Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Careers in HRThe HR profession

My mentor: Keith Brownlie, group HR director, Informa

by Personnel Today 11 Jan 2010
by Personnel Today 11 Jan 2010

My mentor dates back to my earliest days with Informa, when I became HR director at what was then part of the Corporation of Lloyds of London.

He was Iain Lindsay-Smith, then deputy chief executive, and a very experienced journalist who had at one time been editor of the Yorkshire Post. He was a real character, a bagpipe-playing Scot.

It was my first senior HR role but, having arrived there from Xerox, I was initially very uncertain about the culture, which was very civil service-orientated. There were six unions to represent 300 staff, and to begin with, I really couldn’t hack it. It was Iain who convinced me to stay. He said: “Keith, this is not commercial – but you and I are going to change it.” He told me that I needed to be commercial and passionate about what I wanted to achieve with the business. He said: “Just apply that passion, and we’ll take the staff with us.”

And we did. We engineered a management buy-out, away from Lloyds, creating Lloyds of London Press (LLP) with Iain as chief executive. Throughout the buy-out, I worked hand in glove with Iain. It was a tremendous apprenticeship for me.

I was able to get involved in the commercial running of the organisation, too. Iain really gave me a helping hand – and he gave me that commercial outlook which, frankly, I don’t think I would have got in any other organisation. That has stood me in good stead – my experience is much broader than it would have been otherwise. I don’t think you can be an effective HR practitioner at senior level unless you’ve been a proper line manager, and can look down the other end of the telescope.

Iain was a very skilled politician. If I ever had a problem, as I did with the unions, he would say: “How about handling it this way?” As sure as eggs is eggs, it would work out for the good. But I wasn’t shy of challenging Iain, and he respected that too.

His mentoring was on a regular basis. Every Friday afternoon, we’d sit down over a coffee, to talk about the week. We knew that it was crucial to have good people after the buy-out, and I think we made some really good decisions together.

Iain was an influential figure. If the chief executive is pro-HR, as he was, staff relations will be at the centre of the company. He understood that people make a company tick.

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Video Arts showcases its digital and e-learning offerings
next post
Legal Dilemma: Staff safety at care home

You may also like

Why embracing big data is HR’s key to...

6 Jun 2023

Kellogg, Finnair, Pladis make key HR appointments: Movers...

2 Jun 2023

One in five HR professionals considering changing jobs

31 May 2023

CBI appoints chief people officer after misconduct allegations

16 May 2023

Artificial intelligence for HR: What is it and...

4 May 2023

HR vacancies fell by a third in early...

3 May 2023

Employment bodies IES and IPA to merge

27 Apr 2023

People analytics is HR’s biggest skills gap, finds...

4 Apr 2023

News UK appoints head of diversity: Movers and...

30 Mar 2023

Yodel appoints new director of HR operations

28 Mar 2023

  • The HR Bundle: Your one-stop guide to building a successful global HR Department PROMOTED | Get your hands on Deel’s free HR bundle...Read more
  • The Benefits of an Employee Assistance Programme PROMOTED | EAPs support employees in a range of ways...Read more
  • Intergenerational working and how to manage up and down the generations PROMOTED | The benefits and challenges of intergenerational workplaces...Read more
  • Bereavement in the workplace: How training can help HR get it right PROMOTED | HR professionals play an essential role...Read more
  • UK workforce mental wellbeing needs PROMOTED | The mental wellbeing support employers are providing misses the mark...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+