Top Influencers: 34 UK Chief People Officer’s To Follow in 2022

2 years ago

Chief People Officer play a crucial role in any startup. It takes an extraordinary person to fulfil the Chief People Officer role. We have selected these Chief People Officer’s for this list as they are inspiring for a variety of reasons – whether that’s pushing boundaries, creating groundbreaking products, or doing their bit to save the world.

Our analysts did their best to select be best, and most innovative Chief People Officer’s. The list is in no particular order!

Caleb Merkl

Chief People Officer @ Deliveroo

FollowCaleb Merkl on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Caleb Merkl is the Chief People Officer at Deliveroo. He helped found New York-based Maple in 2014 where he served as CEO until the company was acquired by Deliveroo in 2017. Learn more about Caleb Merkl on Crunchbase…

Deliveroo is an online food delivery service that allows users to order restaurant meals using the web and mobile. Read more aboutDeliveroo on Crunchbase…

Nathan Clements

Chief People Officer @ SSP Group Plc

FollowNathan Clements on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Nathan Clements is Director of HR at DMG Media. Learn more about Nathan Clements on Crunchbase…

SSP Group Plc operates branded food and beverage travel outlets. Read more aboutSSP Group Plc on Crunchbase…

Jonathan Crookall

Chief People Officer @ Costa Coffee

FollowJonathan Crookall on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Costa Coffee is a British multinational coffeehouse company headquartered in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Read more aboutCosta Coffee on Crunchbase…

Charmaine Norville

Chief People Officer @ Shazam Entertainment

FollowCharmaine Norville on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Shazam Entertainment is an app that identify any music playing around you. Read more aboutShazam Entertainment on Crunchbase…

Mira Magecha

Chief People Officer @ Just Eat

FollowMira Magecha on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

[custom-twitter-feeds screenname=”miramagecha”]
Spoiler title
Mira was appointed as Chief People Officer (interim) in September 2018. Most recently she was International People Director supporting Just Eat through it’s growth and multiple global acquisitions. Prior to joining the business, Mira was an Independent Consultant having spent six years leading employee transformation programmes and teams at Capgemini. Mira has extensive experience leading people, building high performing teams and designing and supporting organisational change. Learn more about Mira Magecha on Crunchbase…

Just Eat provides convenient and easy access to a huge variety of delivery restaurants and order food online. Read more aboutJust Eat on Crunchbase…

Natalie Bickford

Chief People Officer @ Sanofi Pasteur

FollowNatalie Bickford on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Natalie has more than 20 years of HR experience, having started her career as a graduate manager with Barclays Plc. She has since held senior positions with Kingfisher Plc, AstraZeneca Plc, and Sodexo, leading highly commercial HR functions in the UK, for Europe, and most recently globally. Natalie is passionate about linking quality of life for employees with positive experiences for consumers, and improved business results. Natalie is a thought leader in diversity and inclusion, has won awards for her contribution to gender diversity in the UK, and is chair of the Women 1st campaign. Natalie is deputy chairman of People 1st and is a member of the Prince’s Trust Women’s Leadership Group Learn more about Natalie Bickford on Crunchbase…

Read more aboutSanofi Pasteur on Crunchbase…

Sandy Begbie

Chief People Officer @ Abrdn

FollowSandy Begbie on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Abrdn aim to empower our clients to plan, save and invest for their futures. Read more aboutAbrdn on Crunchbase…

Kate Avery

Chief People Officer @ Modulr

FollowKate Avery on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Modulr is a fintech company that provides Payments as a Service API for digital businesses. Read more aboutModulr on Crunchbase…

Charlotte Macartney

Chief People Officer @ CSM Sport and Entertainment

FollowCharlotte Macartney on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

CSM Sport and Entertainment provides sports and entertainment marketing services. Read more aboutCSM Sport and Entertainment on Crunchbase…

Ruth Chandler

Chief People Officer @ Skyscanner

FollowRuth Chandler on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Skyscanner operates as a trips meta-search engine company. Read more aboutSkyscanner on Crunchbase…

Catrin Anderson

Chief People Officer @ Zoopla

FollowCatrin Anderson on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
An experienced people leader in dynamic, innovation-led organisations, Catrin Anderson joined Zoopla in 2019 as Chief People Officer with responsibility for Human Resources. Previously at Dyson as Global Talent Acquisition Director, Catrin led a worldwide team of 73 during a period of high growth and significant change. Beforehand Catrin spent 5 years at Amazon, working across the full portfolio of businesses with a focus on Executive Recruiting in EMEA. Earlier in her career Catrin was one of the founding team of a technology start-up in Silicon Valley. She was also Senior Associate in both the Consumer and Board practices at Spencer Stuart. Catrin has a MA in French and German from Cambridge University and speaks four languages. She is an active member of the social enterprise, Women Ahead. Learn more about Catrin Anderson on Crunchbase…

