Chief people officer, Reward Gateway
November 2022–Present
"In my time at Reward Gateway, we have been through a sale process, which was a huge achievement for the business. We are undergoing major growth and transformation as we become part of a global corporate, which poses some incredible opportunities in how we grow as a business and how my team can support our people’s progress."
More career paths of HR leaders:
Kate Howdon, eStar Truck and Van
Vice president people, INTO University Partnerships
March 2022–November 2022
"A switch in industry, working in an organisation that supports international students gaining entry into world-class universities in the UK, US and Australia."
People and culture director UK&I, Roche
September 2019–March 2022
"I joined the pharmaceutical industry, and a global organisation. I delivered an HR transformation project, shifting from traditional HR practices to modern and progressive strategic people and culture, underpinned by agile principles. We were recognised as the top Best Big Company to Work for in 2020 while the fight against Covid was in full swing."
Head of people experience, River Island
May 2015- September 2019
"Joining as head of talent and progressing to a newly designed role of head of people, I gained experience focusing on the employee lifecycle. My highlights included introducing agile HR, a modern philosophy to how HR works, as well as radicalising performance management."
Head of people development, Virgin Holidays
April 2008–May 2015
"My career progressed in learning and development (L&D) at Virgin. We won a variety of awards, acknowledging the impact and value L&D adds to business performance. The pinnacle was being recognised as L&D Team of the Year in 2015 by the Learning & Performance Institute."
Business development and training manager, Wendy Wu Tours
July 2006–April 2008
"My time at Wendy Wu, was to a large extent focused on new products in a new part of the world, and was directly linked to overall business growth and development – through upskilling travel agent product knowledge."
Regional trade sales and training consultant, Panorama & Manos Holidays
January 2004–July 2006
"The start of my career in the travel industry and where the first seeds of my L&D experience were sown. I was responsible for training travel agents about our products. It was an awesome job."
Top three career tips
1. Network. However you like to, just get connected with people. Most of my career opportunities have come via a connection in my network.
2. Learn. The challenges we face are all there for us to learn from. Take time out to reflect and see what you can absorb from your experiences.
3. Enjoy. Life is short, enjoy what you do. If you are motivated by the contributions you make, then it becomes a whole lot more fun.
This article appears in the September/October 2023 print issue. Subscribe today to have all our latest articles delivered right to your desk.
