Lessons Learned From Changing Lanes

Totally Rewarding Chats · Oct 1, 2026 · 49m

Sean and Paul bring in Jessica Pontious, a compensation leader who spent a decade inside one company. Jess explains what actually changed when she started advising organizations across industries, sizes, and countries. The conversation covers why she left a large in-house rewards role, the fears that kept her from making the move sooner, which of those fears turned out to be unfounded, and what she wishes she had known about how much of comp knowledge transfers between industries. It also gets practical about how an outside advisor starts a new engagement, how to work with the person who…