Personnel Today Awards shortlist 2024: HR Director of The Year

The HR Director Award is the most sought-after prize in the Personnel Today Awards. It highlights the importance of a strong leader in creating a strategic human resources function. LHH sponsored the 2024 category and we profiled those on the shortlist.

Angela Williams Corsearch

Angela Williams, a respected executive director and non-executive, is known for her expertise on technology and people transformations, strategy design and customer-focused business. Angela Williams, a CIPD fellow with over 30 years’ experience, has led award-winning programs in a variety of areas for major companies including British Airways and British Gas.

Angela joined Corsearch, in May 2022, during a rapid acquisition period. She faced the challenge to integrate eight companies, located in 33 countries with different cultures and systems. Angela transformed Corsearch’s operational foundation by consolidating 60 legacy payroll systems and 14 legacy systems into a single platform called CHRIS. She also developed a united company culture under #WeAreCorsearch. The work she did led to a significant increase in employee engagement.

She also implemented a formal platform for learning and development, an internal communication strategy, and initiatives to engage employees, including the STAR recognition program and the “Your Voice”, a survey that gathers feedback and helps set priorities. She has improved Corsearch’s experience for employees, earning high ratings on Glassdoor, Google and multiple awards. She is not only Corsearch’s Chief People Officer, but also a nonexecutive Director for Northcoders PLC and Sovereign Network Group. She was also a founding member BLAC which aims at increasing representation in senior HR positions.

Janine Leightley, Bright Horizons

Janine Leightley, HR director at Bright Horizons childcare provider, played a crucial role in the transformation of 2023. Janine Leightley implemented a holistic and strategic approach to tackle the challenges of recruitment and retention. Her initiatives included the introduction of flexible contracts, reducing dependence on agency staff and launching international recruitment processes in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Janine has significantly increased the number of apprenticeships, with more than 7% now enrolled. She also promoted flexible work arrangements that are tailored to each individual’s needs, increasing colleague satisfaction and productivity. She prioritized employee wellbeing with comprehensive support programs, childcare discounts and the introduction Wellbeing Ambassadors. Her focus on career advancement led to a new talent-management programme that supported high retention rates.

Bright Horizons, which has invested PS20 million in salaries to become the most competitive employer within its sector, is now the best-paid company in that industry. The company also rose 26 places on the Great Place to Work List, placing 13th in all UK sectors. Janine’s work has led to a decrease in turnover, an important reduction in manager vacancies and a rise in high-performing nursery mangers. Janine’s work has gone beyond her HR duties. She has pushed for family-friendly policies and strategic changes to qualifications.

Jonathan Potter, AstraZeneca

Jonathan Potter, the Head of HR at AstraZeneca UK Operations, is passionate about people. His colleagues say that his emotional intelligence and people-first approach helps the organization to prioritize the needs of its employees as well as patients. Jonathan is committed to building relationships at all levels and not just senior stakeholders. His values-driven leadership is an inspiration for all leaders.

Jonathan has translated AstraZeneca’s manufacturing strategy and enterprise ambition into actionable steps. He introduced a new people strategy in 2022 under the motto “change culture one conversation at atime”, embedding high performance aspirations and team effectiveness. He also supports the company’s graduate and apprenticeship programmes and ensures that these schemes are integrated throughout the business. UK Operations is a great place for young talent with high retention and engagement rates.

Jonathan is the sponsor of EQConnect, a leadership program that aims to move from transactional management towards transformational leadership. This program, which is designed to develop future leadership capabilities, includes employees across multiple functions, and strives for gender equality. The programme, despite its infancy, has already proven to be successful in improving leadership quality, engagement and overall performance in UK Operations.

Lisa Davidson The HALO Trust

The HALO trust is a global leader in NGO’s that address the causes and impacts of conflict. It employs more than 11,000 people. Its mission is the clearance of landmines, explosive remnants from war and making land safe for those affected by conflict.

Lisa joined HALO as HR Director in March 2022 and has proven to be an excellent leader. She has aligned the HR function with the organisational strategy, and driven positive change. The HR team has grown from three to over 25 members under her leadership. Lisa was crucial in securing support from the board for new initiatives and increased HR resources.

