Personnel Today’s latest update of recent appointments in the HR world includes a new MD at Acorn Recruitment, a former Metropolitan Police HR diversity lead joining a European infrastructure giant and a stalwart of the HR world gaining a place of the board of video interviewing innovator HireVue
Instant solution
Commercial real estate solutions specialist the Instant Group has appointed Lucinda Pullinger as its new managing director for the UK. She joined Instant as global head of HR two and a half years ago from the Rugby Football Union, where she was HR director. Prior to this, she spent 11 years at Shell in global HR leadership roles having started her career at Accenture. In her new role, she will be responsible for the financial and operational performance of the UK business while leading Instant’s growth strategy across the region. Pullinger said: “The market opportunity for a company like Instant to advise on the future of the workplace and how it coalesces around human, physical, digital and sustainability is a significant opportunity, and one that I am extremely excited to work towards.”
Mighty Acorns grow
Bernard Ward has been appointed as the new managing director of Acorn Recruitment, one of the UK’s leading recruitment firms and a member of the international recruitment group Synergie. Previously the regional director (South West, Wales & Midlands) for Blue Arrow, Ward has also been managing director of recruitment businesses in the UK and internationally, spanning a career in recruitment of over 22 years. He has experience of heading up businesses in the Middle East, and covering sectors such as professional services, digital and tech, construction, aviation, manufacturing, engineering, automation, general industrial and commercial, oil and gas, driving, and hospitality. Ward said, “I have watched Acorn’s impressive growth and achievements over many years, and it’s certainly a real privilege to pick up where my predecessor left off.”
Metro culture
Metro Bank has appointed Simi Dubb as director of colleague experience and inclusion. In this newly created role she reports to chief people officer Carol Frost with responsibility for continuing to evolve and embed a truly diverse and inclusive colleague experience right across the Bank. She joined from British American Tobacco and has held senior global roles at a range of financial services companies including Fidelity International, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Royal Bank of Canada. She has also held senior roles at Centrica and BT. She said: “Metro Bank already has an amazing culture to build on. I firmly believe that companies which engage and develop talent in an inclusive way are companies with a real competitive advantage. When inclusivity is a natural and automatic part of the colleague experience the business will thrive.”
On the equity and diversity beat
Infrastructure consulting firm Aecom has appointed Rachel Billington as head of equity, diversity & inclusion (ED&I) in Europe. In this new role, Rachel is responsible for leading the firm’s ED&I strategy across the region, with a focus on developing inclusive people practices and leadership and collaborating with clients to drive change in the industry. She joined Aecom from the Metropolitan Police Service, where she was HR diversity and inclusion lead. A diversity and inclusion specialist, senior leader, coach and mentor, Rachel has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors, including financial services and policing. At the Met she delivered a number of successful ED&I initiatives, including the organisation’s first-of-its-kind Women Returners Programme and Met Baby, a bespoke parenting support service. She introduced disability and carer passports and a workplace adjustments process redesign to improve support for disability in the workplace. Recently, she was programme manager of the retention workstream for the Mayor of London’s Race Action Plan where she worked with senior leaders to implement race commitments and created local employee resource groups. Billington said: “Aecom’s scale and reach across multiple geographies and markets in Europe brings together a truly diverse network of talent. I look forward to working with everyone across Aecom Europe to push forward its ED&I journey, developing and leading exciting initiatives that will enable everyone to have the opportunity to thrive.” A chartered CIPD member and MBTI practitioner, Rachel is a ILM7 advanced executive coach and mentor who specialises in mentoring underrepresented groups including maternity and career returnees.
Well connected
Lisa Finnegan was appointed in June to be vice president of LinkedIn‘s international human resources organisation with immediate effect. In her new role, Lisa will be responsible for leading LinkedIn’s HR business partners across EMEA, LATAM and APAC regions, which will now be consolidated under one single team. Prior to her promotion, Lisa was senior director of human resources for EMEA and LATAM at LinkedIn. Finnegan said: “LinkedIn’s culture has always been our key differentiator and has underpinned our success as a company. As we continue to expand our international footprint, our talent will continue to be our top priority so it is vital that we offer the same great experience no matter where you work at LinkedIn. The HR function is key to ensuring this and I look forward to supporting the LinkedIn growth story as we go from strength to strength internationally.” She holds a BA in English and Greek & Roman civilisation, and a diploma in HR management from Dublin Business School.
Going through the gears
Cazoo, a leading UK online car retailer, has appointed Veronica Sharma as its first group chief people officer. Sharma had most recently been working as an adviser in the technology and private equity space. Prior to that, Veronica was group chief people officer at Photobox & Moonpig Group where she led a large-scale cultural transformation across Europe. She has been instrumental in pioneering progressive people solutions, demonstrated through her responsibility for talent & organisation development at eBay and leading the change programme in support of the landmark Heathrow Terminal 5 opening. Sharma said: “I am delighted to be joining Cazoo. The pace at which the business has been growing is amazing and the ambition that Alex and the team have creates endless opportunities from a people perspective. I am looking forward to helping to fuel Cazoo’s growth and supporting the business in its mission to transform one of the largest retail markets in Europe which is ripe for digital disruption.”
A place on the board
HireVue, a global leader in video interviewing, assessments, chat and recruiting automation technology, recently announced the appointment of Sharon Taylor to its board of directors. “Both our team and customers will benefit greatly from her unrivalled experience in global HR transformation and creating pathways of opportunity for underserved communities.“’ said Kevin Parker, CEO and chairman, HireVue. Recently retired from her role as SVP, Human Resources at Prudential Financial, Taylor brings over 40 years of global HR leadership, overseeing everything related to talent and teams for a company of more than 40,000 employees. In addition to leading HR policy, strategy, programmes and infrastructure, Taylor chaired several key committees and The Prudential Foundation responsible for the company’s social investments, local initiatives and business diversity programmes. Taylor said: “I look forward to working with HireVue’s board and its team of talented professionals as they continue their mission of advancing the next generation of fair and effective enabling tools in the recruitment, assessment and selection space.”
Soft landing for a former minister
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Fintech savings and pensions firm Cushon has appointed former pensions minister, Baroness Ros Altmann, to its advisory board. Ros was UK minister for pensions from 2015 to 2016 and is a member of the House of Lords. She is a leading authority and policy adviser on pensions, pension investment, social care and retirement. She is best known for championing pensions for ordinary people, campaigning for better recognition of women’s pension needs and the injustices of the annuities market. In her new role, she will provide strategic input on Cushon’s proposition and product development, as well as helping to drive positive disruption in the pensions industry. Altmann, said: “Cushon is leading the pack in giving people a pension that is not only a force for good but one they can easily engage with and understand – a rarity in this sector. I believe Cushon shares the same passion for making pensions work better for people and so it’s great to be on board to help shape the future as the business enters its exciting next phase of innovation and growth. Pensions are a brilliant product and we can help people feel proud of their money being put into worthwhile investments.”
