Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

HR practiceWorkplace Issues and Advice

Gerard Hussey: my mentor

by Personnel Today 20 Jan 2009
by Personnel Today 20 Jan 2009

I’ve had two key mentors. I started my career in Ireland in the late 1970s. My first job was with Bord na Móna, a semi-public organisation. I stayed there for three-and-a-half years before moving into a private sector role. I was an HR officer for a US multinational, in a small manufacturing organisation being set up in the west of Ireland.

The HR director there, Val McNicklaus, had deliberately taken a job below his level of capabilities. This was great for me, as I got to work for someone who had no interest in staying there long-term, and who effectively mentored me to take over from him.

Val had a solid HR and industrial relations background, and a very strong sense of culture. I learned a lot from him. He had worked in the private sector, whereas I was a raw graduate, with no experience outside the public sector. He gave me feedback on things I was not doing well, and gave me room to grow and develop – all the things you look for in a mentor.

Of course, I didn’t realise this at the time. I just thought he was giving me a hard time, telling me: “That’s not good enough. Go back and do it again.” Then he left, and I took over. But that two-and-a-half-year period gave me a tremendous opportunity to see how you align HR from scratch. And Val and I became – and still remain – real friends.

My second mentoring experience is more recent. The company that I work for now, GlaxoSmithKline, came about through the 2001 merger of SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoWellcome. At that stage, I’d had my job in Ireland for nine years, during which time I had managed HR in two businesses. It was quite a busy job but I needed a new challenge, so I took on responsibility for IT as well. Then the merger took place, and I ended up reporting to Mary Gilgallon.

I was at a crossroads about what I wanted to do. I’d done the HR bit, then IT, and had agreed to stay on through the merger. But I had itchy feet. I really liked Mary’s style – she was a great sponsor. We had some real conversations about what I was doing, and what I wanted to do in the future. She was tremendously supportive, and offered me the opportunity to move out of Ireland and do something different within the company. I ended up spending three years working for her. We still talk on occasion – I have great respect for Mary.

Gerard Hussey, vice-president HR, consumer supply, GMS, GlaxoSmithKline

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Preferred suppliers: The chosen one
next post
KPMG staff told to take sabbaticals to save jobs

You may also like

Employment law changes for 2022 and beyond: update...

1 Jul 2022

Four-day week: what are the legal considerations for...

28 Jun 2022

Sickness absence rate in 2021 was highest in...

8 Jun 2022

Right-to-work: first digital identity check providers revealed

6 Jun 2022

Bank holidays: six things employers need to know

5 Jun 2022

Does a four day week work? Charlotte Lockhart...

1 Jun 2022

Hybrid working will ‘never be perfect’, finds report

31 May 2022

Employers must help employees ‘flourish’ post-pandemic

27 May 2022

Davos 2022: Upskilling workers necessary to overcome business...

26 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022
  • The ultimate guide to payroll for small businesses PROMOTED | You’ve started a business that has expanded to the point of requiring more staff to meet demand. Congratulations!...Read more
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+