Dominique Dickson
LOADING PORTFOLIO
CHIEF OF STAFF · PEOPLE STRATEGY & INCLUSION · CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
◦ NEW YORK CITY METRO AREA

Turning executive priorities into
measurable outcomes.

Strategic operator with 15+ years spanning executive partnership, people strategy and inclusion, and corporate communications. Most recently owned a $400K budget and built the governance, programs, and scorecards supporting more than 2,000 employees across global offices.

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Dominique Dickson, professional headshot
DD · NEW YORK
MBA · DREXEL
$0K
BUDGET OWNED
0+
EMPLOYEES REACHED
0+
EXECUTIVE SEARCHES
0+
YEARS
MBA · DREXEL UNIVERSITY
JURIS DOCTOR COURSEWORK · ST. JOHN'S LAW
ONCON TOP 100 DEI PROFESSIONAL · FINALIST 2025
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT WOMEN OF DISTINCTION AWARD
POINT OF VIEW

Priorities do not move on intention.
They move on operating discipline.

Whether the work is a people strategy, an executive's operating cadence, or a firm-wide message, the same discipline carries it: clear priorities, real governance, and a scorecard leadership actually reviews. That operating model sits behind every result on this page.

GOVERNANCE OVER GESTURES
THE WORK, MEASURED

The scorecard behind the culture work.

Every program below ran against defined priorities, governance, and a progress scorecard across a 2,000+ employee, multi-office population. These are the numbers that scorecard tracked.

ERG MEMBERSHIP
15% to nearly one third of employees
15%FROM 15%
INCLUSIVE JOB-DESCRIPTION SCREENING
0 to 100% of job descriptions screened
0%FROM NONE
STANDARDIZED INCLUSIVE HIRING
50% of requisitions within six months
0%IN 6 MONTHS
+11%
RETENTION, PROFESSIONALS OF COLOR
Advancing Professionals of Color leadership program for 80+ high-potential employees.
30 to 75
PEER-LEARNING PARTICIPATION
A 150% increase, using themes drawn from 2,000+ employee surveys.
3
NEW GLOBAL ERGs LAUNCHED
Communities for disability, veterans, and interfaith employees.
$400K budget owned
About 955 employees integrated post-acquisition
Global onboarding platform launched in the HRIS
ABOUT

The strategic operator who turns executive priorities into action.

Over 15 years across professional services, technology, financial services, and legal environments have shaped how the work gets done: translating executive priorities into coordinated action. Partnering with C-suite leaders, serving as the dedicated executive partner to a Co-President, and building the people and communications programs that reach an entire firm.

As a people leader at Heidrick & Struggles, ownership ran from a $400K budget and the global ERG strategy to the succession, onboarding, and equity work behind a 2,000+ employee population. The Advancing Professionals of Color program raised retention of professionals of color by 11%, and ERG membership grew from 15% to nearly one third of the firm.

Before the people work came search operations. Project-managing more than 100 CEO and board-director searches, coordinating up to 30 concurrent teams for one of the firm's highest-billing partners, and helping achieve a 100% fill rate. Across all of it ran the communications, from all-hands and newsletters to board-facing presentations, plus workforce and inclusion content for the firm's sustainability report and public-company disclosures. Chief of Staff, People Strategy and Inclusion, and Corporate and Internal Communications are the roles this record points toward next.

Dominique Dickson
Dominique Dickson, MBA
MBA · NEW YORK CITY METRO
HOW I OPERATE

Three lanes, one operating discipline.

The capabilities behind Chief of Staff, People Strategy and Inclusion, and Corporate and Internal Communications work.

01
CHIEF OF STAFF & EXECUTIVE BUSINESS PARTNER

The partner who turns executive priorities into decisions.

Chief of Staff functions, C-suite and board partnership, governance and operating-model design, board and executive reporting, and the strategy-to-execution and change management that carry a decision through the whole firm. Sole executive partner to a Co-President, and project lead on more than 100 CEO and board-director searches with up to 30 concurrent teams.

CORE CAPABILITIES
Leadership-team cadence, executive briefs, governance design, board and executive reporting, multi-team program delivery.
WHAT IT MOVES
Consolidated reporting across 7 product lines into one source for faster decisions, and, across the search portfolio, helped achieve a 100% fill rate with about 75% repeat clients.
02
PEOPLE STRATEGY & INCLUSION

The systems that raise retention, participation, and belonging.

Talent and leadership development, succession planning, onboarding and HRIS, employee experience and engagement, and inclusion and belonging strategy, all run on priorities, governance, and a scorecard. Built the firm's multi-year people and inclusion strategy and launched a global onboarding platform in the HRIS across a 2,000+ employee population.

CORE CAPABILITIES
Global ERG strategy, onboarding platforms, succession practices, equity audits of promotion policy, employee-listening programs.
WHAT IT MOVES
Retention of professionals of color up 11%. Peer-learning participation up 150%, from 30 to 75. ERG membership from 15% to nearly a third.
03
CORPORATE & INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Complex priorities, turned into clear messages.

