Sid Ferrales
Managing Partner
Location: Austin, Texas
Email: sid@reliantz.com
As a senior business executive, Sid has decades of experience building and scaling successful global businesses. As the first VP of Human Resources at Dell Technologies, Sid was a member of the executive committee which scaled Dell from a mid-size firm to a Fortune 500 business. While Sid has had the “big” company experience at Motorola, DEC and Dell, he also has led HR teams for early stage to mid-size firms. This includes private equity backed companies. He has been involved in no less than forty (40) global M&A transactions related to due diligence and integration.
Sid’s deep experience in HR/OD has facilitated his leadership role in driving major transformative change management initiatives. Most recently, Sid served as CHRO at CLEAResult, the premier leading energy efficiency consulting company. CLEAResult was recently named by Forbes as one of America’s Best Mid-Size Employers of 2019.
As a senior executive for public technology companies, Sid has extensive experience working with Boards of Directors which have included senior executives from Fortune 100 companies. As such, he has worked with Board committees related to Executive Compensation, Nominating & Governance, and Strategy.
Sid’s passion is engendering positive, productive environments by helping people reach their full potential. He first acted on this motivation early in his career by counseling troubled youth. Sid belongs to the Society for Human Resource Management as well as a member of HR People + Strategy. Sid holds an MA from Sam Houston State University specializing in social rehabilitation and a BA in Sociology from Texas State University.
Board Advisor to the McCoy College of Business Administration at Texas State University.
Cindy Thompson
Practice Lead
Total Rewards & HR Systems
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Email: cindy@reliantz.com
Cindy is the consummate Human Resources professional who demonstrates executive presence, deep domain expertise and strong interpersonal skills. She has demonstrated the ability to partner and work effectively with Executive Teams as well as at the Board of Director level. Cindy has experience as an HR Business Partner and in Talent Acquisition, but her expertise is in Total Rewards and HR Systems. She also has extensive expertise in acquisitions including diligence and integration. While at CLEAResult she was an integral part of six acquisitions within an 18-month timeframe. As a Senior Director at CLEAResult, Cindy was selected to serve for a term on the Operating Committee of the Company. Cindy most recently completed a 9-month assignment at Paycom working on aligning compensation practices to the company business objectives. Cindy enjoys learning about businesses and entrepreneurs. She is a published author of entrepreneur stories, “A Cup of Cappuccino for the Entrepreneur’s Spirit, Volume II”.
Cindy practices the philosophy that the needs of the business and the needs of the employees are not mutually exclusive, and strives to position HR organizations to strategically support business objectives. Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University.
Rick Fuelling
Practice Lead
Core HR/ Business Partner
Location: Austin, Texas
Email: rick@reliantz.com
Rick Fuelling is a seasoned human resources executive whose corporate experience spans automotive, oil and gas, consumer goods, and technology with Fortune 500 firms. As such Rick has served as a business advisor and executive coach He is a well-rounded individual with background in corporate HR, non-profit leadership, as well as operating his own business. While Rick has big company experience with Ford, Arco, Frito-Lay, Kraft, AMD and Dell Technologies, he has also held senior human resources positions with small and mid-sized firms. Rick owned and operating his own consulting firm for many years. Highly intelligent and a quick study, Rick is extremely skilled at working with and supporting all levels of employees; he is often sought out for his consulting, listening and problem-solving skills.
Rick has demonstrated a strong skill set as an internal consultant and business partner; he has supported numerous key contributors, managers, directors, VP’s, and C-Suite individuals with coaching and organizational effectiveness solutions. He is a certified CEO coach and facilitator with TAB (The Alternative Board) and a certified Lominger (now Korn Ferry) Leadership Architect trainer and facilitator. He is the co-founder of the Austin Miracle League, a baseball league for special needs children and has served on the board for Round Rock Partners in Education and the Advisory board for Concordia University.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Central Michigan University and a Master of Arts in Human Resources from Central Michigan University.