After a month into the job he is already starting to "rebuild the business from within" and reposition the organisation to be more customer-centric, developing a complete cultural shift on how the business is run.
Wrighthouse says: "HomeServe is an engineering business, but I've now got to re-position that to a customer-centric organisation, and completely shift attitudes.
"In terms of our people, we are building deep employee engagement and creating employee commitment. This means a focus on the role of managers, moving them away from traditional command and control to that of coach and supporter - they are there to help their teams deliver increasing levels of excellence.
"When I was at Nationwide we went through the exact same sort of journey, and I can copy that model, as financial services have traditionally led the way in customer service."
He also thinks 2013 will be an important year for HR directors in the UK. "It is the year HRDs need to come forward, be bold, take ownership and challenge their colleagues about what makes a great organisation.
"I feel as a function we've been a bit shy, so next year can be a coming of age for HR - we're back in the spotlight."
Wrighthouse joins HomeServe from American Greetings, where he was group HR director focusing on business transformation, driving operational efficiency and recreating a premium brand through a unique customer proposition. Prior to this, he was group HRD at Nationwide Building Society. There he was responsible for transforming the people management infrastructure, reducing HR operating costs by over 30% and leading the business transformation programme.
HomeServe reported revenues up 8% to £229.6m for the half year to 30 September.
