Starza "SJ" Thompson
Austin, Texas
Overview
I am a people operations and general management leader with 13+ years running teams, building organizational structure, and keeping complex operations running. My background is in SaaS and technology companies, where executive roles in marketing gave me deep exposure to the work that actually makes organizations function: hiring frameworks, onboarding systems, performance management, compliance coordination, and workforce planning. I have managed multi-functional teams across hybrid and multi-state environments, partnered with HR, Legal, and Finance on documentation standards and internal com
About
I am a people operations and general management leader with 13+ years running teams, building organizational structure, and keeping complex operations running. My background is in SaaS and technology companies, where executive roles in marketing gave me deep exposure to the work that actually makes organizations function: hiring frameworks, onboarding systems, performance management, compliance coordination, and workforce planning. I have managed multi-functional teams across hybrid and multi-state environments, partnered with HR, Legal, and Finance on documentation standards and internal communications, and built the processes that give people clarity about what is expected of them. I recently earned my Professional in Human Resources certification and currently serve as General Manager and Interim HR Manager at BookPeople, an independent Austin retailer with an 80-person unionized workforce. In that role, I own the full HR function: employee relations and complaint resolution, compensation modeling, policy development, CBA compliance, and workforce planning. I also drive company strategy, manage vendor relationships, and ensure alignment with employment and labor law across the organization. What I care about is pretty simple: people should be protected, and organizations should be profitable. Done well, those goals reinforce each other. I also continue to advise growth-stage companies on go-to-market strategy and organizational alignment as a fractional resource.