Houston, TX – Smith & Burgess is proud to announce that Michelle Ramirez, SHRM-CP, Director of Internal Operations, has been honored as HR Leader of the Year (Small Company Category) at the Houston Business Journal’s 2025 HR Impact Awards.
Honoring Excellence in HR
The HBJ HR Impact Awards recognize individuals who set the standard in human resources by creating forward-thinking policies, fostering inclusive workplace cultures, and driving measurable employee and organizational success.
Transforming HR at Smith & Burgess
During her nearly 10 years at Smith & Burgess, Ramirez has transformed the HR function into a strategic driver of business growth and culture. Her leadership has been instrumental in:
- Expanding the workforce by over 150% across multiple U.S. and international offices, including Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Singapore, and Pune, India — with expansion into Saudi Arabia underway.
- Revamping performance evaluation systems to achieve 95% manager adoption and 90% completion rates, directly aligning performance with company goals and values.
- Advancing female representation, increasing the percentage of women at Smith & Burgess from approximately 18% in 2015 to nearly 50% today.
- Designing benefits and flexible work programs that prioritize employee well-being and work-life balance, contributing to 45% of staff maintaining tenure of 10+ years — a rare benchmark in the industry.
