About Us

HR-DNA is firmly dedicated to the idea that people are organizations' most unique and valuable resource. Companies can craft the most compelling vision, develop cutting-edge products and deploy world class technology. But without people- talented people who are fully aligned with the mission and values of the organization- all of those things will matter very little in the final analysis.

Our Story

starbucks storefrontLike a lot of new ideas these days, the original concept for HR-DNA developed over a cup of coffee at Starbucks. John W. Parker, while serving as Director of Leadership Development at First Union, would frequently visit Starbucks and plan ways to transfer his wealth of business experience into his own firm.

After several months of planning, Parker was introduced to Brent Brower by a mutual friend. Parker and Brower hit it off and began talking about forming a partnership that would leverage their respective strengths. Parker's strength was in consulting while Brower was passionate about executive coaching. The two began meeting regularly at Starbucks to plan the launch of their partnership. HR-DNA was founded in early 2001 based on Parker and Brower's belief that people ("human resources") represent the DNA of any organization.

Business Case

People produce profits...

HR-DNA shares the fundamental belief that people (Human Resources) represent an organization's most valuable asset. Coffman & Harter of the Gallop Organization found evidence of this belief in their groundbreaking research that included over a million employees worldwide from over 400 companies. The survey concluded that the level of EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT was the most powerful predictor of business unit productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction and employee retention. The twelve dimensions of Employee Engagement identified in their article "A Hard Look at Soft Numbers" clearly indicate the direct correlation between developing individuals and aligning their talent with the organization's mission and producing the desired high performance business outcomes.

Coffman continued his research through a recent book authored with Marcus Buckingham called First Break All the Rules. The book demonstrates how the most impactful area of employee engagement and corresponding business results centered on the quality of the employee's realtionship with their manager. This points clearly toward the need to sharpen the management and leadership skills within an organization.

Our Team

Brent Brower is managing partner of HR-DNA, a provider of human capital business solutions in Charlotte, NC. Before joining HR-DNA he founded ABB LifeQuest, an Executive Coaching and Consulting firm. He is a Business and Personal Coach and Consultant with over 30 years of professional experience helping individuals and organizations achieve success by accelerating the development of both people and profits. As a leader and coach, Brent has demonstrated his effectiveness in many settings including: Fortune 100 Corporations, Small Business, Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial, Technical, Church, and Community. Brent’s clients include: Michelin North America, Inc., Duke Energy, Wachovia/Wells Fargo, MITRE Corporation, Transamerica Re/SCOR Global Life, Fluor Corp., Kitchell Corporation, O’Neal, Inc., Advance Auto, Helen Adams Realty, Bayer Crop Science, Daimler Corp., Crane Composites, RT Dooley Construction, Balfour Beatty, SAIC, Noblis, Pfizer, Morehead Associates, City of Charlotte, YMCA of Greater Charlotte, Sunbelt Rentals, GSK, Sanofi, Milliken & Company, TIAA-CREF, and Federal Reserve Bank.

Brent earned his MS in Engineering with a minor in Business Management and was a registered Professional Engineer who ascended through the ranks to be COO of a 2600-member engineering services firm with over 50 office locations. His strength is Coaching executives, professionals and managers in larger organizations and small to medium size business owners to higher levels of individual and team performance. He effects cultural transformations in organizations by developing coaching skills in management and leadership teams that produce bottom line results through motivating and empowering their people.

Brent has successfully completed over 200 executive coaching engagements and delivered over 200 Coaching and Communications Skills workshops for leaders and Coached over 25 teams and groups over the last 10 years.

Brent is a graduate of Corporate Coach University and is a founding board member and past President of the International Coach Federation Charlotte Area Chapter. He is a licensed master facilitator of the CCUI Coaching Clinic© and Landscape Learning’s Navigational Coaching Program, which are strategic corporate coaching skills development programs for managers and leaders. Brent is also licensed as a Coach/Facilitator to deliver The Team Advantage™, a structured high impact program for coaching corporate teams.

Church and community are areas of passion for Brent in addition to his work and his family. He has founded and been President of very large neighborhood homeowners associations in Raleigh, NC and Greenville, SC. He’s held numerous leadership positions in the Church including Council President and President of Men’s Ministry. He also served as a leader and Board Member in a world-wide Prison Ministry Program at maximum security prisons.

HR-DNA Team

HR-DNA has assembled a very talented team of highly qualified professionals each of whom is a very mature and experienced coach and consultant.  Our team members bring a wide range of industry experience and have held senior level positions in most functional areas of large and small corporations.  One of HR-DNA's core competencies is orchestrating seamless teams of talent that precisely meet client needs.