· Features

How I got here: Patrick Caldwell, Send

Patrick Caldwell, chief people officer at insurtech software company Send, shares his career journey and top leadership tips.

Chief people officer, Send

January 2023 – present

Being Send’s first CPO has so far included building a direct hiring engine, introducing a new benefits package, designing a global reward framework and, currently, focusing on the onboarding journey.

Send has tripled in size in the last 12 months and expanded across five countries, so the challenge here is in truly scalable solutions without sacrificing the highly personal employee experience.


Read more - Moving on up: Where next on the HR career ladder?


Non-executive director, ImpactEd

April 2022 – present

I joined ImpactEd as part of a new non-executive board to provide strategic counsel and constructive challenge to ImpactEd’s operations.

Given my background, my involvement so far has been relating to governance, organisational structure, equity, diversity and inclusion, leadership development and ESG.


Read other HR career journeys: 

How I got here: Helen Beurier, Zopa

How I got here: Kate Howdon, eStar Truck and Van

How I got here: Tanya Channing, Pipedrive


VP people & operations, Metomic

April 2022 – December 2022

My role at Metomic was a risky step as it was a very early stage of their development.

My remit was broader than just people and extended at times into the legal, commercial, product and marketing spaces.

I had an incredible opportunity to be part of the lead team to deliver a $20 million series A fundraising round and contributed to the growth strategy of the startup.

 

Chief operating officer and global head of people, FundApps

October 2017 – April 2022

I have incredibly fond and proud memories of FundApps. I joined as the first people and talent hire building foundations for growth on a mostly blank canvas.

My proudest moment was by far the B-Corp journey, leading the initial journey to becoming a certified B-Corp in 2018 and the recertification in 2021.

 

Head of people operations, Affinity Water

March 2017 – October 2017

Affinity Water was my first gig in the UK after realising my aspirations to experience HR outside of Australia. The people team was in a transition phase as I joined which was a valuable learning journey.

 

Chief of staff and principal supply planning, BHP

August 2016 – February 2017

I was offered the opportunity to step out of HR and into the supply chain team as their first chief of staff. This was a true partner role working alongside leadership.

 

HR business partner, corporate operations, BHP
November 2011 – August 2016

I kicked off my HR career through the BHP graduate programme.

I had stints at one of the largest open-cut coal mines in the world with 2,000 employees. BHP was a unique and challenging environment.


Top three career tips

1. When you’re done learning, move on. Every role I’ve had, even the ones where things were tough, was an opportunity to take something away and learn.

2. One of my first mentors told me: “The best thing you can do for your career is to make sure you do your current job really well”.

3. Know the difference between who you are and what you do. There are lots of other parts to my identity that bring me energy and joy.