The BBC has appointed Stephen Kelly as director of its HR division, BBC People.
Kelly, chief HR and change officer at BT Global Services, will join the corporation on 2 October, replacing Stephen Dando, who moved to Reuters in April.
In his new role, Kelly will be responsible for the full range of HR functions including training and development, resourcing, employee relations, reward, organisation design and change management. This will also include responsibility for the recently outsourced HR services.
Kelly began his career at the British Railways Board, where he spent 10 years undertaking various positions in HR, culminating in him becoming personnel director of the Eastern Infrastructure Division.
The division was bought by Balfour Beatty in 1994 where Kelly remained as a divisional HR director until 1997. He then joined the National Provident Institution as divisional HR director until January 1999 when he joined BT.
During his time at BT, Kelly has undertaken three major roles, initially joining as compensation strategy director, before becoming vice-president of global organisational development and international reward in October 1999.
Kelly was appointed to his latest BT role in early 2002 and was responsible for driving the overall people and change agenda within BT Global Services.
BBC director-general Mark Thompson said: “I am delighted to be able to announce [Kelly’s] appointment.
“He brings not only wide experience in all of the components of HR management, but also a very significant track record in change management, embracing organisational and culture change in large and complex organisations.
“We will only be able to deliver our vision for programming and content if we have a strong, creative and well-motivated workforce, and Kelly’s role in leading the central HR team towards a more strategically focused operation will be vital to this.”
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Kelly said: “I am very excited to be joining the BBC at this critical time of radical change in media and broadcasting.
“People are at the very heart of the BBC’s proposition now and in the future, and I look forward to making a contribution to helping the BBC meet the challenges of the digital age.”
