Our latest round-up of movers and shakers since the end of summer includes significant appointments at Yorkshire Building Society and HSBC.
Lyndsey Denning, Reconomy
International economy specialist Reconomy has appointed Lyndsey Denning as chief people officer, effective immediately.
Denning and the people team will focus on enhancing Reconomy’s HR offering, developing its employee value proposition and providing a consistent employee experience across the entire organisation. She will oversee its centre of excellence, which encompasses employee experience, HR systems and data, reward and recognition, learning and development and internal communications. She will also continue to champion diversity and inclusion initiatives, which are central to Reconomy’s values.
Denning joined Reconomy 11 years ago, starting as an HR and training manager based in its Telford office. During this time, she helped to develop Reconomy’s people-first strategy and contributed to the success of the people team.
Caroline Oxley, Evolve
Managed network solutions and IT services provider Evolve has appointed Caroline Oxley as head of people and talent.
Oxley’s role will go beyond HR functions to focus on developing Evolve’s culture so that it aligns with its overall goals and values. This will include executing the organisation’s apprenticeship and graduate schemes, and overseeing employee engagement.
She joins from Property Hub, where she spent three years as head of people and culture after acting as HR manager in businesses across a range of sectors. She has many years of experience in strategic HR management, employee relations, talent resourcing, and payroll management.
Rosamund King, Praxis
UK real estate platform Praxis has appointed Rosamund King as its new chief people officer as it looks to strengthen its senior leadership team and facilitate its growth. With more than 100 professionals working across three UK offices, Praxis has newly introduced the role of chief people officer.
King will join the group board, led by chief executive officer Mark Harrison. She will have responsibility for all people functions across the business and implement a strategic HR framework that aligns with, and propels, Praxis’ growth ambitions.
She has more than 15 years of experience leading people agendas. King started her career specialising in financial services recruitment and had subsequent senior roles in banking and professional services, most recently at First Bank.
Aileen Taylor, HSBC
Banking organisation HSBC has appointed Aileen Taylor as group chief human resources and governance officer.
Taylor previously held the role of group company secretary and chief governance officer and has a track record of more than 20 years of advising boards and executives in delivering strategy, simplification and transformation. Throughout her career, she has supported talent acquisition, training and development and succession planning at board and executive level.
She will be taking over from Elaine Arden, who after seven years in the role, has decided to step down. Arden helped to reset HSBC’s purpose, strategy and values, enhance the group’s talent identification and development capabilities, and to simplify and develop its performance culture.
Holly Rankin, Yorkshire Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society has announced that it has hired Holly Rankin to be its new chief people officer from December, subject to regulatory approval.
Rankin has more than 28 years’ experience in human resources, including 16 years in financial services. She has knowledge on shaping and leading strategic people plans, covering culture change, talent and succession, reward and leadership capability.
She will join from Barclays Bank, where she has been managing director HR, and has previously held the roles of HR director, community banks and wealth at Lloyds Banking Group and head of HR for the retail network at Santander UK.
She is also a volunteer board member at the charity Smart Works, Birmingham, which helps women gain the confidence they need to secure employment and change their lives.
Francesca Okosi, Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support has appointed Francesca Okosi as chief people and culture officer.
In this role, Okosi will sit on Macmillan’s executive team and use her knowledge and experience in leading positive culture change in large organisations to shape and drive its people and culture strategy.
In her previous role, she was chief people and culture officer at an Integrated Care Board. Prior to this, Okosi held similar roles at other health organisations, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Pharmaceutical Council, and South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.
Richa Gupta, CloudBees
Software development platform CloudBees has hired Richa Gupta as its new chief human resources officer.
In this key leadership role, Gupta will support CloudBees’ global expansion efforts and its intended evolution as a strategic enterprise transformation partner.
Gupta has more than 25 years of experience leading HR functions at global businesses across various industries and sizes, with annual revenues ranging from millions to billions. She has guided large public employers on their performances and led organisations through initial public offerings (IPO), managing change and fostering organic growth during global expansions.
Additionally, she has driven growth through mergers and acquisitions to blend and enhance teams during times of change and has built talent strategies that enable businesses to evolve and grow.
Nicole Whittaker, Peninsula UK
Nicole Whittaker, formerly head of HR policy and documentation, has been promoted to associate director of HR consulting at Peninsula UK. Whittaker has been with Peninsula for over a decade, starting out as a graduate HR and employment law consultant and working her way up to now leading a team of over 50 advisers. She is experienced in all areas of HR and employment law. In addition to her responsibilities as associate director, Whittaker will represent Peninsula in media interviews on a wide range of workplace issues.
Sian Keane, Gymshark
Gymshark, the fitness community and apparel brand, has appointed Sian Keane to the role of chief people officer. She joins Gymshark following 11 years at Farfetch, the last six of which she has held the position of chief people officer. During her time there, she supported the company’s growth from 100 people to over 7,000 globally, including the integration of ten acquisitions during her tenure there. Prior to that, Sian held multiple senior roles in the recruitment sector. Sian has a focus on founder-led businesses as a non-executive director of MPB, Advisor to Motorway and Angel Investor.
In her new role, Keane will be responsible for the people strategy, helping transform Gymshark with a key focus on attracting, developing and retaining world-class talent through the next stage of the firm’s growth.
David Barr, Robert Walters
Recruitment agency Robert Walters today announces that David Barr will be rejoining Robert Walters as recruitment outsourcing chief operating officer. He will be responsible for overseeing business operations and growth globally. This appointment comes after the newly launched Robert Walters strategy and unification of their three brands (Robert Walters, Resource Solutions and Walters People) into one single brand – Robert Walters.
Barr has over 20 years’ experience across Robert Walters, where he spent time in both the specialist professional recruitment and recruitment outsourcing service lines. He was a co-founder of Resource Solutions’ Asia Pacific operations, where he spent 11 years growing the region’s portfolio. In recent years, he has held senior executive roles at Korn Ferry and Allegis. Barr will be based in Singapore from early 2025.
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