Strategic HR Advisor & Interim Executive

Culture doesn't
scale by accident.

I work with CEOs on the people side of growth, M&A, and organizational change: the part that decides whether the strategy actually happens.

Lisbon Works internationally EN · PT · ES
Rita Xavier
25 years of trusted partnerships
Nokia
SAP
Marsh McLennan
Capgemini
Deloitte
— About

Where strategy
meets people.

A trusted advisor to leaders working through the most defining moments of their organizations: growth, restructuring, integration, transformation.

25+
Years
Senior HR leadership across global firms
20+
Countries
HR partnership across South Europe, from Brazil to Azerbaijan
3
Languages
Portuguese, English, Spanish
80
Jobs
Protected by reversing a site closure at SAP Greece

Most reorganizations fail for the same reason. Leadership changes the boxes on the org chart and expects the culture to follow. It rarely does.

I've spent twenty five years inside organizations solving that problem for real, at Nokia, SAP, Marsh McLennan, Capgemini, and Deloitte, through hyper growth, M&A integrations, restructurings, and global transformations. Not consulting from the outside with a framework and a deck, but sitting in the room as the person accountable for what happens to people when the business changes.

Today I work independently, advising founders and executive teams through growth, mergers, and organizational change, and treating AI adoption as a people readiness question rather than a technology one.

Rita Xavier
Strategic HR Advisor & Interim Executive
— Services

Three ways
to partner.

Every engagement is shaped around your context. Most begin in one of these areas.

01

Scale & Transformation

Companies grow faster than their organizational design can keep up. I help leadership teams build the structure, leadership pipeline, and operating cadence to scale without losing the culture that got them there.

Org design M&A integration Workforce planning
02

Leadership & Culture

Cultures don't break loudly. They erode quietly under pressure. I work with CEOs and executive teams on the leadership behaviors, rituals, and conversations that compound into a culture people stay for.

Exec advisory Culture diagnostics Leadership development
03

AI & People Strategy

AI is rewriting what work is, and most HR functions are unprepared for it. I help leadership teams design people strategies that turn AI adoption into an operational advantage instead of fear, layoffs, and noise. I work the people side, not the technology itself.

AI readiness Workforce reskilling Future of work
"
Rita was decisive in supporting all the HR related roles when building a new organization that today is home to more than 200 people, serving more than 30 countries across 4 continents.
Miguel Sameiro
Enterprise Customer Success Manager · SAP France
— Insights

Field notes
from the work.

Writing on culture, leadership, and the people side of building things, published on Substack.

New essays, monthly.

Honest writing on leadership, culture, and the future of work, straight from the consulting room. No filler.

Subscribe →
— Get in touch

Let's talk about
the real problem.

Most engagements start with a 30 minute conversation. No slides, no diagnostics, just an honest exchange about what you're working through and whether I can help.

Based in
Lisbon, Portugal
Available for
EU & international engagements