My Approach
Ashton Blaha, Owner & Consultant
I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. My grandparents, parents, and siblings have all owned or run businesses and carry that very entrepreneur spirit. That shapes how I see HR, not as a function that exists alongside the business, but as one that sits at the center of it. I've spent over a decade building People infrastructure across both ends of the spectrum, starting at a global financial institution with 10,000+ employees, then moving into scaling startups across real estate technology, healthcare, and identity security. I've built HR functions from scratch, run M&A integrations, implemented systems, designed career and compensation frameworks, and set up international hiring infrastructure. The through-line across all of it: companies need People infrastructure that actually supports how they're trying to operate. I started AB Consulting to bring that experience to companies that are growing, changing, and doing meaningful work, without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Beliefs that ground my work.
HR is a business function, not a support function. The best People leaders operate like a CFO operates, with data, accountability, and a real point of view on the business. Without that, it's just HR for HR's sake.
The strategy is only as good as the infrastructure underneath it. Most People initiatives fail at execution, not design. Having a clear philosophy matters. Having the systems and processes to actually run it is what makes it real.
The right People leader isn't always a permanent one. For a specific challenge or a defined stretch of work, senior People judgment doesn't have to come with a full-time seat. It's a fit question, not a budget constraint.
Good HR is right-sized, not one-size-fits-all. What works at 500 people breaks at 50. What's built for a large enterprise can crush a growing company. The work has to be designed for where you actually are.