How the Chief of Staff Association powers global growth with Deel

The Chief of Staff Association (CSA) is the global professional body for chiefs of staff, connecting, developing, and empowering its members operating across all sectors and industries in more than 70 countries. To deliver world-class C-Suite education, the CSA partners with leading institutions such as Harvard, Oxford, Microsoft, and Deloitte. As the organization expanded its physical presence—from London to New York to Australasia—it quickly encountered a familiar challenge: hiring in new markets, even in those where they had entities, without local HR or legal teams.

Without in-house expertise in employment law, payroll, or benefits, CSA needed a dependable partner that could help them hire confidently and compliantly—minimizing risk while scaling fast.

One pressing example: when CSA hired its first employee in the US, the complexity of local compliance, state labor laws, and benefits became immediately clear. What they needed was not just a contract provider. They needed a trusted partner who could simplify global hiring and help them retain talent efficiently.

“Deel made it very clear–in writing and results–that they were going to make our mission of scaling globally easy. And they did. They had the infrastructure and the legal and administrative expertise to be with us every step of the way.” — Drew Davis, Senior Vice President for Commercial, Chief of Staff Association

After consulting with strategic advisors and peers, CSA evaluated several global employment providers. Deel quickly stood out.

“Deel’s sales team performed more like consultants. They were patient, responsive, and surfaced potential pitfalls so we could move forward with confidence.” — Polly Holtby, Compliance Officer, Chief of Staff Association

With Deel Employer of Record (EOR), CSA could onboard new employees seamlessly—starting with Drew in the US—while maintaining compliance and offering competitive benefits. The team is now expanding into Australia using the same model.

“Deel handled the hiring, payroll, and benefits—even the legal questions. Taking those important matters off our plate while we focused on growth was invaluable.” — Nicholas Eastwood, Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff Association

Even in an unusual scenario—Drew hiring himself through Deel—CSA found the platform intuitive and easy to use. From setting up the company profile to enrolling in benefits, Deel’s guided workflows made every step straightforward

“The interface is clean, well-organized, and packed with functionality. It made a potentially overwhelming process feel super simple.” — Drew Davis, Senior Vice President for Commercial, Chief of Staff Association

One critical moment came mid-month, when Drew needed to enroll in health insurance before his previous coverage expired. Deel’s benefits onboarding took just 30 minutes—and went into effect immediately.

“We were scrambling to switch benefits before the end of the month. Deel walked us through it in 20 minutes. It was a huge relief.” — Drew Davis, Senior Vice President for Commercial, Chief of Staff Association

With new hires planned in Australasia and an expected 5x increase in U.S. headcount by year-end, CSA is confident Deel will scale alongside them.