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JOE SOLIS
WHAT I DO
Three disciplines, one job:
helping people and businesses grow.
01
Recruiting
I built and lead a centralized recruiting model across nine Bay Area counties: an 8-person team serving San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Redwood City and Monterey, with clear expectations, interview frameworks and a pipeline everyone can see.
02
Brand & Marketing
From campaigns and social content to community outreach, I tell the story that makes talent want to join. My outreach program grew 11% year over year.
03
Culture & Inclusion
I turned our D&I Council into a strategic governance board, now ranked #1 for talent development by the Global ERG Network. Inclusion is how great teams get built, not a side project.
37
Hires a year, including talent placed on advisor teams
8
Recruiters led across 4 Bay Area markets
1,000+
Team members led across 37 locations in 3 states
$2.5M
Annual labor budget managed
#1
D&I Council for talent development, Global ERG Network 2025
EXPERIENCE
Where I've built teams
2021 – present
Northwestern Mutual
San Francisco Bay Area
Director of Talent and Growth
Promoted through advisor support, marketing, and growth & engagement leadership
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Built a centralized recruiting model across nine Bay Area counties, leading an 8-person team of talent partners and coordinators.
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Launched a new service line helping advisors with growing practices hire onto their own teams. ​
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Use AI to compare recruiting performance across markets and sharpen where the team spends its time.
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Restructured the D&I Council into a strategic governance board; managed a $200,000 annual budget for D&I programs.
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Spearheaded a community outreach program with 11% year-over-year growth.
2016 – 2021
24 Hour Fitness
California, Utah & Colorado
Area Manager, Group Exercise
Multi-state operations leader across three states and 37 clubs
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Led group exercise across 37 locations and 1,000+ employees with a $2.5M annual labor budget.
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Recruited and hired 100+ people end to end, from instructors and trainers to leadership.
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Grew class averages 10% year over year and cut low-performing classes 29% in Utah in five months, earning a #2 national ranking in 2020.
2020 – 2021
YMCA of Silicon Valley
San Jose, CA
Sr. Program Manager, Health & Wellness
Community-driven programs, team transformation and marketing
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Transformed health and wellness operations and unified a 75-person team.
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Drove 4% growth in session attendance and 5% growth in personal training revenue year over year.
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Ran integrated marketing across social, paid, direct mail and advertising.
SPEAKING & RECOGNITION
On stage and in the community
Together with Pride
Northwestern Mutual · 2023 & 2024
Leadership Program
Northwestern Mutual · 2025
Affinity Summits
Northwestern Mutual · 2025
Global ERG Network — #1 Council for Talent Development
Winner · 2025
Wealth Management Industry Awards — D&I
Finalist · 2025
D&I Champion Award, Northwestern Mutual
2024
Golden Gate Business Association - Vice President/ COO
2025 – present
Women's Field Association, Northwestern Mutual Male Allies Chair
2023 – present
Credentials
aPHR (HRCI) · D&I Certificate (Cornell) · Brain-Based Conversation (NeuroLeadership)
SELECTED WORK
Campaigns, events and video
Brand work and live events
Recruiting and brand storytelling
Where I started: coaching people to perform
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