Now in its 16th year HR Most Influential, this year in partnership with MHR, acknowledges the HR practitioners and thinkers who go above and beyond the day job to advance the HR profession and share best practice with the wider HR community.
Everyone on the shortlist is nominated by their peers, with the final ranking completed by HR magazine and Hult International Business School (Ashridge).
Sharon Benson, interim transformation and people director at Edison Young People, was the number one ranked practitioner for 2022.
Benson has played a pivotal part in shaping the agenda for Edison Young People as the company looks to grow in the future. Prior to her current role she was HRD at Sunrise Senior Living UK and Gracewell Healthcare, and pivotal role to the organisation’s successful navigation of the pandemic.
Accepting the top spot, Benson congratulated everyone who made it on to the list.
She told HR magazine: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be given the honour of the top place during what continues to be a challenging yet hugely rewarding time for the HR profession."
Perry Timms, founder and chief energy officer of consultancy PTHR, topped the list of HR Most Influential Thinkers for 2022 after ranking second in 2021.
He said: "I love it because all the things we do touch people’s lives.
"We don’t just employ people, we help them become who they’re meant to be. We’ve got to protect these precious people who are gifted to us by their loved ones.
"I said I’d be very happy to be anywhere on this list because people who we care about nominate us and put us in this position. We don’t take that for granted because we love what we do and we believe in it."
Inducted into the HR Most Influential Hall of Fame this year were Skanska UK's executive vice president and chief HR officer Harvey Francis, Dole's people and organisational development director David Frost, and APS Intelligence founder John Amaechi.
HR Rewired managing director Shereen Daniels and Dorchester Collection chief culture and operations executive Eugenio Pirri, who topped the Thinkers and Practitioners lists respectively in 2021, were also inducted to the Hall of Fame.
On being named in the Hall of Fame, Amaechi said: "It feels remarkable. It feels like I'm supposed to be done now, but it's reminded me that I haven't done anything yet. It's great rocket fuel to help decide where to go from here - it's a good boost."
Find the full list of 2022 HR Most Influential Practitioners, Thinkers and Hall of Fame inductees here.
