The HR Director of the Year award is one of the most coveted prizes in the Personnel Today Awards, showcasing the role of strong leaders in building a strategic people function. We profile those who made the shortlist in the 2024 category, sponsored by LHH.
Angela Williams, Corsearch
Angela Williams is a highly respected executive and non-executive director, known for her expertise in technology and people transformation, strategy design, and creating customer-focused businesses. With over 30 years of experience and a fellow of the CIPD, Angela has made significant contributions to major companies, including British Airways, British Gas, Land Securities and Sodexo, leading award-winning programmes across a number of areas.
Angela joined Corsearch in May 2022 during a period of rapid acquisition, where she faced the challenge of integrating eight companies across 33 countries, each with separate systems and cultures. She transformed Corsearch’s operational foundation, consolidating 60 legacy systems and 14 payrolls into a streamlined platform called CHRIS, and developed a unified company culture under the #WeAreCorsearch banner. This work led to significant engagement improvements among staff.
She has also introduced a formal learning and development platform, an internal communications strategy, and employee engagement initiatives, such as the STAR recognition platform and the “Your Voice” survey to gather feedback and set priorities. She has significantly enhanced Corsearch’s employee experience, achieving high ratings on Glassdoor and Google, and earning multiple awards. As well as being Corsearch’s chief people officer, she is a non-executive director for Northcoders PLC, Sovereign Network Group, and a founding member of BLAC, which aims to increase representation at senior levels in HR.
Janine Leightley, Bright Horizons
2023 was a ‘breakthrough year’ for childcare provider Bright Horizons, and HR director Janine Leightley played a key role in this transformation. Facing recruitment and retention challenges, Janine implemented a strategic and holistic approach. Her initiatives included introducing flexible contracts, reducing dependency on agency staff, and launching international hiring processes in Europe and Africa.
Janine significantly boosted apprenticeship opportunities, with over 7% of the workforce now enrolled, and promoted flexible working arrangements tailored to individual needs, enhancing colleague satisfaction and productivity. She prioritised employee wellbeing through comprehensive support programmes, improved childcare discounts, and the introduction of Wellbeing Ambassadors. Her focus on career development led to the creation of a new talent management programme, supporting high retention rates.
Bright Horizons has implemented a £20 million investment in salaries, resulting in it becoming the most competitive employer in its sector. The company also climbed 26 places in the Great Place to Work list, ranking 13th across all UK sectors. Janine’s efforts have led to a reduction in turnover, a significant reduction in open manager vacancies, and an increase in high-performing nursery managers. Beyond her HR duties, Janine has advocated for family-friendly policies, strategic changes in qualifications, and skill shortages in the Early Years sector.
Jonathan Potter, AstraZeneca
Jonathan Potter, Head of HR for UK Operations at AstraZeneca, is a passionate advocate for people. Colleagues say his emotionally intelligent, people-first approach ensures that the organisation prioritises the needs of both its employees and patients. Jonathan invests in building relationships across all levels, not just with senior stakeholders, and his values-driven leadership sets an aspirational standard for all leaders in the organisation.
Jonathan has expertly translated AstraZeneca’s enterprise ambition and manufacturing strategy into meaningful actions. In 2022, he introduced a people strategy under the mantra to “change culture, one conversation at a time”, embedding aspirations of high performance and team effectiveness. He is also a strong advocate for early careers, supporting the company’s apprenticeship and graduate programmes, and ensuring these schemes are well integrated across the business. UK Operations has become a standout environment for early talent, with high engagement and retention rates.
As the sponsor of the EQConnect leadership programme, Jonathan leads efforts to shift from transactional management to transformational leadership. This programme, designed to build future leadership capability, includes employees from across many functions and aims for gender parity. Despite being in its early stages, the programme has already shown success in enhancing leadership quality, engagement, and overall performance within UK Operations.
Lisa Davidson, The HALO Trust
The HALO Trust is a leading global NGO that addresses the impacts and drivers of conflict in over 30 countries and territories, employing more than 11,000 staff. Its mission is to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war, making land safe for people affected by conflict and helping communities rebuild their lives.
Lisa joined HALO in March 2022 as HR Director and has been an outstanding leader, aligning the HR function with organisational strategy and driving positive change. Under her leadership, the HR team has grown significantly, expanding from three to 25 members. Lisa was instrumental in making the case for increased HR resources and securing board support for new initiatives.
