Andrew is the founder and president of Richter Associates, Inc., a New York-based consulting firm specializing in compensation, benefits, and human resources strategies.  His professional experience includes both management consulting and corporate executive roles as well as opportunities to contribute to these fields through publications, addresses to professional conferences, and service on the WorldatWork (American Compensation Association) Board of Directors.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE — CONSULTING

After completing a Ph.D. at Yale and a brief stint in corporate lending at U.S. Trust Company of New York on Wall Street, Andrew took on his first consulting job with the New York Office of Hay Associates.  Although he was successful at Hay working primarily with banking clients, he left the Firm after a fairly short time because its standardized, product-oriented approach (i.e., the Hay System) did not mesh with his desire to play a broader and more creative advisory role, developing unique solutions for unique client needs.

In 1982, he joined Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby in New York, where he spent the next 12 years.  He was made a partner of TPF&C in 1988 and gained a reputation within the firm as a creative and strategic consultant who built major client relationships and managed extremely large and complex projects.

While at TPF&C, Andrew transformed an almost non-existent client relationship with IBM into a major ongoing relationship, dramatically highlighted by an eleven-country, seven-language study on the future of human resources that he designed, led, and authored.  [See publications page]  His work with IBM led to other consulting opportunities in the high-tech world including, Bell Labs, and Bellcore.  Other major clients included, Witco Corporation, Marine Midland Bank, Joseph E. Seagram, Valley National Bank, and NYNEX.

During a brief period when he worked with TPF&C’s survey unit, Andrew co-led the re-design of the Firm’s Long-Term Incentive Plan survey, which became a major resource for executive compensation practitioners.  Competing against other major firms, he also designed and launched a distinctive new survey (S³)  for a consortium of major corporate employers.
 
In 1994, he left TPF&C to start his own firm, Richter Associates.  For the next two years, Richter Associates sold and delivered major consulting projects to leading corporations including J.P. Morgan, American Express Bank, IBM, Joseph E. Seagram, and U.S. Shoe (Womens’ Specialty Retailing Group).

Although Richter Associates was quite successful, Andrew decided to close the firm late in 1995 when IBM made him “an offer he couldn’t refuse.”   

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE — MANAGEMENT

From 1995 to 2011, Andrew held a variety of corporate HR executive positions, first with IBM (1995-2002) and then as the SVP of Compensation and Benefits at NBC Universal (2002-2011).

At IBM, Andrew’s principal focus was in developing strategies and designing programs that would change IBM’s culture and total compensation offerings to make it more competitive with emerging Silicon Valley competitors as the Internet transformed the industry.

As the head of compensation and benefits for IBM US, he led highly successful efforts to re-design the Company’s global job evaluation system, ultimately producing a highly streamlined broadband approach.  He then led a widely recognized re-design of IBM’s base salary program, replacing a highly structured approach with one that gave managers flexible tools to manage key talent. The new approached was viewed as a significant contribution to culture change within IBM and as a “best practice” among professionals in the field. [See publications page]  In addition, variable pay for all employees was extended during this time and benefits were updated.

He was also heavily involved with the integration of major software companies (Lotus and Tivoli) who brought different cultures and views of compensation to IBM.  In addition, he developed a variety of special retention programs as IBM responded to competitive pressures from Silicon Valley start-ups.  Finally, as the global head of sales compensation, he focused on integrating the Company’s HR, sales tracking, and general ledger systems to increase line of sight for the sales force and better differentiate pay based on performance.

At NBC Universal, Andrew’s major contributions revolved around (1) bringing NBC Universal programs and practices more in line with the entertainment industry and (2) due diligence and post-close integration for over 20 M&A/divestiture deals.

Andrew’s responsibilities at NBC Universal extended across all parts of the Company including broadcast and cable TV, film, and theme parks and covered all compensation and benefit programs not specifically administered by GE (NBC Universal’s parent until 2011).  He successfully converted an annual bonus plan having both highly limited participation and no real links to business performance into a plan that brought eligibility in line with industry patterns and clearly tied executive pay in each part of the business to the results achieved.  In addition, he led the complete overhaul of an inaccurate HRIS/job titling and documentation framework, building a system of titles, career bands, functions, and job families that could support the Company’s first serious efforts in areas like benchmarking market rates for jobs and pay equity analysis. Last, he developed a completely new recognition program for NBC Universal that won a national award.

On the M&A front, Andrew was heavily involved in deals that reshaped the Company including the acquisitions of Universal, Telemundo, Oxygen, and the Weather Channel; the attempted acquisition of Dreamworks; the divestiture of several stations; and finally the sale of controlling interest in NBC Universal to Comcast in 2011.  Strategies, policies, and programs that he proposed in one acquisition saved the Company over $35MM per annum without any negative employee relations consequences.

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE 

From 1999 to 2003, Andrew served on the Board of WorldatWork (formerly the American Compensation Association).  During that period, he co-led two Board committees. The first examined the need for a code of professional ethics in the field.  The second successfully developed and introduced a new total rewards model to guide professional training and strategy development in the field.  The new model was major step forward as it broadened the view of rewards from a focus on compensation and benefits to any employer policy, program, or strategy that influences its ability to attract and retain talent (e.g., training and development opportunities, work-life programs, and corporate culture).

Andrew is the author of a book on HR strategy and over 20 articles on compensation and benefits.  [See publications page]

 

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Since 1997, Andrew has been active on the Board of Hudson River HealthCare (HRHC), a Federally Qualified Community Health Center serving over 80,000 patients in medically under-served areas at 16 sites in New York State.  He has also served as the Treasurer for HRHC since 2003. In addition, he is the Chairman of the Hudson River HealthCare Foundation.

In 2010, Andrew was appointed to the Board of Hudson Health Plan a Medicaid managed care insurance provider that serves several counties in the lower and middle Hudson Valley.

In 2011, Andrew began a three-year term on the Executive Committee of the Yale Graduate School Alumni Association.  Previously (1996-1999), he was a Graduate School Delegate to Association of Yale Alumni.   He has also been a Director of the Westchester Yale Alumni Association.

From 1990 to 1998, Andrew sat on the Board of Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, a New York City-based conservation and fly fishing group.

 

EDUCATION

Andrew holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Yale, where he was awarded fellowships by the National Science Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.  His inter-disciplinary doctoral dissertation (incorporating sociology, economics, and political science) was on the impact of multi-national corporations in developing countries.  

Andrew received his B.S. (with Honors) from the University of Wisconsin (Madison).  At U.W., he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and played on the Varsity Soccer Club.

 

PERSONAL

Andrew is married with 2 sons.  He is an avid, but inept flyfisherman and squash player as well as an aspiring, but unaccomplished intaglio print maker.