Our Mission
At Compass, we believe the tides are turning for traditional HR. You need someone who’s both strategic and hands-on – someone who can brief your board in the morning and launch open enrollment that afternoon.
With 15 years of experience in biotech and a portfolio of clients all under 150 employees, we help early-stage life sciences companies build the infrastructure, culture, and right-sized people practices that actually scale.
Our mission is simple: build stronger companies by doing HR differently. No old playbooks. No recycled templates. Just real partnership with real results.
2024
2,500+
Hours Billed
Founded
60%
30
Average Savings vs. FTE
Average Client Headcount
Seed Stage
Company Registration & Governance
Scalable Operational Systems
Strategic & Cultural Foundations
Workforce Planning
Post-Seed to Series A
Total Rewards & Compensation
Goal Setting & Performance
Compliance Reporting
People Operations Infrastructure
Post-IPO
Public Company Compliance
Employee Experience & Retention
Talent Development
Organizational Effectiveness
Series B and Scale
Talent Management
Staffing & Hiring Plans
IPO Readiness
Culture & Change Management
Our Expertise
The life sciences industry demands specialized HR
From early infrastructure and roadmapping, to IPO readiness and public company compliance, we act as strategic partners who not only execute but anticipate what’s coming next.
Our Team
Credentials:
SHRM-SCP
Co-Active Executive Coach
Specialties:
HR Function Roadmaps
Culture & Engagement Strategy
Organizational Builds & Restructurings
IPO & M&A Prep
Employee Relations
BOD and Compensation Committee
Executive Coaching
Samantha Vuksanic
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Abbreviated Resume
-
Pre-commercial small molecule targeted oncology company.
Joined at IPO as first HR hire and led 150% expansion with peak headcount of 90 employees across US.
-
Pre-commercial immuno-oncology cell therapy platform company.
Supported IPO process and grew team from 40 to 120+ employees.
-
Pre-commercial AAV9 gene therapy company with subsidiaries and MA-based HQ.
Joined as 25th employee and grew team to 125 employees.
“Samantha puts the ‘human’ back in human resources.”
— FEEDBACK RECEIVED ON CLIENT SURVEY
Our Clients
📊
💊
🩸
🍄
Predictive Data Science | Seed Stage
Org Design | Workforce Planning | Employee Relations
Small Molecule Oncology | Seed Stage
HR Foundations | Hiring | Governance
Medical Diagnostic Device | Series A
Culture & Engagement Strategy | Hiring | HR Ops
Fungal Genomics Platform | Series C
Performance Management | Org Restructuring
🧬
🧫
💊
Immuno-Oncology | Public
Systems Implementation | Coaching | Compensation
Cell Therapy Platform | Public
Compensation | Employee Relations | HR Processes
Small Molecule Oncology | Public
HR Roadmap | Development | Employee Experience
References from multiple CEOs, COOs, and People leaders available upon request.
Our Pricing
High impact solutions, low impact to budgets
The average cost of a Chief HR Officer (CHRO) can total more than half a million dollars per year.
Compass clients save an average of 60% compared to the cost of a full-time CHRO.
And with our flexible billing model, we’ll ensure your organization receives the tailored support it needs without breaking the bank.
Retained Services
Preferred by >95% of our clients
Fixed monthly fee at discounted hourly rate
Fixed-Fee Projects
One-time fee for short-term work such as offsite facilitations
Coaching Engagements
One-time fee for six or twelve month relationship per individual
Hourly Support
Pay only for what you use