Zoopla is a property website in the U.K. that combines property listings with market data, local information, and community tools. Read more aboutZoopla on Crunchbase…

Dara McCann

Chief People Officer @ Isotropic Systems

FollowDara McCann on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Dara McCann is the CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER at Isotropic Systems. Learn more about Dara McCann on Crunchbase…

Isotropic Systems develops multi-service, high-bandwidth, low power, fully integrated terminals designed to support the satellite industry. Read more aboutIsotropic Systems on Crunchbase…

Sallyann Brookes

Chief People Officer @ 10xbanking

FollowSallyann Brookes on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Sallyann leads HR across the business, managing the team’s talent and development. Sallyann also oversees the company’s approach to operations, change management and internal communications to enable great people to thrive and be empowered at 10x while ensuring it is a 10x better place to work. An experienced senior HR leader, she has worked across a range of industries and global businesses including Unilever, SC Johnson, Barclays, and The John Lewis Partnership. She has deep experience of building and leading HR functions and developing capabilities within organisations. Learn more about Sallyann Brookes on Crunchbase…

10xbanking offers a digital banking platform that will transform the way financial services providers operate. Read more about10xbanking on Crunchbase…

Sian Keane

Chief People Officer @ Farfetch

FollowSian Keane on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
As Chief People Officer, Sian sets the strategy for Farfetch’s global people function. As part of the Executive Board she works closely with senior management and local people teams in Farfetch’s offices around the world. Since joining Farfetch in December 2012, Sian has guided the company’s global people strategy. She champions a focus on culture, engagement and the development of people; managing the implementation of Farfetch company values, global career ladder and global employer brand. With over 15 years’ experience, Sian previously worked as an in-house Director developing recruitment outsourcing projects in the financial services & technology industries. She has also supported a number of e-commerce start-ups in fashion and technology. Sian holds a BSc (hons), is an Associate Member of the CIPD and Level A&B qualified in psychometric assessment. Learn more about Sian Keane on Crunchbase…

Farfetch is an online luxury fashion retail platform. Read more aboutFarfetch on Crunchbase…

Rachael Gillett

Chief People Officer @ BGL Group

FollowRachael Gillett on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Rachael joined BGL in June 2018 as Chief People Officer. Prior to this, Rachael spent nine years at Thomas Cook from 2009 – 2018. She was HR Director of Distribution and Operations and most recently Group & UK Human Resources responsible for delivering the Group’s HR agenda across Reward, Talent and OD, Compliance and Strategy. Rachael has extensive Human Resources experience working with well-known, market leading brands. Rachael is CIPD qualified. Learn more about Rachael Gillett on Crunchbase…

BGL Group digitally distributes insurance and financial products. Read more aboutBGL Group on Crunchbase…

Luke Harte

Chief People Officer @ Joint Academy

FollowLuke Harte on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Read more aboutJoint Academy on Crunchbase…

Dave Parry

Chief People Officer @ Gymshark

FollowDave Parry on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Dave Parry is the chief people officer at Gymshark. Learn more about Dave Parry on Crunchbase…

Gymshark is an online retailer and technology company of fitness apparel and accessories brands. Read more aboutGymshark on Crunchbase…

Melanie Oakley

Chief People Officer @ LendInvest

FollowMelanie Oakley on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Melanie is a commercially focused HR generalist, experienced in working with technology and creative organisations. Melanie’s early career was spent in fast paced, disruptive and entrepreneurial businesses including Virgin Radio, and Betfair. In 2010, Melanie started her own consultancy and worked with a number of Fintech organisations to support their business transformation and scaling. Learn more about Melanie Oakley on Crunchbase…

LendInvest is the leading marketplace platform for property finance. Read more aboutLendInvest on Crunchbase…

Lou Baran

Chief People Officer @ Hg

FollowLou Baran on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Lou Baran had always travelled in Asia – starting out in Pakistan and Nepal but when she first moved to Asia for work, she imagined she would only stay a year or two. She ended up staying for nine, first in Vietnam, then in Thailand with stints in various other countries too. Before joining Actis in 2009, Lou worked at Thomson Reuters, Microsoft and Hay Management Consultants. Her love of the emerging markets led her to Actis, and she immediately found resonance in the firm’s private equity model and the fact that all stakeholders’ interests are fully aligned. Lou admires the Actis conscience; she likes the fact that people care about more than just making money, instead wanting to make a difference to the communities in which they do business. She thrives upon the firm’s diversity and the opportunity it provides to swap life experiences, war stories and jaw-dropping anecdotes from across the emerging markets. Lou has a Bachelor of Business degree, majoring in Information Technology and Human Resources, from Victoria University, Australia. Learn more about Lou Baran on Crunchbase…

