This month so far has seen major new appointments at several tech giants and a plum job at one of the UK’s leading banks, in addition to a promotion at a global digital healthcare provider (pictured).
On a strategic mission
Lloyds Banking Group has appointed Sharon Doherty as chief people and places officer. The role includes enhancing flexible ways of working developed over the past few years, driving new skills and accelerating the pace at which Lloyds uses digital technologies and data to support customers. She will play a leading role in delivering the banking group’s new people, culture and technology strategy ensuring Lloyds Banking Group is a sustainable and inclusive place to work.
Doherty joins from Finastra where she was chief people and places officer. Previously she worked at Vodafone and was instrumental in transforming the culture through their award-winning diversity and digital work programme. Charlie Nunn, Lloyds’ group chief executive officer, said Doherty’s “breadth of experience and fintech background, as well as passion for putting people first, will play an important part in helping us deliver our strategy”. Doherty said she looked forward to “helping our 60,000-plus team play their part in helping Britain prosper. Together creating an inclusive culture that attracts and inspires the most diverse, agile, and committed talent to thrive and grow.”
Boom time for Zoom
Zoom Video Communications has selected Matthew Saxon to be its chief people officer. Saxon brings more than 20 years of experience in HR and was most recently the vice president of people operations at Meta, and previously was senior vice president of compensation, HR operations at Humana. Saxon will lead Zoom’s people experience team and report to Aparna Bawa, Zoom’s chief operating officer. Bawa said Saxon had a “deep understanding of the complexities today’s workforce is facing, and we are confident that his skill set will help elevate and strengthen Zoom as we navigate the next phase of work together”. Saxon said it was “clear the leadership team genuinely cares about employees. Zoom has completely transformed the way people and businesses connect, and I’m excited to help drive the company forward by elevating and advocating for our employees.”
Snapped up
Arun Batra has joined social media firm Snap to take on the role of senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He was previously at EY, where he served as a partner and led its global culture, diversity, and inclusion practice in the UK. Batra will lead the global inclusion, diversity, equity and awareness at Snap and partner with teams in Snap’s offices across the EMEA region to implement Snap’s global DEI strategy. During his time at EY, Batra sat on the advisory board of the Parker Review, the body responsible for ensuring all listed UK company boards have representation from ethnic minorities. He has advised many companies on complex DEI projects and is a former board member of No.10’s race disparity board. He has also led DEI for the Greater London Authority and the Criminal Justice Group within the Home Office. Batra said: “Snap is one of the fastest-growing and forward-thinking tech companies today, and I’m really delighted to be joining at such a pivotal time both for the company and the industry. I admire Snap’s commitment to making DEI a focal part of its business and for its leading role in the Action to Catalyze Tech (ACT) Report – a blueprint for tech companies who want to promote greater equity in the industry. I am looking forward to working with the team to shape what the future of DEI at Snap looks like and hope that our actions will positively impact the tech industry.”
Veterinary vocation
Veterinary technology company, Vet-AI, has appointed its first people director as the business builds its senior team as part of plans to scale up. Laura Stocker has joined Vet-AI as the Leeds-headquartered vet-tech firm continues with its mission to provide preventative veterinary care and ease pressure on veterinary professionals. Stocker has extensive HR experience, having spent five years at Push Doctor, where she most recently held the position of people director. Before this, Stocker was senior HR adviser at The Hut Group and HR adviser at AdviserPlus. Stocker said: “Vet-AI is in a really exciting phase. Its people-centric approach is thriving and we are in a position to grow and build a truly award-winning culture as we scale up. My focus is to add value to the business by amplifying engagement, retention, and performance while assisting with the mission to improve the lives and wellbeing of everyone working within the veterinary industry.”
‘I can’t wait to dive in’
Global hiring platform Indeed has announced Priscilla Koranteng has joined the company as chief people officer. She will be part of Indeed’s senior leadership team and will report to CEO Chris Hyams. She will oversee people functions including HR, recruiting, and real estate teams. “Priscilla will be a key driver in helping our team grow and innovate to better serve job seekers and employers all over the world,” said Hyams. Koranteng said: “Alongside the many aspects that have drawn me to this company, I’ve been so impressed by how the company lives its values, notably its commitment to inclusion and diversity, which is near to my heart as I serve on the board of the Racial Justice Institute here in the US. I can’t wait to dive in with my team to continue building our people function for our high-growth, global business, and serve as a model for innovation in our industry.” She brings more than 22 years of experience leading HR, talent management, and DEI functions at multinational organisations including Kellogg’s, DXC Technology, T. Rowe Price, Booz Allen Hamilton, and JPMorgan Chase. Most recently, Koranteng was Kellogg’s global head of talent and chief diversity officer where she drove enterprise-wide human resource strategies and designed Kellogg’s global DEI strategy.
Joining the Crewe crew
Crewe-based communications provider Cymphony has chosen Emma Burkitt as head of people and culture. Much of Burkitt’s previous experience has been the hospitality industry, having held senior HR positions within the public and private sector over the past 20 years. She said: “Cymphony already has some of the best people in the business working across a number of different areas, and I’m really looking forward to building on this. The current recruitment climate is very competitive, so it’s more important than ever that we continue to attract, develop and retain talented people.” She said that she will use her experience in HR roles for leading hospitality brands, including Malmaison, DeVere Village and Principal Hotels, to transfer her skills to this new sector and ensure the team continues to provide the best service to their customers. “Employees’ needs are the same wherever you work, and I’m here to make certain everyone at Cymphony has a voice and the opportunity to thrive.” Tim Morris, managing director of Cymphony, said Burkitt’s arrival will not only facilitate “our ongoing development plan, but also our ambitions for growth across multiple sectors. Emma is highly motivated, with great integrity and an excitement for developing and valuing a workforce.”
Don’t Kry for me
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Digital healthcare provider Kry has chosen Anna Fullerton-Batten as chief HR officer, following more than 20 years in senior HR roles at Amazon, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson. She will step up from her role as head of global talent as the company looks to accelerate care provision. She is a trained executive coach and regular speaker at global conferences on the future of work, female leadership and diversity, and has led successful change management strategies. She said: “Through our people, I truly believe we can find new ways of resolving the challenges in healthcare and making it more accessible and efficient for patients and healthcare professionals. Our focus is simple: better care for more patients.” Fullerton-Batten will aim to drive a cohesive global people and culture strategy that deepens performance and organisational efficiencies to accelerate value and scale. Johannes Schildt, CEO of Kry, said: “Since joining Kry, Anna has been instrumental in helping us evolve our talent pipeline and match our future business needs with a balanced and diverse workforce. As we actively recruit more healthcare professionals and remain committed to investing in our core, we look to our teams to transform and represent the millions of patients we care for.”
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