expertise is key

to optimizing human capital decisions

Drive fit, alignment, and performance

Whether bringing new leaders on board, developing existing talent, or evaluating a potential acquisition, you want to know you’re making the right decision—before committing precious resources. The stakes are high—and mistakes are costly, in dollars and in wasted time.

Becky Winkler launched Department 732c to give you peace of mind in the human capital space. Working as a collaborative partner, Becky will hone your awareness for the positive and negative consequences of every talent decision you make.

empower individuals, teams, and organizations

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

Department 732c provides sophisticated solutions, minus the inefficiencies of a giant consulting firm. Old-school consulting was structured to maximize partner profits, with little regard for your bottom line. Not true of us. We believe clients are people—not cases or files. With Department 732c, you will invest in proven expertise—not overhead.

Further, we understand your challenges affect human beings. Clients are people—often with a great deal at stake. Consulting in the human capital arena is a service profession and we take that mandate seriously. Personal attention is our signature—because one-size solutions never fit all.

Becky has conducted over 1,000 executive-level assessments and coached numerous leaders to breakthrough performance. Her team-alignment engagements have transformed sub-optimized, individual performers into forceful and cohesive units. PE clients praise her organizational diligence as “a crystal ball” for targeting tweaks that boost profitability post close. Speaking and training round out Becky’s areas of expertise.

What We Offer

  • Evaluate fit for a C-suite role
  • Assess the potential for succession
  • Select the best candidate

Executive
Assessment

  • Achieve your full potential
  • Prepare executives for advancement
  • Seamlessly onboard new leadership

Executive
Coaching/360° Feedback

  • Understand a team's ability to realize an investment thesis
  • Assess talent strengths and risks before you buy a company

Management Team Diligence

  • Align and strengthen an existing team
  • Prepare a new team for upcoming challenges
  • Identify and eliminate team dysfunction

Management Team Building

  • Achieve clarity so you know where to invest post close
  • Determine which structure will best unlock growth
  • Accelerate company optimization

Org Diligence

  • Drive intentional succession planning
  • Strengthen your board and build airtight alignment
  • Train senior leaders to boost their hiring accuracy
  • Create a new culture post merger and/or acquisition

Org Development

Tailored solutions, optimized outcomes

OUR PROMISE

Tough Love 
Hardwired to shoot straight, Becky understands the importance of courage in all endeavors and interactions. Unlike other consultants and coaches, she models fearlessness at all times. Rely on Becky to speak the uncomfortable truth when it helps you, your team, or your company improve. But make no mistake, alongside hard-hitting insights, Becky’s irreverent wit keeps clients from sweating the small stuff.

A close look before leaping
At the outset of every engagement, Becky digs deep for a fully baked view. She’ll understand what matters most in your organization—where it stands in its lifecycle, the unique aspects of organizational culture—before recommending next steps. Becky knows that “perfect” executives, teams, and team members don’t exist. Rather, results come from optimizing talent and structure in the unique landscape of your organization.

Authentic relationships
Becky helps individuals and organizations achieve transformational results by engaging in sincere and meaningful ways. Transactional relationships and one-offs simply aren’t in her comfort zone. Becky’s clients remain loyal for years—and reap benefits from her ever-deepening expertise. As a result, she is privileged to see ongoing, positive outcomes from her recommendations.

Attentiveness. Responsiveness. Accuracy.
Becky treats each and every engagement as if it’s her only engagement. No wonder clients tell her she “gets it right” more than 90% of the time! And no small feat in the realm of difficult-to-predict human capital challenges. Your unique organization matters, and you will know this by the deep insights, focused attention, and premier service Becky guarantees. As other clients have noted, with Becky as your trusted thought partner, you will “feel seen.”

Gain expertise, insight, and empathy

Who is becky?

Becky Winkler, PHD

Becky Winkler, Ph.D. combines razor-sharp insight, deep experience, and genuinely humanistic intentions to help her clients succeed. Her warmth and directness (combined with judgment and intellect) foster trust—which paves the way to transforming individuals, teams, and organizations.

In her work with more than half of all top U.S. Private Equity funds, she’s engaged with companies from founder-led start-ups to multi-billion-dollar, international organizations. Her client base also includes LPs, hedge funds, public companies, and non-profits. Most of the work she’s done has been in the middle-market sector, where she thrives on unlocking potential to help companies scale.

As much as Becky enjoys deploying insight, she also loves creating knowledge. Thus, she has partnered with researchers at premier academic institutions like Cornell University and Teacher’s College at Columbia University to understand what predicts and sustains executive performance. Her work has been featured in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Inc., The Washington Post, Investor’s Business Daily, and more.

For ten years before launching Department 732c, Becky was a top-performing partner with boutique consulting firm Green Peak Partners. Prior, she worked as an external consultant with the Atlanta management psychology consultancy Sperduto & Associates, and as an internal OD practitioner with Advocate Health Care in Chicago. Becky graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia’s Honors Program with a major in Psychology, a minor in Chinese, and a certificate in Women's Studies.  She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from DePaul University.

Becky currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has received numerous awards from the University of Georgia (e.g., 40 Under 40 and the Jere W. Morehead award) where she currently serves as a Trustee. Her passion for providing choices and opportunities for all underlies her commitment to this institution and others like KIPP NC, a nonprofit network of college-preparatory, public charter schools serving students in educationally underserved communities.

Becky has been an invaluable resource to me and to our firm. Over time, we’ve deployed her expertise and insight repeatedly: into coaching engagements with our senior leaders, assessments of critical employee hires, and informal counsel. From each, she’s helped to set us a clearer course. Her distinctive combination of rigor and intuition, professionalism, and empathy represent an expansive problem-solving palette. But beyond her credentials is her warm and endearing nature, which makes the journey a fun one. Becky’s a pleasure to be with and to learn from.

—Matt Bank, Partner @ GEM Investments

Becky is an absolute standout in the human capital assessment and development space. Her warm yet direct approach—and deep expertise and experience—have made her a trusted advisor to Two Sigma Impact. She never ceases to uncover critical nuances that sharpen our decisions about people in deals. And she makes all of this hard work really fun.

—Ann Ruble, Senior Advisor @ FoW Partners

Becky is our go-to person for assessing the leadership of the companies we look to invest in. Her energy and personality wins over the most hardened and grizzled CEOs and founders. Most importantly, Becky engenders trust with the executives she meets. She is super sharp and understands my business needs and goals. Becky is indispensable to our investment process.

—Lloyd Metz, Managing Director @ ICV Partners

Over the years, Becky's insights have been crucial in helping us develop our leadership team. She's a pro, and talking to her feels like you're speaking with someone who's been on the team for years. Her approach, along with her deep knowledge of psychology and people management, helps us find talent that thrives in our culture and succeeds long term. Becky has an uncanny ability to identify strengths and areas for improvement and present them in a constructive way. She gains a comprehensive understanding of not only the people but also the business. Her insights are sharp, thorough, and direct, and I would recommend her to anyone.

—Dave Dugan, CEO @ Core States Group

Build value,
Enable scale

A word about the name

Department 732c—you’re likely thinking, “An odd choice.” Truthfully, we agree—and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Department 732c honors Becky’s grandmother, Florence, a secretary for more than 20 years in an iconic retail corporation (during a time when most women worked only inside their homes). Florence’s resourcefulness and resilience inspired Becky: her grandmother did whatever it took to support her family, and did it with grace and strength (and an ample stash of unfiltered Pall Malls). Florence passed away in 2010, but Becky still cherishes her grandmother’s 10, 15, and 20-years of service pins from—you guessed it—Department 732c.

Human capital is how you unlock organizational potential