Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer
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Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer

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Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer is a human capital strategist, USA Today bestselling author, executive advisor, and board-certified executive coach with 30+ years of experience helping organizations and leaders realize the value of their people.

She is the founder and CEO of Bentzen Performance Partners and creator of Human Capital Investment Strategy (HCIS), a framework that challenges organizations to manage human capital with the same rigor and intentionality they apply to financial capital. Cynthia advises CEOs, boards, executive teams, and family enterprises on talent strategy, succession, organizational performance, leadership effectiveness, and transformation.

Her work is grounded in a simple premise: people are not merely a cost to manage—they are an asset to invest in. Through HCIS, Cynthia helps leaders identify hidden talent risk, make better decisions about where to invest, and build the leadership capacity required for long-term growth.

Cynthia is also the creator of The Discipline of Direction™, a body of work focused on recognizing drift before it becomes a larger problem and making intentional choices about what comes next. Her 7-Minute Pivot offers individuals a practical daily practice for stepping out of autopilot, recognizing patterns, and choosing direction with greater clarity and intention.

Her work has been featured in "Improving HR, The Empathy Advantage", and "Success Without Compromise", and she has shared her expertise on stages and podcasts focused on leadership, business, and human potential.

Cynthia holds a Ph.D. in social psychology, an MBA, the Board Certified Coach designation, and the SPHR credential. She has been recognized as a St. Louis YWCA Leader of Distinction, one of Ingram’s “50 Missourians You Should Know,” and one of Becker’s “143 Women Leaders of Hospital and Health Systems to Know.”

She is the author of "Human Capital Investment Strategy", co-author of the USA Today bestseller "Now, Near, Next", and author of the "Intentional ALLYship Companion Guide," and "My Daily 7-Minute Pivot Journal." Across her work, Cynthia helps organizations and individuals do the same essential thing: recognize where they are, decide where they want to go, and invest intentionally in what comes next.
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