Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrence Wright.
Hi Terrence, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been in Human Resources for 22 years working for some of the most recognizable brands in globally (Google, GE and Time Warner). My journey didn’t start in HR right out of college. As a graduate of the University of Central Florida (commonly referred to as UCF), I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I taught 5th grade at Eastbrook Elementary for three years. I loved every minute of it but knew deep inside that a teacher’s salary wasn’t going to create the opportunities I had envisioned for myself and my family. One day at a parent teacher conference, I was in the middle of discussion one of my student’s performance with their parent. After sharing my perspective of their child’s performance in my class, the parent asked me, “What am I doing here?” I was taken back by the question because it seemed to had come from out of no where. Stunned at the question the parent corrected themself and asked again, “why are you here?” As I pondered how to respond without a skewed emotion the parent went on to say, “My child talks about you all the time and how you always encouraged them to look outside of the four walls of the classroom, are you looking beyond the classroom Mr. Wright?”
This question, sparked what would become my journey that brings me here today. Shortly after that discussion I enrolled back in to school to pursue a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development. During my program study, I met my mentor and now great friend Tom Nesteruk. Tom had offered me my first job as a HR Recruiter for a local cable company. I quickly adapted to the fast pace environment of working in HR and was promoted to Employee Relations Manager.
My first strategic role, came two years later when I joined Time Warner Cable in Greensboro NC. I spent three years there learning how to be an inclusive leader which led to me being offered a position as VP with the General Electric Company (GE) in Charlotte, NC. During my time at GE (later became Synchrony Financial), I worked with some amazing leaders creating a Great Place to Work culture.
During Covid, like many, I started to reflect on things that I still hadn’t accomplished yet as a HR Leader. I didn’t have any international exposure or experience. In 2021, that’s when the opportunity to join Google as a Sr. HR leader presented itself. I was responsible for the Americas, EMEA and APAC region for our Channel Partners division.
Although I had much success in the corporate space, I started to think about how small and medium sized businesses are the cornerstone of driving our economy in the United States, but most will never have access to the resources or HR strategies and processes like big corporation. This is exactly the reason I founded Wright People Solutions in 2025. I’m passionate about sharing my experiences with business owners that dream big but they are not sure how to scale their organization and upskill their workforce.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I wish it was smooth and every day is different. You go from relying on a steady paycheck, to not knowing when your financials will stabilize. I quickly had to learn that my successes in corporate don’t always translate to being an entrepreneur.
We have to develop a new persona, find a niche and be very specific with how you’re helping someone solve a problem. Otherwise they know they need your service but won’t be as quick to spend the money for the services.
The constant networking and being present. I have a saying that goes, “If you’re not branding yourself by sharing what’s in your brain, no one else will because the world doesn’t have mind readers.”
You’re constantly selling without trying to sound like a salesman.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I spent two decades at the heart of the world’s most iconic people cultures.
I founded Wright People Solutions because I believe that the founder with 5 employees deserves the same strategic firepower as a CEO with 20,000. I’ve seen the ‘founder bottleneck’ firsthand: brilliant leaders stalled because they’re stuck in the weeds of payroll, hiring friction, and culture drift.
My role is to be your Fractional CHRO—the ‘Guide’ who brings world-class people systems and a winning blueprint to your organization. I help you transform your people strategy from a necessary cost into your most powerful financial asset. When we align your talent with your purpose, your business doesn’t just grow; it becomes a legacy. Let’s stop reacting to HR problems and start architecting a culture that wins.
I work with leaders and business owners that need strategic HR to help them build a foundation, whether its evaluating their new hire and onboarding process meets regulatory standards, have a employee handbook that is the source of truth of how they establish culture in the workplace. I solve leaders bottleneck with equipping leaders with making HR Data driven decisions so you’re not bogged down in the HR minutia.
What sets us apart is that we’ve done the real HR work in big established corporations. Our consultants have worked with the decision makers at the executive level so we know the importance of HR Delivery at scale.
We want readers to know, regardless how many employees you have, the only way to scale is if you have the “Wright People” structure in place. We create high-performance cultures through metric driven decisions, people management coaching and support, and HR compliance strategies and implementation.
How do you define success?
Success is when we remove the confusion or the people paralysis from the CEO so they can go from being an operator and transition into an owner.
When, employees and leadership can articulate a growth and development plan for their employees that everyone can understand.
When success is not only a tag line, but a reflection of employees working for a company where they have a future in helping drive the growth of the business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wrightpeoplesolutions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrightpeoplesolutions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Wright-People-Solutions-LLC-61576633124686/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrence-j-wright-phr-472098a
Image Credits
Foundation Photo
