best work.

Each of these domains is something I've lived in, not just designed from the outside. I bring authority and genuine curiosity to all of them.

People Operations

Full employee lifecycle management, HRIS administration, compliance, benefits strategy, SOP development, and performance management. I've been the system administrator, the compliance owner, and the strategic advisor — often at the same time.

People Integration & M&A

Integration playbook development, acquired team enablement, pre-close diligence, workforce readiness, ramp-time reduction, and post-integration retention. I've led the largest talent integration in firm history and built the playbook others now follow.

Organizational Development

Org design, EOS implementation, operating rhythms, change management, cross-functional leadership, and executive partnership. I help organizations build the structure that makes good work repeatable and sustainable.

Employee Experience Design

Onboarding program design, engagement and retention strategy, enablement frameworks for distributed teams, survey design, and workforce data analysis. Culture is operational — and I design it that way.

Workforce Analytics

KPI development, HRIS data integrity, leadership dashboards, and using data to identify gaps and inform people strategy. Numbers should tell a story — and that story should be accessible to the leaders making decisions.

AI & Process Automation

AI applied to HR workflows to reduce friction, accelerate insight generation, and enable personalized experiences at scale — always in service of the human, never as a replacement for them. Technology should make the work better, not just faster.

Platforms & Tools
Inova HRIS Employee Navigator SurePayroll ADP Microsoft 365 Excel & Macros Google Workspace WRITER AI Scrum / Agile EOS / Traction Workforce Analytics Survey Design Virtual Facilitation Change Management Benefits Administration Compliance & Audit SOP Development Knowledge Management
Background

Education & credentials.

B.A. in Communications
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
Emphasis in Organizational Communication  •  Minor in Spanish  •  May 2010
AI Pro Certification
WRITER  •  Jun 2026
Virtual Training & Facilitation Certificate
Association for Talent Development (ATD)  •  Apr 2026
Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I)
Scrum.org  •  Feb 2026
FMLA Administration Certification
MRA  •  Feb 2012
Community & Volunteering

People work extends beyond the workplace.

The same principles that guide my approach to people operations: connection, service, and sustainable impact also shape how I choose to volunteer and advocate.

Team Member
Women's Field Association – Northwestern Mutual
Apr 2026 – Present
Active member helping elevate women's voices and influence priorities by engaging in programs, study groups, and leadership opportunities while building connection, collaboration, and shared growth across peers.
Planning Committee Member
SecureFutures
Jan 2025 – Present
Designing and executing SecureFutures' premier annual fundraising event by coordinating speakers, sponsors, and strategy while driving attendance and overall community impact.
Ambassador
Belonging & Impact Council – Northwestern Mutual
Jan 2024 – Present
Serving as a bridge between culture and business outcomes by partnering with leadership to embed Belonging & Impact into daily operations, aligning recruiting, development, and office processes to drive both employee experience and measurable market growth.
Founder & Chair, Philanthropy & Community Team
Northwestern Mutual – Amplify Wealth Partners
Sep 2024 – Apr 2026
Built and led a firmwide community impact program from scratch, overseeing nonprofit partnerships, volunteer engagement, giving strategy, and operations. Raised $37,000 and logged 75+ volunteer hours in the first year, with 50%+ employee participation.
Get in Touch

Let's build something that lasts.

I'm always glad to connect with organizations working through growth, integration, or a people challenge worth solving carefully.

Send a Message