Meet Hazel Evans

We recently connected with Hazel Evans and have shared our conversation below.

Hazel, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I have lived in the UK, Europe, and the US, in Silicon Valley and Napa Valley. I have 25+ years in global leadership roles in both startups and large private and public enterprise companies. During that tenure, I was allowed to bring together great companies for collaboration, innovation, and business growth.

During that time, I saw gaps in leadership across all sizes of companies, there were 3 main issues when the gaps occurred.

Accessibility – the traditional recruitment models could not find candidates quickly
Expertise – the expertise at the relevant executive level did not seem to be easy to find
Budget – all companies had limited budgets to fund the new roles reducing the candidate pool considerably.

I was aware of a large group of part-time (Fractional) executives who would be a good fit for these types of roles and I was interested in exploring the fractional workforce as my full-time role was about to be eliminated.

I gathered a team of experienced executives and launched Highland Valley Digital to bridge the executive leadership gap by providing part-time, experienced executives to fill short and long-term gaps in the workforce, on-demand and at a fraction of the cost. Delivering smart leadership for even smarter investment.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I offer fractional leadership who deliver accelerated results, with 20+ years of experience in their given industry of expertise. This team and I are all multi-disciplined executives, capable of leading more than one division within a company. We thrive on growth opportunities, enhancing company culture, and generating new revenue streams for our clients.

As a part-time fractional executive focussed on higher quality tasks, we drive accelerated results for our clients, lead multiple teams, and have a rich network of resources. I deliver these leaders rapidly, on-demand to fill project, short and long-term positions.

Its a bit like Uber on demand for executive leadership, with cost savings and accelerated deliverables through the journey. Think of Highland Valley Digital as a 2-for-1 leadership service for a fraction of the cost of a full-time resource in your industry.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Business Finances – Learn everything you can about your departments, costs, budgets, revenue etc as you go through your career – then take a business management class to learn EBITA and P&L if you don’t have access to this at work, this will set you up for running your own business.

Process and Project Management – make your calendar, processes, and projects fun by practicing the art in your daily life, when it’s fun it’s not work, and it’s easy to manage. Document all your great ideas, as no idea is a bad idea, this will help you keep track. When starting your business get a CRM solution, and a project management tool to make your life easy, automate where you can.

People Management – always invest in good people and never hire people who are the same as you. Give people looking for a break, who may not have the experience you want just yet, and teach them. Growing people will grow your network, improve your leadership skills, and create a highly motivated team of experts who feel empowered, trusted, and happy. Lead with a diverse and inclusive mindset to ensure you have better all round and inclusive decisions, collaboration and team work.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am looking to partner with companies who have short and long term executive needs, who may have received investment and are growing, are in the midst of reorgs, have stalled growth or have an interim gap in leadership due to health, family, or the CEO is simply overwhelmed. I can help in all these areas and bring opportunities to the company.

I am also looking for diverse candidates in leadership who are looking to make a career change, or are fractional executives who have held roles at VP level and above looking for more clients and who specialize in the areas of retail, CPG, web3, Saas, AI/AR/VR, finance, cybersecurity or fraud with direct to consumer experience or DTC enabler experience.

I can be reached at [email protected]

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Highland Valley Digital Canva

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