Gretchen Van Vlymen is an expert HR practitioner and people operations leader with 15+ years of consulting experience across industries including tech, SaaS, hospitality, logistics, engineering, and manufacturing. She helps high-growth companies achieve ambitious organizational goals while creating a best-in-class employee experience.

Gretchen specializes in creatively aligning her clients’ people strategy with their strategic business goals. She prides herself on implementing change management initiatives in an impactful yet realistic and approachable way. 

Before launching her own boutique HR consulting company, GVV Consulting, in 2020, Gretchen was head of HR Consulting Services for Toast, a leading Restaurant Management software company, providing expert solutions to fast-growing hospitality groups in need of strategic talent solutions. Prior to Toast, she was in a dual role as Vice President of HR at Stratex, where she led the internal people function through a decade of organizational change, while also managing outside business consulting services for over 200 growth-focused SMB clients. 

Gretchen holds degrees in Marketing and International Business from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, in addition to her Senior HR Professional Certifications from the Society for Human Resource Management and the Human Resources Certification Institute. She has been featured in several media outlets and publications including WGN (TV and Radio), HBR, Bloomberg, and Workforce Magazine for her work as an HR game-changer. She is certified in both DiSC and the 6 Types of Working Genius assessments. 

She lives outside Chicago with her husband, Paul, and their two children, James (7) and Maggie (4).