Sheila M. Burns
principal
Sheila Burns has spent her career focusing on
translating business visions into concrete plans and systems which result in
successful business operations. She has worked on the initial formation
of more than 25 new business start-ups in over 20 countries in the past 15
years. As a Senior Professional of Human Resources, she’s an expert in
optimizing company design to minimize costs, maximize efficiency and meet
customer needs at both the beginning of the business life cycle and through
rapid expansion in the early business growth phase. From an operations
perspective, Ms Burns is an experienced HR leader with background in workforce
planning and staffing, performance management, compensation and benefits
program design and administration, training and development, payroll and HRIS,
risk management and health and safety. Sheila
has managed the human resource and administrative organizations of both large
and small companies, including a position as executive director of
International Human Resources for a Fortune 100 company, managing the
international assignments of over 400 employees and their families. In
addition, she has served as the principal in charge of operations of a small
business. She has extensive project planning and management experience.
In addition to her expertise in human resources, Ms. Burns has background in accounting and taxation. She has extensive training and work experience in methods and standards development, business process analysis and design, forecasting and budgeting, and strategic and operations planning. She was trained as an AT&T Methods Developer long before total quality management became a formalized discipline.
Among the numerous projects which Sheila has completed are:
- the organization design and migration
planning for a wireless company with a second operating license in
Hungary,
- integration of an engineering company
acquisition in Munich, Germany,
ground up design of a wireless local loop company in central Europe,
- research and analysis of the Human Resource
and administrative issues associated with new branch offices of a
technology company in New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, and
Malaysia,
- design of business and support processes
for a company instituting remote reporting and work at home employment
programs,
- lead content designer on an HR operations
software platform.
senior leader of the dissolution of international operations for a Fortune 100 company.
Her recent publications and presentations include Organizations…How They Grow and Change, Roadmaps for International Wireless Ventures, New Zealand Country Overview, South Africa Country Overview, A Guide to Working from Home and Flexible International Assignee Compensation Plans. She is a member of World at Work and holds senior professional certification from the Society for Human Resource Management.
Sheila has been a volunteer for the Girl Scouts of America, the Boy Scouts of America, Chairperson of the Wilder School Accountability Committee, South Suburban Parks and Recreation District garden volunteer and a volunteer consultant to new businesses. She currently spends her community service hours mentoring a home schooled student.