Tim Miller, director people, property and assurance at Standard Chartered Bank, is "one of the most successful HR directors in the UK" according to HR leaders that nominated him for the 2009 Most Influential ranking. He is described as having a "host of creative initiatives to his credit" and as having collected a great team.
Miller oversees the people function at the wholesale and private banking company, one of the rare examples of success in the current financial meltdown. He has responsibility for HR, corporate real estate, corporate secretariat, legal, compliance and assurance, internal audit and global research at the bank. Under his leadership, these functions have played a critical role in driving Standard Chartered's strategy of strong organic growth supplemented by selective acquisitions and ensuring exemplary standards of governance and ethics.
Chris Roebuck, ex global head of talent management and development at UBS and now author and consultant, is praised for his current work with the NHS. He advises organisations on maximising performance through developing, aligning and engaging their people. Clients include companies from the financial services sector, international legal practices and other professional services, global logistics, British government agencies and the civil service.
His book on hands-on leadership, developed via the knowledge he gained as an officer in the British Army and as an executive coach and mentor, has been translated into 11 different languages. While at UBS, Roebuck implemented a talent and leadership strategy focused on the top 600, which subsequently expanded to maximise the value of talent of the 70,000 employees in the group.
Also appearing in the 2009 Most Influential bubbling under list is Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, who is commended for his work during the credit crunch and on bonus issues. CIPD chief economist John Philpot is praised for "doing great work on the ‘hard stuff' of people and getting great exposure".
On the HR practitioner side, David Smith, former people director of Asda, would have made it into the Most Influential list if he had not left the company. "Always an excellent speaker with a very clear view of the profession," says one HR leader while another adds: "David has continued to develop the employee value proposition in Asda, which is delivering improving business performance in a difficult market. Probably delivering more bang for buck than is being delivered in Tesco at the present time."
Tony McCarthy, HR director of British Airways, is also regarded as influential, particularly in revolutionising out-of-date practices, which he also achieved when he was head of HR at the Royal Mail.
Other honorary mentions go to Stephen Covey, CEO of CoveyLink Worldwide, for his work around trust; Steve Bevan, managing director of The Work Foundation, for his contribution to the debate around "good work" and Chris Dunn, president of MyExpertSolution, for his strategic thinking around the future role of HR.
HR stalwarts prevail in Most Influential's runners-up list
Financial know-how and creativity are the dominant characteristics of the HR practitioners and thinkers who just failed to make it into this year's Most Influential ranking. Among those 'bubbling under' are two banking HR heads - one current and one former; two high profile financial thinkers and an ex HR director of one of the country's leading retailers.