Lisa’s leadership transformed the HR department, creating a culture that values autonomy, empowerment and development. This transformation is evident in the latest results of a staff survey, which show significant improvements in learning opportunities, career advancement, and teamwork. The Net Promoter Score of the team has improved dramatically from -22 up to +62. This reflects Lisa’s positive leadership.

Lisa has introduced several key HR initiatives, including: a global listen strategy to identify the organisation’s needs; a revised employee benefits program including private health insurance and extended parental leave. She also launched remote physiotherapy. She was instrumental in promoting diversity, inclusion, performance management and recruitment.

Lisa’s leadership has led to significant improvements in the resourcing department, including an increased number of female candidates for international roles, an improvement in Glassdoor ratings, and a decrease in time before an offer. Lisa’s dedication to her team and HR initiatives not only improved HR’s reputation at HALO, but set a standard for best practices across the organization.

Lorraine Kelly, King’s College London

Lorraine Kelly, Director of Organisational Development and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at King’s College London, has proven to be a leader who is able to inspire others. Lorraine Kelly joined the department in 2016 as deputy OD Director. The focus was mainly on HR duties. Lorraine was promoted as director at the end of 2019 after she realised that there was a gap in staff experience.

Lorraine saw the opportunity to transform OD into a key role in supporting organisational changes despite the challenges posed. Her efforts led her to create a new university strategy for 2026. She grew her team, merged it into the ED&I department, launched King’s first survey of staff in six years and found an executive sponsor. She created a positive work environment for her team and provided support to them, making her the person people go to when they need advice or support.

The team under her leadership has implemented successfully several initiatives. This included a new apprentice programme, improved wellness policies, and enhanced training in management. These efforts have led to significant improvements, including reduced pay gaps and voluntary attrition. They also increased internal promotions and improved satisfaction with training. Lorraine’s leadership helped King’s College London to become a people-focused organization, with better career opportunities and higher staff satisfaction.

Nicola Buckley, TransPennine Express

Nicola (Nic) Buckley, people director for TransPennine Express (TPE), operates passenger trains in northern England and Scotland. She led a team consisting of 27 people in the People Directorate. The department had only 10 employees in 2019. She has led to significant improvements in employee retention, recruitment and general wellbeing.

Nic began working at TPE in 2005 as a HR Business Change partner. She was promoted from HR Head in April 2018 to People Director by December 2021. She was responsible for the creation of new roles, such as a Reward and Recognition Manager, Diversity and Inclusion manager, and Occupational Health team, in the last two years.

Nic’s leadership is characterized by positivity and authenticity. She managed to transfer all TPE employees when the company changed owners in May 2023. The process was completed in less than two weeks. She also takes part in the Women in Rail mentoring programme, and has an open door policy with all staff levels.

Nic has implemented a number of development programmes including Step Up, Step Forward and Horizon. These initiatives have resulted in a high internal promotion rate. She also promoted an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, which broadened the talent pool that TPE recruits. Her efforts led to a reduction in absence rates, and an improvement in employee engagement. Nic’s dedication to the wellbeing of staff is apparent through her support for flexible working arrangements and engagement with colleagues on all levels.

Nicola Marshall, Welcome Break

Nicola Marshall, people director at Welcome Break, is also the chairperson of the Welcome Break Charitable Fund. Nicola Marshall was named one of the Women to watch & role models for inclusion in the Hospitality, Travel & Leisure Index 2020. She has played a key role in improving the culture at the hotel chain and the employee experience.

Nicola moved from Whitbread and Costa to Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre, where she held roles in recruitment and operations management. She worked for Greene King, Travelodge and Welcome Break before becoming People Director in 2019. Nicola’s time at Welcome Break has seen her: help the company through the acquisition by Applegreen, revitalise the culture of the company by aligning it to its core values, and ensure feedback is heard. She also introduced a comprehensive employee bonus scheme as well as increased compensation.

She championed diversity, equality and inclusion. She also implemented a program to recruit Mental Health first aiders. Nicola has also implemented leadership and apprenticeship programmes, as well as building a strong HR department that works effectively with the organization.

Her greatest achievement is the founding of Welcome Break Charitable Fund. This fund has raised more than PS480,000 to support charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support. Her leadership has resulted in reduced staff turnover, increased employee engagement scores and improved workplace recognition. Nicola is now the global head for people operations of Applegreen’s parent company. She continues to make positive changes.