Built for critical transitions

Stephen Murray is the CEO and founder of GrowFast Human Capital, a human capital advisory firm dedicated to protecting what business owners value most: their people and their life's work. With a passion for transforming how companies approach exit planning, Stephen works to ensure that the workforce—a company's greatest asset—doesn't become an afterthought in transactions.

His calling traces back to his grandfather, Emil Legros, a businessman who transformed Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio into a thriving enterprise. Emil built his success on a simple principle: “Courtesy is contagious.” He understood that treating people well wasn't just good ethics—it was good business. That philosophy shaped Stephen's worldview long before he entered the corporate arena.

For 25 years, Stephen served as an HR executive for Fortune 500 companies including International Paper, KONE Americas, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Ocado. He led large-scale transformations and acquisitions, gaining expertise in M&A and organizational change. But much of that work involved layoffs and reorganizations—sometimes hundreds of people a year. Over time, he grew weary of watching talent, trust, and institutional knowledge walk out the door, treated as line items rather than assets.

When COVID hit, Stephen reached a crossroads. “I didn't want to keep participating in systems that treated people as costs instead of assets,” he says. “I wanted to build something better.” In 2023, he founded GrowFast Human Capital—not as another HR consultancy, but as what he calls “the missing seat at the table” in exit planning.

Stephen works with middle-market companies—typically those with $2 million to $30 million in EBITDA—preparing for ownership transition or growth. His approach addresses what traditional exit advisors overlook: the human capital dimension of business value. He's witnessed firsthand how owners who fail to prepare their workforce for acquisition see value erosion in real time, with key employees departing and institutional knowledge disappearing.

“When PE firms acquire companies, they focus on financial due diligence while overlooking the very people who built the company's value,” Stephen explains. “Without proper guidance, business value erodes daily.”

Under Stephen's leadership, GrowFast Human Capital has positioned itself at the intersection of exit planning and AI-era transformation—helping companies understand not just what AI means for their technology stack, but what it means for their workforce value and exit readiness. That work now runs through two trademarked programs. Valuation-Grade Succession™ (VGS) prepares the sell side, building enterprise value and making it transferable before a deal closes; Day-Two Ready™ prepares the buy side, integrating people, systems, and technology in the first 30 to 45 days so the value a buyer paid for holds and grows rather than eroding over the usual hundred. Stephen lived both sides of that equation during the Ocado acquisition—advising the seller on building value while leading the people and value transition for the buyer. He's particularly focused on serving founder-led and family businesses where legacy matters as much as the transaction itself.

Today, Stephen continues to champion the people-first philosophy he inherited from his grandfather, working to ensure that business owners can exit successfully while treating their teams with the respect they've earned. His mission is straightforward: when you invest in people, value follows.

Stephen holds a Master's in Human Resources and Labor Relations from Michigan State University, a Master's in Sociology from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor's in Sociology from Furman University. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and ValueBuilder Certified.