Long-distance train operator CrossCountry has announced the appointment of Zoe Kennedy as HR director. Plus a selection of other recent top people moves.
The Arriva-owned CrossCountry, which serves places as far flung as Penzance and Aberdeen from its Birmingham hub, says it appointed Kennedy because of her extensive experience in sectors including financial services and energy and her leadership on several large-scale transformation programmes for well-known businesses.
Following a secondment as interim head of HR operations, Zoe joins CrossCountry’s senior team to provide continued HR leadership and stability as the business embarks on its new National Rail Contract, which began earlier this month.
CrossCountry employers just short of 2,000 people.
On her appointment, Zoe Kennedy said: “I’m looking forward to working with the wider leadership team to ensure CrossCountry is a great place to work, as well as focusing on broader issues around diversity, inclusion and wellbeing.
“Our people are key to a high-performing railway and I’m looking forward to working with teams across the business to make sure we offer the best possible experiences and opportunities for colleagues.”
Tom Joyner, managing director at CrossCountry, added: “I know that Zoe’s varied experience, along with her commitment to tackling broader people issues in rail, will be a real asset to CrossCountry as we continue to strive to be the best employer possible and reinforce our position as long-distance rail operator of choice for customers.”
Zoe joined the business on Monday 23 October.
Neda Scrini, Deltatre
Neda Scrini has joined digital broadcast tech firm Deltatre as its new chief people officer.
Scrini will oversee people, talent and culture. She brings over 20 years of global experience, having held multiple people leadership roles including eight years at Vodafone, where among other roles, she was global head of people strategy and head of talent. Prior to this, Scrini gained HR consulting experience at Capgemini and held various HR roles at companies including Boots and Syngenta. More recently, she has used her people expertise at a number of software businesses, including Snow Software, and she was Chief People Officer at Orgvue, a global high-growth tech company.
Reporting to Deltatre’s CEO, Andrea Marini, Scrini will be based in Deltatre’s London hub and lead a global people team spanning talent, reward, culture and organisational development. She said: “Our people determine our culture and are key to driving innovative tech solutions fuelled by our deep passion for delivering exceptional fan experiences.”
Andrea Marini, chief executive officer, Deltatre, said: “Neda’s extensive experience and her track record of driving organisational excellence make her the perfect addition to our team. With Neda’s leadership, we are poised to unlock the full potential of our talented team.”
Alice Bretherton, Burges Salmon
UK law firm Burges Salmon has appointed Alice Bretherton chief people officer as of this month. With responsibility for all aspects of Burges Salmon’s people-first agenda, Bretherton will lead the firm’s 1,500-strong workforce strategy across its offices in Bristol, Edinburgh and London. She joins from EY, where she was strategic talent director for the tax and law business in the UK and Ireland and had responsibility for HR and talent activities such as recruitment, performance, reward, engagement, learning and development, and diversity, equity and inclusion, along with being a member of the executive leadership team.
Bretherton previously held roles at KPMG International as global head of organisational development, and subsequently global head of workforce of the future. She said: “The first thing that really struck me about Burges Salmon was its authenticity in terms of its values and unique culture, which are both clearly at the core of its overarching vision and purpose.”
Jo Atkinson, eQS Group
National diversity, equity and inclusion specialist, eQuality Solutions Group (eQS), has appointed Jo Atkinson as its first-ever head of recruitment services. eQS says the service will help businesses diversify their teams and attract people from underrepresented groups, disrupting traditional recruitment approaches by leveraging the group’s decades of
experience in supporting neurodivergent higher education students and diversity in the workplace. It will connect top-tier employers with a diverse pool of talent, ensuring inclusive hiring, onboarding and development.
Atkinson joins eQS with 23 years’ experience in recruitment and operations management across a variety of highly regulated industries including start-ups, SMEs, multinationals, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) providers and being self-employed, both in the UK and the Middle East. She said “This opportunity really stood out to me because matching diverse talent to inclusive career opportunities will positively change lives and impact businesses for the better.”
eQS head of people and culture, Camila Williams-Johnson, said: “Jo’s breadth of experience means she understands the recruitment space incredibly well. She is also sincerely passionate about what we are trying to do in terms of inclusivity with our recruitment service and, ultimately, that is what matters most.”
Samantha Lenox, Harper James
The full-service business law firm has appointed employee incentives specialist Samantha Lenox as head of employee incentives. She will lead and further strengthen its employee incentives offering and support growing client demand. Samantha’s appointment forms part of the firm’s plan to double its number of lawyers by hiring 60 new solicitors by 2025.
With over 20 years’ post-qualified experience in supporting clients with the design, implementation, communication and operation of employee and management incentive arrangements, Lenox has helped the full spectrum of businesses from SMEs to multinationals to achieve their growth ambitions, says Harper James. She is an advocate for employee ownership and has supported many businesses to transition into broad-based employee ownership, commonly using the employee ownership model.
Throughout her career, Samantha has worked at top-50 law firms Simmons & Simmons and Taylor Wessing and she has also previously worked in senior roles within the tax departments of the Big 4 consulting firms, PwC and Deloitte.
Lenox said: “It’s exciting to be part of a firm which is disrupting the way legal services are delivered. I’m also thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a very experienced team to advise clients on employee ownership programmes and continue supporting business growth and wealth creation for all stakeholders.”
Legal services director, Ashley Mott, added: “Having someone with Samantha’s credentials on board is a significant step forward for our existing employee and equity incentive offering.
Amanda Killick, ATPI Group
Global travel management and events firm ATPI Group has appointed Amanda Killick as its new UK HR manager.
In her new role, Killick will implement the group’s global, people-first strategy and tailor it for the UK region. This will include training and development, employee engagement initiatives, recruitment, coaching and mentoring, identifying individual strengths and development needs, and championing an open, embracing culture of diversity, equality and inclusion.
She will also drive the continuous improvement agenda, focusing on engagement and welfare activities, maximising productivity, devolving HR responsibilities to line managers and building leadership capability.
Killick has previously held senior positions within the travel, public sector and funeral services industries. This includes 13 years at Virgin Atlantic, where she was responsible for the development and delivery of its internal HR strategy.
Killick said: “ATPI’s people are some of the best in the business and I look forward to building on the solid foundations that the team before me have put in place.”
Ian Sinderson, chief executive officer of ATPI Group, added: “Amanda’s extensive industry experience in both HR and the travel industry means we’re able to continue to strengthen our unwavering commitment to our people and our clients alike.”
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