Lisa’s leadership has transformed the HR team, creating a culture of autonomy, empowerment, and development. The latest staff survey results highlight this transformation, with significant increases in satisfaction with learning opportunities, career progression, and teamwork. The team’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) has dramatically improved from -22 to +62, reflecting the positive impact of Lisa’s leadership.
Lisa introduced key HR initiatives including: a global listening strategy to identify organisational needs; a revitalised employee benefits programme including private health insurance; extended parental leave; and remote physiotherapy services. She has been central in promoting diversity and inclusion, improving performance management, and recruitment.
Under Lisa’s leadership, the resourcing function has seen significant improvements, including an increase in female applicants for international roles, a reduction in time to offer, and an improved Glassdoor rating. Lisa’s commitment to her team and key HR initiatives has not only enhanced HR’s reputation within HALO but also set a new standard for best practice across the organisation.
Lorraine Kelly, King’s College London
Lorraine Kelly, director of Organisational Development (OD) and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) at King’s College London, is a standout leader. When Lorraine joined in 2016 as deputy OD director, the department mainly focused on everyday HR tasks. Recognising a need for better staff experience, Lorraine sought to address this gap and was promoted to director in late 2019.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Lorraine saw an opportunity to transform the OD function into a key player in supporting organisational change. Her efforts led to the creation of a new university-wide strategy up to 2026. She expanded her team and merged it with the ED&I function, introduced King’s first staff survey in six years, and secured an executive sponsor for the team. She fostered a positive team environment and supported her staff, making her the go-to person for advice and support.
Under her guidance, the team has successfully implemented several initiatives. These included a new apprenticeship programme, improved wellbeing policies, and enhanced management training. These efforts led to notable improvements: including reduced pay gaps, decreased voluntary attrition, increased internal promotions, and higher satisfaction with training and development. In summary, Lorraine’s leadership has helped King’s College London become a more people-focused organisation, with higher staff satisfaction and better career development opportunities.
Nicola Buckley, TransPennine Express
Nicola (Nic) Buckley is people director at TransPennine Express (TPE), which operates passenger trains across northern England and into Scotland. Leading a team of 27 in the people directorate, she led the expansion of the department from just 10 members in 2019. Her leadership has driven significant improvements in recruitment, retention, and overall employee wellbeing.
Personnel Today Awards
Nic joined TPE 12 years ago, starting as an HR Business Change Partner. She was promoted to Head of HR in April 2018, and then to People Director in December 2021. She has overseen the introduction of roles such as a Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Reward and Recognition Manager, and an Occupational Health team in the past two years.
Nic’s leadership style is characterised by authenticity and positivity. She successfully managed the transfer of all TPE colleagues when the company changed ownership in May 2023, completing the process in just over two weeks. She is also actively involved in mentoring through the Women in Rail programme and maintains an open-door policy, engaging with all levels of staff.
Nic has implemented several development programmes, including initiatives like Step Up, Step Forward, Reach Up, and Horizon, which have led to a high rate of internal promotions. She has also championed an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, broadening the talent pool from which TPE recruits. Her efforts have resulted in a decrease in absence rates and a notable improvement in employee engagement. Nic’s commitment to staff wellbeing is evident through her support of flexible working arrangements and active engagement with colleagues at all levels.
Nicola Marshall, Welcome Break
Nicola Marshall is people director at Welcome Break and chair of the Welcome Break Charitable Fund. Recognised as one of the Women to Watch & Role Models for Inclusion in the Hospitality, Travel & Leisure Index 2021, Nicola has been instrumental in enhancing the workplace culture and employee experience at the hospitality chain.
Nicola worked her way up from operations and people management to recruitment roles at Whitbread, Costa, Premier Inn, and Brewers Fayre. She later worked at Greene King and Travelodge before joining Welcome Break as People Director in 2019. During her time at Welcome Break, Nicola has: helped the company transition smoothly through its acquisition by Applegreen; revitalised the company’s culture by aligning it with its core values and ensuring feedback is heard and acted upon; and introduced a comprehensive bonus scheme and significantly increased employee compensation.
She has championed equality, diversity and inclusion and implemented a scheme to recruit Mental Health First Aiders. Nicola also rolled out leadership development and apprenticeship schemes alongside building a strong HR team that partners effectively with the organisation.
One of her greatest achievements is founding the Welcome Break Charitable Fund, which has raised over £480,000 for charities including Macmillan Cancer Support. Her leadership has led to reduced staff turnover, high employee engagement scores, and improved workplace recognition. Now serving as the global head of people operations at parent company Applegreen, Nicola continues to drive positive change.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
