What is your new role?
Chief HR officer, BT Global Services.
Where were you working before and what were your duties?
I was group talent and HR strategy director at BT Group.
What qualifications do you hold?
It started with my 25 yards swimming certificate, but I also managed to become a chartered member of the CIPD.
How big is your team and who do you report to?
I lead the whole HR team in driving the transformation of the business. BT Global Services is a £9bn company with 28,000 employees across the globe. I have 11 direct reports and almost 250 HR people worldwide. I report to the chief executive of BT Global Services, Andy Green, with functional reporting to BT group HR director Alex Wilson.
What do you hope to achieve in your new role?
To execute a great people strategy that will create a new breed of services organisation.
What are the challenges HR faces?
Fresh thinking, new solutions, adding top- and bottom-line value, gaining confidence.
What advice would you give to people starting out in HR?
Understand finance and business management. It changes the conversations you have with executives.
What is the essential tool in your job?
Schedule management.
And the most overrated?
Process mapping.
What is the worst thing about HR?
Introspective obsession.
What is the strangest situation you have been in at work?
Trying to explain cricket to a new American direct report.
Who is your ultimate guru?
Dave Ulrich – I’m a Michigan devotee.
What is the most annoying piece of management jargon?
HR speak – especially when I find myself doing it.
What is your essential TV viewing?
Football, modern history documentaries and The X Factor – sad but true.
Who would you most dislike to work with?
Gordon Brown.
How do you fill your spare time?
Sport, family, holidays.
What is the greatest risk you have ever taken?
Moving out of finance into HR.
What is your most popular web page?
Charlton Athletic Football Club – a fan since I was five.
What was the last book you read?
Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks.
What song gets you on the dance floor?
Dancing Queen by Abba.
What would be your dream job?
Prime minister, but I was also very disappointed to be overlooked as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s successor.
Who would play you in the film of your life and why?
Dustin Hoffman – he’s my favourite actor.
What is the worst (or best) office party you’ve been to?
The best office parties are those you can’t quite remember.
Who would you most/least like to be stuck in a lift with?
Most – Bruce Springsteen. Least – Hannibal Lecter.
Davis’s CV
- May 2005 to September 2006: Group director, talent and HR strategy, BT Group plc
- October 2000 to April 2005: Director HR & management services, BT Retail
- May 2000 to October 2000: Acting HR director, BT UK
- July 1999 to April 2000: Director HR policy, BT UK
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