Executive, employee, and change communications across all-hands, newsletters, intranet, social media, and board-facing presentations, plus workforce and inclusion content for the firm's sustainability report and public-company disclosures. Writes for CEOs, boards, and managing partners, and led change-management communications for the integration of about 955 employees following an acquisition.

CORE CAPABILITIES
Executive and board messaging, employee and change communications, editorial planning, brand and media strategy.
WHAT IT MOVES
One firm-wide voice across the sustainability report, disclosures, all-hands, and newsletters, reaching a 2,000+ employee population.
SELECTED WORK

Four problems, four operating systems.

Sanitized examples of the operating model in practice, across people strategy and inclusion, communications, and executive operations.

PEOPLE STRATEGY & INCLUSION
01

Global inclusion roadmap

Moved the firm from ad-hoc inclusion programs to a coordinated global strategy with clear priorities, accountable owners, and measurable outcomes for a 2,000+ employee population.

ERG membership grew from 15% to nearly a third. Inclusive job-description screening went from zero to 100%. Inclusive hiring standardized across 50% of requisitions within six months.
CHALLENGE
The firm needed to move from ad-hoc inclusion programs to a coordinated global strategy: clear priorities, accountable owners, measurable outcomes, and room to respond to changing workforce needs across offices and regions.
APPROACH
Built and led the firm's first multi-year people and inclusion roadmap, owning the strategy, governance, executive-accountability model, cross-functional workstreams, progress scorecard, and a $400K annual budget. Organized around a continuous cycle of leadership buy-in, activation, impact analysis, and informed evolution, with responsibility distributed across executives, HR, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, ERGs, and regional stakeholders.
DELIVERABLES
Enterprise roadmapGovernance modelCross-functional workstreamsProgress scorecardBudget allocationBoard-facing updates
IMPACT
Gave leadership a consistent framework for evaluating progress and allocating resources. Initiatives within the strategy grew ERG membership from 15% to nearly a third, expanded inclusive job-description screening from zero to 100%, and standardized inclusive hiring across 50% of requisitions within six months.
PEOPLE STRATEGY & INCLUSION
02

Generations learning program

Turned firmwide employee-listening insights into a voluntary multigenerational peer-learning experience, without reinforcing stereotypes or treating one generation's style as the standard.

75 participants, the firm's highest for a voluntary learning program and 150% above the typical enrollment of 30.
CHALLENGE
Employee listening showed generational differences shaping communication, expectations of leadership, feedback, and collaboration. The opportunity was to address them without reinforcing stereotypes or setting one generation's working style as the standard.
APPROACH
Translated listening insights from a 2,000+ employee population into a voluntary program pairing peer learning with practical workplace application, positioned as a leadership and collaboration initiative through executive sponsorship, facilitated discussions, manager resources, and coordinated communications.
DELIVERABLES
Program conceptListening analysisExecutive-sponsored panelsPeer-learning guidesManager toolsLaunch plan
IMPACT
Drew 75 participants, the firm's highest participation for a voluntary learning program and 150% above the typical enrollment of 30, and created a repeatable model for turning employee listening into practical learning.
CORPORATE & INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
03

Inclusion evolution communications plan

Translated a complex evolution of the firm's inclusion strategy into clear, audience-specific communications for employees, managers, leaders, clients, and external stakeholders.

A coordinated source of truth, with managers and client-facing teams equipped to answer consistently, and a feedback loop that let communications and implementation evolve together.
CHALLENGE
As the inclusion strategy evolved, each audience had different questions about rationale, terminology, policies, and implications, more than a single announcement could answer.
APPROACH
Started with stakeholder and risk mapping, then built a phased plan combining common enterprise messaging with tailored engagement for executives, managers, employees at different levels, HR partners, and client-facing professionals. Town halls and listening forums fed the next round of communications.
DELIVERABLES
Core narrativeMessage architectureExecutive and manager toolkitsAudience FAQsTown halls and forumsClient talking points
IMPACT
Created a coordinated, dynamic source of truth, gave leaders tailored language, equipped managers and client-facing professionals to answer consistently, and established a feedback loop connecting communications and implementation.
CHIEF OF STAFF & EXECUTIVE BUSINESS PARTNER
04

Managing partner playbook

Turned a high-volume search portfolio, more than 30 active CEO and board searches at a time, into a repeatable operating system other project managers could run.

