Advertising and PR giant WPP has announced the appointment of Lindsay Pattison as global chief people officer. Plus a selection of other recent top people moves.
Lindsay Pattison, WPP
Advertising, PR and technology multinational WPP has promoted Lindsay Pattison to global chief people officer, with responsibility for its people strategy and operations.
Pattison takes over from Jennifer Remling, who is leaving to become chief people officer at Warner Bros Discovery. The pair will work closely together until the end of the year and will take up their new positions in January 2024.
Currently in the role of global chief client officer, Pattison has led WPP’s relationships with its major clients since 2018. Prior to this, she held a number of leadership roles at GroupM and media agency Maxus, where she was chief executive officer and launched Walk The Talk, an initiative to help senior women reach their full potential. After moving to her current position, she sponsored the scheme at a global level for WPP.
Pattison said: “Creating the culture and environment where they can do the work of their lives is both what excites me about this new role, and what will deliver results for our clients.”
Mark Read, chief executive officer of WPP, added: “Lindsay is extremely highly regarded across the industry as a leader who can identify and develop top talent, and as a trusted partner to global clients. She has a deep understanding of our business, people and culture, and her strong commercial focus will help to drive our future people strategy.”
Sally Austin, Barratt Developments
Housebuilder Barratt Developments has appointed Sally Austin its new group HR director. She will become a member of the Barratt executive committee and will report to chief executive David Thomas.
Austin joins from Wincanton, where she was chief people officer from 2019 to 2023. Prior to that, she was group HR director for construction and engineering firm Costain Group. Austin has previously held HR director positions in the retail, energy and financial services sectors and began her career in HR at BAE Systems and Eaton Corporation, where she held HR roles across Europe, Middle East and Africa. She is also chair of Warwick Schools Foundation.
Austin said she was looking forward to developing Barratt’s people strategy, “creating an environment where everyone can excel.”
Thomas added: “Sally’s experience spanning logistics, engineering and construction complements housebuilding well and as we manage the current downturn in the market Sally helps strengthen our team.”
Janeace Thompson, PRS for Music
Janeace (Jay-T) Thompson has been promoted to director of talent, culture and experience at PRS, reporting into chief people and transformation officer Suzanne Hughes. PRS says the newly created role is pivotal to the company’s plans to support and deliver its strategic imperatives. Thompson joined PRS for Music in March 2022 as head of inclusion and employee experience following a varied and extensive career that spans over 20 years as a talent acquisition manager and equality, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (Edib) strategist. Thompson’s previous roles include leadership positions at Louis Vuitton, The Gucci Group and JCDecaux.
Thompson also sits on UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce and contributes to the development of a programme of activity that includes collectively improving equity, diversity and inclusion across the music industry workforce. In addition to Thompson’s current remit, which covers talent acquisition, employee lifecycle, learning and development, and ownership of employee-led diversity and inclusion affinity groups, the director of talent, culture and experience role will focus on how PRS for Music promotes and delivers its EDIB agenda within the wider music industry.
Thompson said: “The design of this role is genius because I’m across all those three areas and with the broad view I have, I can merge it all together. I’m excited that my skills, depth and breadth of knowledge, and ability to be able to deliver has been acknowledged.”
Diane Gallacher, IQUW
Property specialty insurer and reinsurer IQUW has appointed Diane Gallacher as group chief people officer as of this month. Gallacher has more than 25 years of expertise in talent management, culture and leadership. She will serve on IQUW Group’s executive committee, where she will be responsible for implementing its talent strategy and growth plans.
She joins IQUW from Talbot where she was HR director. Prior to this she was head of talent, performance and leadership at Validus Group. Gallacher said: “It is an exciting time of growth for the business, and I am looking forward to supporting and working with the IQUW community as we reach further milestones and goals.”
Peter Bilsby, group chief executive officer of IQUW, added: “Her experience in global talent management, both in consultancy and in-house, enables Diane to be fully focused on growing and enhancing the intricate dynamics between employees, teams, and across the IQUW Group.”
Andrea Pattico, Universal Music UK
Universal Music UK has appointed Andrea Pattico as chief people officer. Reporting to chairman and chief executive officer David Joseph, Pattico will oversee the people strategy across all Universal Music UK’s labels and businesses. She has worked in a range of senior HR roles in global businesses over the past 25 years, most recently as chief people officer of digital marketing agency MVF. In her seven years there, she covered diversity and inclusion, learning and development, and people experience.
Pattico said: “Music has always been a personal passion of mine whether performing, running live events, or, of course, listening to great artists. Combining that passion with my personal purpose of making individuals, teams and culture better is a dream come true.”
Joseph added: “Andrea’s passion for creating the best work culture, where pursuing excellence and being supported go hand-in-hand, is evident in her track record – but most of all, when you meet her. She’s an outstanding leader, and I’m delighted she is joining our team.”
Ann-Marie Murphy, SSP Group
Multinational contract foodservice firm SSP Group has appointed Ann-Marie Murphy as its new chief people officer. She will take up the role in January, joining from The Gym Group, where she has worked since 2018, latterly as chief people officer and as chief operations officer.
Prior to this, Murphy was group human resources director at New Look, where she established the global HR function. She also worked for nearly 13 years at Tui Travel, holding a variety of senior HR roles, with a remit covering the UK, North America, France, Spain and Australia.
Murphy said: “With more than 40,000 colleagues across 36 countries around the world, it’s clear to me that people are at the heart of SSP’s business.” Patrick Coveney, chief executive of SSP, added: “With her extensive sector and international experience and track record of developing and implementing people strategies, she will prove a great addition to both our group executive and people leadership teams.”
Nicole Brown, Mediaocean
New York-based advertising services and software firm Mediaocean has announced the promotion of Nicole Brown to chief human resources officer, where she will work as a member of the senior executive team to ensure global alignment, streamline processes, and further foster a culture of inclusion and engagement for the company’s employee base. Nick Galassi, president and CFO of Mediaocean. “Through her passion for employee development, Nicole has fostered a culture of inclusivity, growth, and a profound sense of belonging for all employees.” While serving as SVP of people and culture, Brown led the development and implementation of Mediaocean’s core global employee development program.
Diversity and inclusion has also been a major focus for Brown and Mediaocean. Through schemes implemented in the past two years, Mediaocean has seen a 5% increase in female representation across the organisation, a 30% increase in underrepresented minority group representation, and a returnship program that is designed to support women who have been out of the workforce for some time and are transitioning back to work. Brown said she was looking forward to “lifting up all voices at Mediaocean as we drive results for our customers and make a difference in our communities.” Aside from her work at Mediaocean, Brown is an active mentor in her community at large, mentoring young women of colour in their careers.
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