KYNDAL BURTON
The HR executive who treats
people strategy as P&L strategy.
20+ years transforming Fortune 500 organizations.
Organizational Transformation
Executive Partnership
Talent & Succession
Engagement & Culture
Labor Relations
Cost Optimization
Organizational Transformation
Executive Partnership
Talent & Succession
Engagement & Culture
Labor Relations
Cost Optimization
Receipts, not rhetoric
Numbers that made CFOs look twice.
$2.2M
Annual operating costs eliminated
Workforce redesign across Finance & Procurement at Smurfit Westrock with better role clarity, not just fewer people.
$3.2B→$4B
Growth she helped power
Restructured and expanded every area of Carter’s IT organization over two years of rapid expansion.
18%
Engagement lift after a merger
When most companies bleed talent, she built action plans, roundtables, and recognition that moved the number up.
10%
SG&A budget reduction
Created a budget challenge process so effective it was adopted enterprise-wide.
The road here
Three brands. One throughline.
From Macy’s sales floors to a $31B global manufacturer’s boardroom with every stop, organizations that got faster, leaner, and more human.
20+
Years leading HR across Fortune 500 organizations
3
Industries: retail, consumer products & global manufacturing
245K
Combined workforce across the enterprises she has served
C-suite
Trusted partner to CIOs, CFOs & their leadership teams
2021 – Present
Smurfit Westrock
Global sustainable packaging · 100,000 employees · $31B+ revenue
03
Director, Human Resources
Workforce, talent & organizational strategy across Finance and Procurement roughly 1,000 employees.
- Created the SG&A budget challenge process driving a 10% reduction adopted enterprise-wide
- Cut $2.2M in annual operating costs through workforce redesign, improving role clarity along the way
- Drove the HR workstream for a major Procurement centralization into an optimized regional structure
- Built a Finance workforce that is 60% female and 38% ethnically diverse
2017 – 2021
Carter's
World’s largest branded marketer of baby & children’s apparel · 15,000+ employees · 900+ stores
02
Senior HR Business Partner
Strategic partner to Finance and IT through growth cycles, acquisition, and a private label credit card launch.
- Built the IT Security function from zero — org design plus selection of the CISO and 15 key roles
- Filled the seats that matter: CIO, Controller, Assistant Controller, VP of FP&A
- Restructured every area of IT over two years, supporting growth from $3.2B to $4B
2003 – 2017
Macy's
International retailer · 130,000 employees · $24B+ annual sales
01
Director & Senior HR Leadership Roles
Fourteen years of increasing responsibility: HR, employee relations, college relations, omnichannel development.
- Cut new-hire training time 50% for 2,000+ international contact center employees
- Succession program promoted six leaders to VP and Director
- 95–100% of national hiring goals across 20 campuses as Regional Director of College Relations
- $1.5M in new minority and women-owned supplier contracts
- Prevented unionization at two locations through positive employee relations
Culture, quantified
She doesn't talk about inclusive teams. She builds them and they perform.
60%
female Finance workforce
38%
ethnically diverse