People

Chris Rickets on the fast-pace at Qtab

Life in the fast lane is more than just a hackneyed expression for
motorcycle enthusiast and newly appointed director Chris Rickets.

Rickets has joined strategic consultants Qtab from the Kingfisher group,
where he was head of HR at Chartwell Land, the property development and
investment subsidiary.

However, any thoughts of boardroom life slowing him down are ill founded as
he explains, "Italian motorbikes are more of an obsession than a hobby to
me. I own a Ducati, which I use for getting to and from work. I also use it for
special track days and recently rode it round Brands Hatch and
Donnington."

In between these hair-raising feats, Rickets has managed to gain 12 years
worth of HR experience, across a diverse range of sectors.

He has worked in publishing, health, property and local government and it’s
this exciting mix of disciplines that he’s looking forward to most in his new
role.

"Working with an eclectic mix of clients, learning about their
businesses and helping them become better at what they do is the aspect I’ll
enjoy most," he says.

"The best thing about a career in HR is working with people to enable
them to learn, develop and succeed, whether it’s a trainee or the plc
board."

Rickets, who has two young children, holds an MA in HR and completed the
strategic retailing programme at Oxford University.

CV

2001 Director, Qtab
1997 Head of HR, Chartwell Land
1995 Freelance management training consultant
1992 Training and development manager, Colliers Erdman Lewis

On the move

Raj Joshi joins William M Mercer as HR operations consultant. He moves from
Abbey National, where he was a senior HR consultant. Before that he was
personnel and training manager at Debenhams. His new role will include advising
companies on HR service, delivery, implementation and operational reviews.

F&C Management has created a new position on its executive board for
Peter Cole, who becomes group head of HR. He will play a key role in
amalgamating three firms into the F&C brand, under the parent company
Eureko BV. He joins from Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, where he was head of
HR. Cole has also held senior positions at SBC Warburg, Swiss Bank Corporation
and Bank of America.

Darren Gardner has joined GMC Admiral as a senior consultant in its HR and
payroll services sector. His main responsibility will be selling combined human
resources services to new clients – mainly companies with over 5,000 employees.
Gardener joins from Rebus where he was for six years.