Obsidian Edge Partners
Strategic people leadership for organizations navigating complexity, restructuring, high-stakes change, and growth.
I come in when the stakes are high, the pressure is real, and people decisions require judgment, structure, and care.
In the room. Not on the sidelines. Never just observing.
ROOTED™
ROOTED™ is Obsidian Edge's framework for helping organizations build the internal architecture to make better decisions under pressure.
It is not a program or initiative. It is a structural discipline for embedding fairness, clarity, and accountability into how the business actually operates.
The Reality
When a company is mid-RIF, navigating an acquisition, restructuring under pressure, or facing leadership complexity, the gaps become visible fast.
Communication breaks down. Leadership misaligns. Documentation lags behind decisions. Employee relations exposure grows quietly in the background.
These things do not fail one at a time. They fail simultaneously.
The risk that grows quietly while leadership is focused on the business.
Executives who agree in the room and fracture in execution.
Employees who find out through rumor because the message was built too late.
When HR arrives after decisions are made, the damage is already in motion.
The Work
Early in every engagement, we isolate the immediate exposure, establish a communication perimeter, and sequence what comes next.
Investigations, terminations, performance management, and the documentation that protects your business from the decisions it has to make.
Strategy, sequencing, communication, and the human architecture of a reduction in force done with precision and dignity.
Retention of key talent, cultural due diligence, org design, and the people decisions that determine whether the deal actually works.
When the leadership team is fractured under pressure, I design and facilitate the conversations that create resolution, not just energy.
How We Work
The strongest engagements are thoughtful, direct, and tailored to the complexity of the moment.
Each engagement begins with conversation, context, and careful assessment rather than a predefined formula.
Some engagements are short-term and focused. Others evolve into ongoing advisory relationships.
Proof
My career in people leadership and human resources spans FedEx, R/GA, Visa, Meta, and JLL, and began at Cigna Corporation and HSBC Bank USA. The advisory work has since reached founders, executives, and leaders across private equity, nonprofit, health, and entrepreneurial sectors.
Built inside complex systems. Designed for leaders navigating complexity now.
Also from Tola Fadina
Obsidian Edge works at the organizational level. The Season Between works at the human level.
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For organizations, The Season Between is available for corporate cohorts, workbook licensing, and group facilitation.
About
I have been in the room when the hardest decisions were made.
Begin the ConversationI bring more than twenty-five years of HR and people leadership experience across complex organizations, including FedEx, R/GA, Visa, Meta, and JLL.
I have led through restructurings, M&A, leadership recalibration, employee relations complexity, talent decisions, and moments where the business reality and human cost had to be held at the same time.
That experience shaped the work of Obsidian Edge: senior people leadership for organizations that need clarity, structure, judgment, and humanity when the stakes are real.
Revenue and humanity are not in competition. But you need someone in the room who has held both at the same time.
FAQ
Every engagement begins with a direct conversation. Not a discovery call designed to sell you something, but a real exchange about what you are navigating and whether this work is the right fit. From there, engagements are structured around the actual complexity of your situation, not a predefined package.
Both. Some engagements are short-term and highly focused: a RIF, a leadership offsite, a specific investigation or high-stakes moment. Others evolve into ongoing advisory relationships where continuity and institutional knowledge are part of the value. The structure is determined by what the work actually requires.
The work is best suited to organizations that have meaningful complexity: mid-market companies, growth-stage businesses, and larger enterprises navigating restructuring, integration, or leadership challenges. The common thread is not size but stakes. Organizations where people decisions carry real consequences and require senior-level judgment.
Both, depending on what the engagement requires. Some of the most critical work, including investigations, leadership offsites, RIF execution, and M&A integration, benefits from on-site presence. Strategic advisory and ongoing support often work well remotely. Presence decisions are made based on the nature of the work, not convenience.
No. Obsidian Edge Advisory LLC provides strategic people and HR leadership advisory services only. We do not provide legal, financial, or therapeutic advice. For matters requiring legal counsel, we will tell you directly and, where appropriate, help you think through what kind of legal support you need.
We do not manage transactional HR infrastructure directly. For operational needs including payroll, benefits administration, and recruiting support, we maintain relationships with best-in-class specialists and can connect you to the right people. Executive search engagements are available and handled directly.
Begin
Tell me where you are and what you are navigating. I will follow up personally and, if aligned, share a link to book a discovery conversation.
This is not a sales call. The goal is to understand the real problem, not the presenting one.