Where you working before, and what were your responsibilities?
I started my career in HR at Siemens in the 1980s after moving over from a finance role, and haven’t looked back. I spent 20 years in HR at Siemens, working all around the globe. In fact, I’ve worked in HR in 53 different countries, and lived in Europe, Asia and the US. After this, I ran my own business for four years which provided amazing insight into all the different functions that make a business successful.
What qualifications do you hold?
I hold postgraduate degrees in HR, marketing and management, an MBA, CIPD and Chartered Institute of Marketing qualifications. I am also currently completing an MSC at Bristol University in strategic management.
What are the duties in your new role?
I’ll be responsible for creating, implementing and driving forward LG’s people strategy. The focus will be on driving business transformation by raising the quality of LG’s HR service and delivery.
What are the main challenges HR faces in the next five years?
We can’t ignore the current economic climate, but it’s important to look ahead at the green shoots of recovery. An organisation’s competitive advantage is its people, and the retention and development of employees should be high on every business agenda – HR has the opportunity to cement its role in business.
What is the most overrated tool in your job?
The idea that the bigger the bonus, the better the performance. I just don’t buy it.
What work tool would you like to see invented?
A magic wand that can make people not just hear, but really listen.
What is the worst thing about HR?
The lack of understanding of the value HR brings to a business. There is an old-school view that HR is a ‘soft’ business function.
What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Driven, determined and persistent.
What was your lucky break?
Joining LG – it’s a company with a great people vision, and one of the strongest and most visible consumer electronics brands in the UK and globally.
What do you regret about your career?
Nothing at all. To take from a well-known saying: ‘If you love what you do, it’s not work’, so I haven’t worked a single day in my life.
Sum up your philosophy on life in one sentence.
It’s the simple things that make life good.
CV
- Nov 2008-present: HR director, LG Electronics
- Mar 2008-Oct 2008: HR director, North EMEA, Rockwell Automation (factory automation systems)
- Apr 2004-Mar 2008: Chief executive, Knowledge Motion Consulting (business and HR strategy consultants)
- Sep 1980-Apr 2004: Various roles, Siemens (electronics and engineering)