More consistent execution, faster onboarding of new project managers, and continuity across a portfolio of 100+ CEO and board-director searches.
CHALLENGE
Supporting one of the firm's highest-billing partners meant managing more than 30 active CEO and board-director searches at once, across countries and time zones, with frequent pivots from client decisions and candidate developments.
APPROACH
As lead project manager, coordinated the full search lifecycle from intake through placement, then converted the partner's preferences, recurring decisions, and best practices into a playbook: process maps, decision and approval points, and alternative paths for common disruptions rather than treating pivots as exceptions.
DELIVERABLES
End-to-end process mapsRoles and approval pointsTemplate communicationsStatus and interview workflowsPivot and escalation pathsNew-PM training
IMPACT
Turned individual knowledge into a reusable operating system, supporting consistent execution, faster onboarding, and continuity across a portfolio of more than 100 CEO and board-director searches.
CAREER

More than 15 years across people strategy and executive operations.

2020 to 2026
Senior Manager, Inclusion and Belonging
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES · GLOBAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH & LEADERSHIP ADVISORY
Built the firm's multi-year people and inclusion strategy: priorities, governance, workstreams, executive accountability, and a scorecard across a 2,000+ employee, multi-office population. Owned a $400K budget and the global ERG strategy, launching 3 ERGs and growing membership from 15% to nearly one third. Designed the Advancing Professionals of Color program for 80+ leaders, raising retention of professionals of color by 11%, launched a global onboarding platform in the HRIS, and led the inclusion workstream for the integration of about 955 employees following an acquisition. Developed executive, employee, and change communications across all-hands, newsletters, intranet, social media, and board-facing presentations, and contributed workforce and inclusion content to the firm's sustainability report and public-company disclosures.
$400K BUDGET
ERG 15% TO 33%
+11% RETENTION
EXEC & BOARD COMMS
2016 to 2020
Project Manager, Executive Search
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES · GLOBAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH & LEADERSHIP ADVISORY
Project-managed 100+ CEO and board-director searches, coordinating up to 30 concurrent multidisciplinary teams as the project lead for one of the firm's highest-billing partners. Helped achieve a 100% fill rate across the searches coordinated, about a three-month average time to fill, and roughly 75% repeat clients. Operationalized a Stanford Rock Center diversity pledge into a board-slate standard that held search slates above 50% diverse.
100+ SEARCHES
30+ TEAMS
100% FILL RATE
2015 to 2016
Senior Executive Administrator
NET@WORK · TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS & MANAGED SERVICES
Served as the Co-President's dedicated executive partner, running his leadership team's operating cadence and synthesizing department-head reporting into executive briefs that clarified priorities and drove cross-functional follow-through across Operations, Services, Products, and People. Built a consolidated monthly sales and forecast report across 7 product lines that had reported separately in inconsistent formats, giving leadership one source of performance and forecast detail for faster decisions.
EXECUTIVE PARTNER
7 PRODUCT LINES
2014 to 2015
Director, Communications and Marketing
ABRAMS FENSTERMAN LLP · LAW FIRM
Rebuilt internal and external communications and brand strategy to lift cross-department engagement and market presence. Led targeted media campaigns and sponsorships and secured speaking engagements for firm leaders, raising their visibility and supporting business development.
BRAND STRATEGY
2009 to 2014
Knowledge Management Coordinator
BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT · GLOBAL ALTERNATIVE ASSET MANAGER
Built the firm's first global knowledge-management function, moving 50+ training materials onto a centralized SharePoint platform as a single reference of record. Authored the Managing Partner's internal blog, reaching 300+ employees, contractors, and consultants. Standardized job descriptions for 125 employees and set performance-management standards for 5 corporate-operations executive assistants, supporting administrative talent acquisition, professional development, and role expectations.
50+ MATERIALS
300+ BLOG REACH
125 EMPLOYEES
2006 to 2009
Earlier Career
UBS AG · NASSAU COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Provided executive and legal support for senior executives and board members within UBS Legal and Compliance. Earlier, served as a legal intern and assistant across family, criminal, and special-victims matters at the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and with solo practitioners.
LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
CREDENTIALS

Education and certifications.

GRADUATE
Master of Business Administration
Drexel University
PHILADELPHIA, PA · 2013 · ENTREPRENEURSHIP
UNDERGRADUATE
B.A. Criminal Justice, magna cum laude
Long Island University
GREENVALE, NY · 2007
LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor Coursework
Saint John's University School of Law
QUEENS, NY · 2007 TO 2008 · DEGREE NOT CONFERRED
TOOLSET
Systems and platforms
Workday Salesforce SharePoint HRIS MS Office Google Workspace Canva Generative AI Box Slack
CERTIFICATIONS & HONORS
HEIDRICK BUSINESS ACADEMY CERTIFICATE ONCON TOP 100 DEI PROFESSIONAL · FINALIST 2025 ELEANOR ROOSEVELT WOMEN OF DISTINCTION AWARD · 2009
Heidrick & Struggles
Net@Work
Abrams Fensterman
Brookfield Asset Management
UBS
Drexel University
GET IN TOUCH

Let's turn complex priorities into clear strategy, aligned execution and measurable results.

Open to Chief of Staff, People Strategy and Inclusion, and Corporate and Internal Communications roles. Based in the New York City Metro Area · open to remote, hybrid, and select on-site and relocation opportunities.

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