David Fairhurst has been crowned Personnel Today’s number one Power Player for the second year running.
Fairhurst, senior vice-president and chief people officer at fast food chain McDonald’s won the coveted trophy for being the most influential individual in the HR world, after you, our readers, nominated people that have made the biggest impact throughout 2008.
Fairhurst, who was presented with the gong last Friday, said: “I am delighted to have won because to get recognition from people in the industry and peers is a great endorsement and great encouragement to continue what we are doing.”
The final top 40 Power Players was compiled with valued input from our editorial advisory board members – a range of academics, senior HR directors and consultants – and readers.
When asked why he thought he’d won, Fairhurst said: “My purpose is to build an employer that really makes people employable. We run 30,000 NVQs a year, we have 18,000 students, we are about to launch the apprenticeship scheme and we provide 3,000 A-levels.
“If your individual sense of purpose connects with the employer’s, that is when people work their best. During my time at McDonald’s I have found a real synergy between what the organisation needs and what my passion is.”
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He added: “Awards like this encourage you and reconnect you with that sense of purpose [to help staff develop] and give you the passion to carry on.”
This year for the first time, the Personnel Today Top 40 Power Players list features exclusively practitioners, without academics or consultants, to help you see who the HR people are that have truly made the biggest difference – and why. Also included alongside the list are ‘ones to watch’ and ‘opinion formers’: politicians, association leaders and lobbyists who are shaping the industry.
