Meet Sheela Abdi of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheela Abdi.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my career in banking, co-managing a retail branch in Orange County, CA. While in that role, I learned a lot about people, leadership, and pressure, but the truth was, that I wasn’t happy. I just didn’t know what else I could do.

Everything shifted because of one client — a VP at a boutique recruiting agency in Newport Beach — who looked at me one day and said, “You don’t love this, do you?” It was such a simple question, but it opened something in me. She saw potential I couldn’t yet see in myself.
After I left banking, I assumed she would help me find another finance job. Instead, she told me that everything I had been doing — coaching my team, managing conflict, handling sensitive conversations — was already HR. She offered to bring me onto her recruiting team and teach me the industry from the ground up. I said yes, and that’s where my entire journey began.

I started as a recruiter in 2008. Then the recession hit, our team was impacted, and I found myself pivoting again — this time into entertainment recruiting and in-house HR in Los Angeles. That role gave me the hands-on experience I needed: employee relations, compliance, payroll, policies, performance issues, all of it. I eventually earned my first HR Director role and built my own department, which was both terrifying and empowering. I didn’t come from the “traditional” HR background, but I’ve always believed you don’t have to look like the mold to be great at the work.
Over time, I grew into more senior roles — ultimately becoming SVP at a film studio — but even then, the journey was never really about collecting titles. Those milestones mattered, but the deeper work was finding my purpose, my voice, and the confidence to lead in a way that felt true to me. I had known for a long time that I eventually wanted to build something of my own; I just didn’t know when the right moment would be. That clarity came when one of my outside consulting clients offered me a full-time COO role in their company. Instead of pulling me toward their organization, it made everything align. It wasn’t a sign to step into someone else’s structure again; it was the moment I knew it was time to officially go out on my own. That’s when the vision for Limitless HR Group shifted from something I quietly nurtured on the side into something real and finally felt ready for.

That’s how LHRG was truly born — even though I’d had an LLC for years, that was the moment it became my full-time purpose. Today, LHRG partners with founders, entertainment companies, restaurants, hospitality groups, production teams; not just small to mid-size businesses but for larger organizations on a global scale as well — all seeking a people-first approach to HR. I get to blend compliance with compassion, strategy with humanity — and that’s the part that lights me up.

Today, I’m grateful to lead a strong and growing team at Limitless HR Group — people who support our global clients with the same care, integrity, and people-first philosophy I built the company on.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but every challenge shaped me into the leader I am today.

Earlier in my career, I worked in a niche part of HR — mergers and acquisitions — which exposed me to incredible, iconic brands and taught me more than I could’ve ever imagined. But with that experience came the very real emotional weight of restructuring. When companies scale, merge, or shift, part of the job is letting people go. Navigating that with compassion, steadiness, and integrity was one of the hardest parts of my early HR life.

Another unique challenge of working in the M&A side of HR is that those roles often have a natural shelf life — once the integration is complete, the work evolves or winds down. So there were seasons of my career where I was in and out of companies every few years, helping them through big moments and then transitioning once the dust settled. I was always fortunate to move right into my next role — often before leaving the current one — and I learned early on to advocate for myself and negotiate stay bonuses. Those experiences taught me adaptability, confidence, and how to build trust quickly in high-stakes environments.

There were also moments where I quietly questioned whether being a Middle Eastern woman in a predominantly white, male-dominated environment played a role in promotions I didn’t receive or raises that didn’t match the impact I knew I was making. Those experiences weren’t easy, but they strengthened my voice and my conviction to advocate not just for myself, but for others who have felt overlooked.

On top of that, I have spent years in high-pressure environments — entertainment, production, and on fast-moving corporate teams where passions ran high and emotions ran hotter. As an HR leader, you’re often the grounding presence in the room, even when you’re carrying your own stress. Learning to stay calm, centered, and solution-focused in those moments was a muscle I built the hard way.

And then once I went out on my own, the challenges shifted again. Suddenly I wasn’t just the HR leader — I was also the finance department, the salesperson, the marketer, and yes… the one following up on invoices (a new experience after years of being W-2, LOL). But even in that, I’ve been incredibly fortunate. Every client we’ve worked with has come through referrals, which is the greatest compliment I could ask for.

So no — while the road hasn’t been smooth, every obstacle clarified who I am, what I value, and the kind of leader I want to be.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Today, I run Limitless HR Group, where my work sits at the intersection of people, purpose, and practical strategy. I support companies across entertainment, production, hospitality, music, food & beverage, professional services, and global organizations that are scaling and navigating complex people operations. What I specialize in — and what I think I’m most known for — is taking HR out of the “cold and corporate” box and bringing it back to the human level where it belongs.

My focus is people-first HR strategy: everything from compliance, payroll, and benefits to recruitment, performance management, culture development, conflict resolution, and leadership coaching. I’m often brought in when companies are growing quickly or going through difficult transitions and they need someone who can create structure without losing the heart of the business. A lot of what I do is behind the scenes — solving problems, calming chaos, building processes, creating clarity — but the impact is always felt in how people experience their workplace.

What sets me apart is my approach. I lead with empathy, but I pair it with sharp technical expertise. My clients trust me because I know the laws, the regulations, the systems — but I also know how to talk to people, how to mediate complex conversations, and how to bring calm to environments where emotions can run high. I’m firm when I need to be, gentle when it matters, and honest always. I think that balance is why LHRG has grown entirely through referrals — every client we’ve worked with came from someone else who felt genuinely supported.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that I get to help founders, CEOs, and leadership teams think differently about HR. I love taking something that used to feel intimidating or burdensome and turning it into a strategic advantage — something that actually supports their vision instead of slowing it down. I’m proud of the moments where an employee feels heard, where a manager feels more confident, where a founder feels less alone, or where a company finally feels aligned after years of disconnection. Those quiet wins mean everything to me.

I’m also incredibly proud of the team I’m building. LHRG started as just me, and now I have a strong and growing group of people who bring so much heart and integrity to our work. They care deeply about our clients and embody the same people-first philosophy that defines our company.

At the end of the day, my work is about helping companies grow in a way that feels healthy, ethical, sustainable, and human. HR isn’t just policies — it’s culture, trust, and the way people feel when they show up to work every day. That’s what drives me, and that’s the legacy I hope to keep building.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a little bit of everything — part tomboy, part girly girl, and completely myself. I loved sneakers, hip hop, and house music just as much as I loved getting dressed up and being expressive. I could spend hours outside being active and then come inside and play piano or clarinet. I was in dance, gymnastics, on the swim team, and I watched WWF and sports with my brother and cousins. I think that mix of movement, creativity, and culture shaped a lot of who I am now.

Music, the ocean, and being surrounded by friends and family were always grounding forces for me. Even as a kid, I felt connected to rhythm, community, and anything that brought people together. And I always had this curiosity about the world — a sense that life was meant to be experienced fully.

A huge part of that came from watching my mom. She built her own import/export business when I was young and traveled across the U.S. and China long before “women in business” was something people talked about openly. Seeing her move through the world with that much courage and independence gave me a deep desire for adventure, success, and possibility. She showed me that you can build something from nothing, and that you don’t have to ask permission to dream big.

Looking back, all the pieces of my childhood — the creativity, the movement, the culture, the independence, the love for community — ended up becoming the foundation for the way I lead, the way I connect, and the way I built my life and career. It all makes sense now in a way it didn’t then.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.limitlesshrgroup.com