M. Tamra Chandler

M. Tamra Chandler is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and speaker. She has spent her career developing new and effective ways for people and their organizations to perform at their peak. In 2016, she wrote the acclaimed book How Performance Management is Killing Performance – and What to Do About It. Her second book, Feedback (and Other Dirty Words): Why We Fear It, How to Fix It was published in June 2019.

Tamra brings more than thirty years of experience in strategically partnering with organizations across industries on varied and complex business transformation projects to her role as an EY Americas People Advisory Services leader. During her esteemed career, she has been devoted to developing new methods of building aspirational cultures, aligning leaders and teams to compelling strategies, modernizing HR, rethinking talent processes like performance management and feedback, and transforming organizational models. Known for her down-to-earth style and results-driven approach, Tamra emphasizes the human element of organizations while maintaining an unwavering focus on the larger picture.

Whether leading small nonprofit teams or large multi-national corporations, Tamra guides organizations towards the ultimate win-win: inspired people driving inspired performance. Consulting Magazine recognized her impact by naming her one of the country’s “Top 25 Consultants” in both 2007 and 2014.

Prior to joining EY, Tamra was the founder and CEO of PeopleFirm LLC, one of Forbes Magazine’s “America’s Best Management Consulting Firms” each year from 2016 to 2019. Tamra started PeopleFirm in 2008 with a unique vision: to deliver measurable, meaningful results using people-centered solutions. Under her leadership, PeopleFirm was one of the largest women-owned firms in Washington and a go-to partner for more than 125 clients, including Bonneville Power, Nordstrom, Columbia Sportswear, Nike, WorldPay, ChristianaCare, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Before founding PeopleFirm, Tamra was Managing Partner for Arthur Andersen’s Business Consulting practice in the Pacific Northwest, and executive in charge of People and Solutions at Hitachi Consulting, where she was one of four executives accountable for the performance of Hitachi’s global consulting business. Tamra earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Montana State University and holds an MBA from the University of Washington.

Tamra draws continued inspiration and support from her husband, Jeff; their young adult children, Ivy and Wilson; her father, Al; and her faithful pedigreed mutts, Perry and Luna.