Compass Group UK & Ireland has appointed Carol Sommerville as its new chief people officer.
Sommerville joins the contract catering giant from luxury pre-owned watch business Watchfinder, where she was global HR director.
She has also held senior HR roles at Net-a-Porter and began her career at BT Group, where she worked as HR director for Openreach Service Centres, director of meritocracy for BT Group, and vice president of HR EMEA for BT Global Services.
Sommerville will be responsible for delivering Compass Group’s ‘Our Social Promise’ initiative, a commitment to support one million people through job creation, education, training, community and charitable engagement by 2030.
Recent HR appointments
Compass UK & Ireland has set an annual target for promotions to gradually improve diversity across middle and senior management. It tracks progression rates for employees of different genders and ethnicities to monitor the impact of its strategy.
“Compass has a clear and ambitious people agenda, having taken market leading positions in areas including apprenticeships, career pathways and the ED&I agenda. I am excited to have joined the business and have received such a warm welcome,” said Sommerville.
“I have had the pleasure of meeting many of our frontline teams as part of my induction and have been really impressed by people’s passion for their jobs and clients, and the caring culture that is in place. I am looking forward to supporting the company’s ongoing commitment to its people and creating a welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.”
CEO Robin Mills said: “I am delighted to welcome Carol to the Compass family. We are a people business – so this role is critical for the continued success of our organisation. We know as a large employer we have the ability to improve lives and make a difference. Carol is going to be integral to continuing to develop our people-centred culture as we continue to grow and evolve in the coming years.”
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