Hg is a private equity firm that invests in software and services, focused on backing businesses. Read more aboutHg on Crunchbase…

Amanda Cusdin

Chief People Officer @ Sage Group

FollowAmanda Cusdin on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

[custom-twitter-feeds screenname=”amandacusdinhr”]
Spoiler title
Amanda became interim Chief People Officer in October 2017, having joined Sage in March 2015 to lead first the people transformation across Sage Functions and then latterly as Executive Vice President People Business Partners leading the regional and functional generalist people teams across all of Sage locations. Amanda has eighteen years of HR experience across a number of global FTSE organisations, including manufacturing, engineering and projects businesses where she focused on supporting executive leaders to drive change and transformation. During her career to date Amanda has built extensive experience across North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe. She has led in all aspects of Human Resources but specifically in M&A, growth in new geographies and working across cultures and matrix organisations. Amanda has also specialized in talent development to executive level. Passionate about developing talent and leadership and creating truly inclusive organisations which promote diversity, Amanda has a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Warwick and postgraduate qualifications in Human Resources Management. Learn more about Amanda Cusdin on Crunchbase…

Sage Group provides small and medium sized company business management software and services. Read more aboutSage Group on Crunchbase…

Karen Pay

Chief People Officer @ Optionis Group

FollowKaren Pay on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Optionis group is a leading provider of support services to the contractors, freelancers, small businesses and staffing industry members. Read more aboutOptionis Group on Crunchbase…

Kathleen Harrop

Chief People Officer @ PomVom

FollowKathleen Harrop on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Read more aboutPomVom on Crunchbase…

Robert Bainbridge

Chief People Officer @ Peak

FollowRobert Bainbridge on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Peak is a decision intelligence company that provides a platform to offer data analysis services. Read more aboutPeak on Crunchbase…

Claire Scott

Chief People Officer @ The Access Group

FollowClaire Scott on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Claire heads up the HR function with responsibility to review and improve how we work together as we expand in the coming years. Claire brings a wealth of HR experience in the tech industry, overseeing Human Resources for companies during critical periods of their strategic expansion and joins us following 4 years at Salesforce as the Vice President for Employee Success, EMEA division. Prior to that, Claire worked for Ciena and also for Cisco for over 5 years as HR Director. Learn more about Claire Scott on Crunchbase…

The Access Group is a software consultancy and developer company that provides fully integrated business management software. Read more aboutThe Access Group on Crunchbase…

Natasha Adams

Chief People Officer @ Tesco

FollowNatasha Adams on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Natasha joined the Executive Committee on 1 June 2018. Natasha is responsible for setting the people strategy and plans at Tesco, including reward, colleague experience and capability. Natasha joined Tesco in 1998 as a Personnel Manager and has served in a range of store focused roles over the last 20 years, including as Customer Services Director UK, Business Support Director UK and Group Personnel Manager for Scotland. In 2016 Natasha was promoted to People Director for Tesco’s UK and Ireland stores and joined the UK Leadership team before being appointed to her current role of Chief People Officer. Natasha is a Tesco Pension Trustee. Learn more about Natasha Adams on Crunchbase…

Tesco PLC is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England. Read more aboutTesco on Crunchbase…

Carolyn Stewart

Chief People Officer @ Scottish Enterprise

FollowCarolyn Stewart on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Carolyn is responsible for the delivery of internal services to Scottish Enterprise that ensure SE is a great place to work, staff are supported and equipped to deliver the business plan and that SE has the ability to attract, retain and motivate talent. Functions included in People Services are Human Resources (HR), Employee Communications, Employee and Community Engagement, Procurement, Facilities Management, Health & Safety, Environmental Management and Document Management. Carolyn is a qualified HR professional with over 20 years’ HR and employee communications experience in both the private and public sectors. Carolyn has been with Scottish Enterprise since 1997, serving as a Director for over 10 years. Learn more about Carolyn Stewart on Crunchbase…

Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s main economic, enterprise, innovation and investment agency. Read more aboutScottish Enterprise on Crunchbase…

