Why Companies Hire Us
Reasons clients say they like working with us:
Rhonda Farrington
Managing Director/Principal
With over three decades of experience in human resources, Rhonda has established herself as a trusted expert in transforming organizational compensation strategies into powerful tools for growth and success. Her career, spanning both consulting and HR management roles, has given her deep expertise in designing compensation structures that not only reflect market realities but also drive business performance.
Throughout her professional journey, Rhonda has focused on creating solutions that make a tangible impact – from developing performance-based incentive programs that motivate teams to designing executive compensation packages that attract and retain top talent. After joining Wilson Group as a consultant in 2006, Rhonda became co-owner of the practice in 2019. In recent years, she has become increasingly involved in addressing critical issues of pay equity and transparency, helping organizations navigate these complex challenges with practical, effective solutions.
What sets Rhonda apart is her ability to partner effectively with leadership teams to develop practical solutions that align compensation with business strategy. Whether working with healthcare providers, manufacturing companies, or technology startups, she brings the same commitment to understanding each organization’s unique needs and culture.
Rhonda holds a master’s degree in organizational development from Springfield College and has served in leadership roles including the Board of Directors for the New England Compensation Consortium. She has contributed to the field through co-authoring numerous surveys and publications at Wilson Group, consistently working toward her goal of sharing insights that help organizations build stronger, more equitable compensation practices.
Susan Malanowski
Managing Director/Principal
Susan brings over 30 years in consulting and leadership positions in compensation and human resources. Susan advises boards of directors, executives and leaders in sales, human resources and compensation functions on developing strategic compensation programs that are competitive, fair and attract and retain top talent. Susan has a proven track record of helping clients across public, private and non-profit sectors assess, design and implement executive, sales and employee total compensation programs. She partners with clients on programs that go beyond the traditional encompassing pay equity, pay transparency and job architecture that help foster a culture of engagement, trust and high performance.
Prior to consulting, Susan worked in leadership positions at General Cinema Theatres, Aetna Inc., Barclays Business Credit and Community Newspaper Company. She has co-authored and published several publications with other members of Wilson Group. Susan earned her master’s degree in labor and industrial relations from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in human resources from Ithaca College. Susan is a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Certified Benefits Professional (CBP), a Global Remuneration Professional (GRP) through WorldatWork and a member of the New England Compensation Consortium. Susan was an Adjunct Faculty member in Human Resources at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Thomas B. Wilson
Founder/Principal
Tom is a national authority on executive compensation and high performance organizations and has over 30 years of professional business and consulting experience. He has worked with numerous boards and top executives to assess the competitiveness and effectiveness of total direct compensation plans, develop total compensation systems for sales organizations and total reward systems for employee groups. He is the author of five books including Next Stage: In Your Retirement, Create the Life You Want (2019), Changes for Challenging Times – A Special Report on Business Conditions and Compensation Trends (published 2009), Innovative Reward Systems for the Changing Workplace (McGraw Hill) and Rewards That Drive High Performance (AMACOM). He has written over 30 articles, book chapters and special features for Fortune Magazine, the Conference Board, Financial Times and Boards and Directors. He has been quoted in the Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, and the Boston Business Journal.
Prior to forming Wilson Group, Tom was the National Director of Rewards for Aubrey Daniels & Associates; Partner and General Manager of New England for Hay Group, Inc.; and Director of Organizational Consulting for the Forum Corporation. He holds a Master’s degree from Vanderbilt Owen School of Management and Bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University.
Charlene Lindsay
Consultant
Charlene Lindsay is a seasoned Human Resources and Total Rewards professional with over 20 years of HR experience, including more than 15 years specializing in compensation across banking, retail, healthcare, and not-for-profit organizations. Her background spans both corporate leadership and consulting environments, giving her a practical, results-driven perspective on complex workforce and pay challenges.
Throughout her career, Charlene has led enterprise-wide initiatives in job architecture, salary structure design, variable and incentive compensation programs, pay equity analyses, and compensation system implementations. She has partnered closely with executive leadership, HR teams, and business stakeholders to design compensation frameworks that support organizational strategy, compliance, and talent retention.
In addition to program design and implementation, Charlene brings a strong advisory and education focus. She has developed and facilitated training workshops on compensation fundamentals, performance management, pay equity, FLSA classifications, and change management; helping leaders and HR teams navigate evolving workforce expectations with confidence.
After transitioning from a senior leadership role in Corporate America, Charlene expanded into consulting, where she supports organizations with job architecture development, market pricing, pay equity reviews, policy and procedure documentation, and broader compensation strategy initiatives. Charlene holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Sciences from Florida State University, a Masters in Business Administration and maintains both the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) designations.