Sarah Mason

Chief People Officer @ Foxtons

FollowSarah Mason on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
My background focuses on designing and delivering HR and talent strategies to enable companies to achieve their organisational goals. My roles have included Chief People Officer, HR Director, Executive Board Member and Head of Talent in global organisations including SThree plc, Hydrogen Group plc and Phaidon International, all multinational companies featuring in the Sunday Times ‘Best Companies To Work For’ lists. I specialise in recruitment, learning and development, organisational development and change management. Significant projects include growing and scaling businesses profitably, implementing direct-sourced hiring models to dramatically reduce cost per hire whilst improving quality of hire, rolling out training programmes at all levels to improve performance and organisational design. Specialties: HR strategy and implementation, talent acquisition, learning and development, organisational change, mentoring, coaching, facilitation, building and leading teams, assessment and selection, candidate attraction, candidate profiling, hiring processes, on-boarding, retention, employee commitment, performance improvement, organisational change management. Learn more about Sarah Mason on Crunchbase…

Foxtons is an estate agency with 67 offices in London and the Home Counties and 35 years of experience behind us. Read more aboutFoxtons on Crunchbase…

Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer @ Aviva Group

FollowSarah Morris on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

[custom-twitter-feeds screenname=”sarahmorris2015″]
Spoiler title
Sarah joined Aviva in August 2015 as Chief People Officer. She is responsible for the leadership of Aviva’s People, Communications and Transformation strategy and is a key member of the Group Executive. Sarah is an experienced leader with significant international experience of driving change and business transformation gained across multiple sectors, in a range of industries, countries and cultures. Sarah is now leading the cultural shift at Aviva, which is in the process of transforming itself into a digital first business. It will be no mean feat to equip the 321 year old insurer with the right capabilities and skills to transform it into an innovative business – but it’s a challenge that Sarah relishes. Sarah is a member of the 30% Club steering committee. She joined Aviva from US data and technology specialists, Thomson Reuters. Prior to that she held a number of roles at BP, providing operational and strategic leadership during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis, RSA and Dixons Carphone. Learn more about Sarah Morris on Crunchbase…

Aviva is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London. Read more aboutAviva Group on Crunchbase…

Tamsin O’Luanaigh

Chief People Officer @ nDreams

FollowTamsin O’Luanaigh on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

nDreams is a videogame developer and publisher based in Farnborough, UK. Read more aboutnDreams on Crunchbase…

Kenneth Ross

Chief People Officer @ Liberis

FollowKenneth Ross on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Kenneth Ross is the chief people officer at Liberis Group. Learn more about Kenneth Ross on Crunchbase…

Liberis provides access to simple, flexible, and fair finance for small businesses. Read more aboutLiberis on Crunchbase…

Hanna Smith

Chief People Officer @ Futrli

FollowHanna Smith on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

[custom-twitter-feeds screenname=”hanna_rosasmith”]
Spoiler title
Hanna is an expert in culture and talent. She has won multiple recognitions for creating environments where people really want to work and where businesses thrive. Awards include Investors In People Gold, Great Place to Work and the Sunday Times Top 100. Learn more about Hanna Smith on Crunchbase…

Futrli is on a quest to move the needle on the small business economy. Read more aboutFutrli on Crunchbase…

Kirsty Gill

Chief People Officer @ Arm Holdings

FollowKirsty Gill on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Kirsty joined Arm in 2002 and has held various leadership roles in the People Team including Executive Remuneration, Rewards, Organizational Effectiveness, People Services and Systems. She is known for her achievements on developing programs that deliver high performance, high engagement and progressive organizations. At Arm she is focused on creating a workplace where people love to collaborate, growth is encouraged and innovation flourishes, all done in Arm’s own unique way. Prior to Arm, Kirsty was HR Director for a start-up company, GF-X, and started her HR career at Accenture. Learn more about Kirsty Gill on Crunchbase…

Arm Holdings is a multinational semiconductor company that designs, produces, and licenses IP for digital electronic product development. Read more aboutArm Holdings on Crunchbase…

Neil Hayward

Chief People Officer @ High Speed Two (HS2)

FollowNeil Hayward on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd is the company responsible for developing the High Speed Two (HS2) rail network in the UK. Read more aboutHigh Speed Two (HS2) on Crunchbase…

Kelly Jackson

Chief People Officer @ WorldFirst

FollowKelly Jackson on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Spoiler title
Graduated from UCL with a degree in Psychology. Went travelling around South East Asia and Australasia before starting her HR career at QAS Limited, a subsidiary of Experian Plc. Most recently headed up the HR team at Stemcor Ltd, a privately-owned international steel trading company. Joined WorldFirst as Group HR Director in November 2014. Learn more about Kelly Jackson on Crunchbase…

WorldFirst is an international payments business helping businesses and people easy move money around the world at great exchange rates. Read more aboutWorldFirst on Crunchbase…

David Friedland

Bit of a gear addict.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.