Cathy Luebbert
Senior Consultant
Cathy has been associated with Wilson Group through CompensationGPS, where she worked as a compensation consultant from 2017 to 2024. In January 2024, she joined Wilson Group as a Senior Consultant.
Cathy brings extensive experience in managing compensation projects, including benchmarking data, calculating comparisons and developing salary structures. Prior to this, Cathy worked as an Actuary for Aon Consulting, amassing over 20 years of experience in compensation and benefits consulting. She was an Enrolled Actuary for 10 years.
Cathy holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a specialization in actuarial science.
John Malanowski
Consultant
John Malanowski is an executive coach and broad-based human resource consultant. He has experience as a global Chief People Officer in early-stage start-up companies to accelerate operational performance and organizational effectiveness. He is an expert in the areas of organizational design, strategy development and implementation, and sustainable transformational leadership. He brings practical, hands-on experience into a variety of organizational settings and industries with a talent for listening and hearing the real issues that are at play in an organization. With the increasing prevalence of CEO turnover, John brings together compensation, executive search and development resources to enable Boards of Directors to strategically plan for, fill and develop future Chief Executive Officers.
During a career spanning over 40 years, he has had diverse experience implementing performance driven business and human capital strategies and solutions for private equity and founder led firms as well as large public and private fortune 100 corporations in healthcare, technology, government contractors, consumer products, insurance and utilities. He is highly valued for his insights into situations and is frequently sought out for his ability to frame solutions to complex problems, inspire and motivate clients to address them, and advise and coach on implementation.
In addition to human resources consulting, he also specializes in providing interim CHRO/CXO services to fast growing early-stage private companies helping to accelerate the build out of operating and talent infrastructures. He also supports a number of clients through focused performance based executive coaching interventions designed to create high performance cultures that deliver practical, measurable results.
John holds a Master of Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University School and a Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, from the State University of New York College at Buffalo.
Chelsea Martens
Senior Consultant
Chelsea Martens is an accomplished HR leader and consultant specializing in Total Rewards, HR Technology, HR Operations, pay equity, and organizational design. With more than 15 years of experience across complex, high-growth, and global environments, she partners with leadership teams to translate business strategy into scalable people and reward solutions that drive performance and operational efficiency.
Chelsea designs compensation frameworks, job architecture, governance models, and technology-enabled HR processes that strengthen workforce planning, improve pay equity, and enhance administrative efficiencies. She also works with clients on executive compensation and long-term incentive program design. Chelsea connects reward investments directly to outcomes – demonstrating how optimized compensation structures, incentive design, and HR technology ecosystems improve retention, engagement and long-term organizational success.
Chelsea holds the Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP), and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) designations, along with a B.S. in Managerial Economics.
Lisa Nivison
Operations Manager/Compensation Analyst
Lisa has 20 years’ experience in professional services firms in coordinating project activities, facilitating communications and providing a high level of service and quality to clients. Lisa’s expertise includes collecting and analyzing client and external market data and preparing customized compensation and employee engagement surveys. In her role at Wilson Group, Lisa manages internal operations, administrative services and website, and provides analytical support in the assessment and design of client employee and executive compensation programs.
Lisa is a member of WorldatWork and the New England Compensation Consortium. She previously worked for Sherbrooke Partners, Cartier and Zale Corporation. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Jean Riley
Senior Consultant
Jean Riley has over 25 years of experience in compensation design and human resources management. She has held leadership positions in several organizations and has provided consulting services to various types of organizations including, financial services, non-profit, retail and technology companies. Most recently, Jean was the Vice President of Compensation at Santander Bank overseeing executive and staff compensation programs for approximately 10,000 employees. Prior to this, Jean worked for McLagan where she managed the compensation consulting practice for banking clients in the Northeast.
Jean earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Fitchburg State University. Jean is a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), through WorldatWork and a member of the New England Compensation Consortium.
John Wilson
Data Consultant
Valerie Zwerko
Consultant
Valerie has over 30 years’ experience in compensation design and management. She has held leadership positions in international organizations including financial services and hospitality. Most recently, Valerie was the Vice President and Principal Consultant to the Asset Servicing business at BNY Mellon managing all compensation programs for the business. Prior to this, Valerie was the Director of Sales Compensation for CIT designing the worldwide global sales and incentive compensation strategies and managing the development of the Company’s sales plans. Prior leadership positions include directing the Compensation function for the America’s region of InterContinental Hotels Group and as Head of Compensation for SunTrust Banks.
Valerie earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and History from Cedar Crest College and is also a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Institute Program. She is a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) through WorldatWork.
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