London, England, United Kingdom
I help CEOs & CPOs turn business strategy into the leadership capability, behaviours, performance & culture needed to deliver it. I design integrated talent, leadership & workforce strategies that replace fragmented people activity with one coherent, enterprise-wide capability agenda at scale. Known for connecting strategy to human experience, I operate at the intersection of commercial ambition, organisational performance & culture. My work as a Talent leader creates CPO-level impact by designing & delivering integrated, enterprise-wide strategies across Talent, Leadership, Learning, Inclusion, Performance & Workforce Capability. I’ve led enterprise people and workforce agendas in PE-backed & regulated organisations, operating as a de facto CPO across talent operating model portfolios. With a deep curiosity & a love of joining the dots, I work across traditional people boundaries to align attraction, development, inclusion & performance. I deliver with pace & clarity, balancing commercial outcomes with empathy, nuance & creativity because sustainable performance is built through people, not programmes. Across my roles I have: 💥Designed and led enterprise-wide talent and organisational capability strategies, integrating attraction, leadership, inclusion, performance & workforce planning under a single operating model 💥Partnered with CEOs & CPOs to translate business strategy into clear workforce and leadership capability priorities 💥Built & scaled leadership and management capability frameworks, strengthening succession depth, performance & accountability 💥Embedded inclusive leadership into core talent & performance systems, driving sustainable cultural change 💥Simplified complex people agendas, focusing investment on the capabilities that matter most to organisational performance 💥Led cross-functional transformation initiatives, aligning multiple stakeholders & delivering change at pace & scale. I believe Talent & People is one of the most powerful commercial levers in any organisation. Not a bureaucratic function or the “political correctness police”, but a strategic discipline that enables leaders, strengthens performance & builds future-ready organisations. I’ve built my career proving exactly that. Originally from Warwickshire (near one famous castle) & now based in Windsor (yes — next to another), with Scottish roots and a love of nature, I bring a grounded, balanced perspective to everything I do. I’m drawn to communities, cultures — and occasionally castles. 💫 Let’s talk if you’re building something exceptional — or want to.
I was appointed to lead the end-to-end talent, workforce and capability agenda for Linnaeus during a period of organisational growth, performance challenge and increasing regulatory complexity across the UK & Ireland. As a member of the senior leadership team, I translated business strategy and workforce plans into scalable talent, operating model and system-enabled solutions, supporting 5,000+ Associates across 200+ general practice clinics and referral hospitals in a highly regulated animal healthcare environment. Scope & Leadership • Led the Group’s integrated talent portfolio across workforce planning, attraction, internal mobility, early careers, capability, succession and governance • Shifted the organisation from reactive resourcing to a more strategic, insight-led approach to talent flow and clinical capability sustainability • Led and developed a multi-disciplinary team of c.25, building role clarity, leadership capability and accountability through significant change. Operating Model, Systems & Enterprise Partnership • Redesigned the talent operating model into a centrally-led, locally-empowered structure, aligned to clinical leadership accountability and future capability needs • Acted as a trusted partner to clinical, operational and functional leaders, influencing outcomes through data, insight and pragmatic change delivery • Led the simplification and adoption of end-to-end talent systems, embedding compliant, data-led decision-making aligned to regulatory standards. Impact 💥Turned veterinarian hiring from 40% off-track to 81% of annual target within eight periods 💥Reduced time-to-hire by 20 days, agency spend by 85%, and cost per hire by 58% (vets) and 35% (nursing) 💥Achieved the lowest total wage spend (% of sales) in 10 periods. Known for: translating business strategy into workforce and capability outcomes, enterprise talent operating model design, system-enabled people transformation, and leading change through influence.
Promoted to lead a fully integrated, enterprise-wide Talent and People ecosystem, reporting directly to the CEO during a period of rapid growth, M&A and transformation in a PE-backed dynamic healthcare organisation. I designed and led an end-to-end talent portfolio spanning talent acquisition, organisational development, reward, learning, leadership, culture, engagement, inclusion, internal communications and events, building and scaling a high-performing function of c.25. Operating at enterprise level, I translated business strategy into scalable people, operating model and capability solutions, supporting 375 practices, 4,600 employed colleagues and 2,400 clinicians across the UK and Europe, while partnering with leadership teams in emerging markets. Key contributions & impact 💥Built and led an integrated Talent function (TA, L&D, OD, Reward), strengthening leadership capability, succession and performance 💥Co-created The Portman Way (vision, mission, values) and first EVP; increased engagement in Vision & Values from 65% to 73% 💥Launched clinician succession and education programmes delivering £21.6m equity value and £1.7m annual revenue uplift 💥Reduced clinician vacancies per practice from 0.65 to 0.35 (≈ £23.1m revenue gain) 💥Designed the People Target Operating Model and governance for a £600m+ post-merger organisation, ensuring regulatory and clinical alignment 💥Improved engagement (58% → 64%), reduced gender pay gap (-1.8%), and launched industry-first DE&I initiatives. Known for: enterprise talent and people strategy design, translating growth and M&A strategy into people outcomes, operating model and governance design at scale, executive-level influence and trusted CEO partnership, innovation & creativity, creative solutions to complex workforce and capability challenges, reimagining culture, leadership and engagement at scale.
Joined to build the Talent function from the ground up, initially focused on learning, leadership, capability, culture and engagement within a fast-growing corporate dental group. Established the foundations for enterprise talent, leadership development and organisational effectiveness, partnering closely with clinical and operational leaders and laying the groundwork for later expansion into a fully integrated people portfolio.
Appointed to build and lead the global Leadership and Talent function to support ambitious international growth across a complex, partnership-based and regulated healthcare organisation operating across 19 countries. I designed and delivered enterprise-level leadership, talent and culture strategies, working across functional and geographic boundaries and leading direct and matrix teams. The role focused on strengthening leadership capability, succession and talent pipelines to support long-term expansion. Enterprise Leadership & Talent Strategy • Established the global Leadership and Talent Centre of Excellence, building a high-performing team and scalable succession and capability frameworks • Designed and embedded enterprise talent and leadership strategies aligned to growth ambitions and future operating models • Partnered with senior leaders across markets to align global frameworks with local context and adoption. Leadership, Succession & Capability • Launched Grow Our Own, a global high-potential programme for 3 cohorts of 40+ future C-suite leaders, accelerating internal readiness and mobility • Introduced the first enterprise-wide leadership curriculum, embedding a shared global leadership framework (Future – Engage – Deliver) • Created specialist and early-career pathways through graduate and apprenticeship programmes to expand future pipelines. Impact 💥 Built sustainable global leadership and succession infrastructure 💥 Strengthened leadership consistency and bench strength across multiple markets 💥 Shifted from fragmented activity to a coherent, enterprise-led leadership and talent model. Known for: global enterprise talent and leadership strategy, scalable centres of excellence, succession and pipeline design, and aligning leadership culture to growth and operating model ambition.
An adventure of a lifetime travelling around the world visiting friends made on the Coast to Coast challenge I did in 2015, and exploring new places. What did I learn about myself? That I'm really good at meeting new people and striking up new conversations and connections. Oh and that whilst I love to go on exciting adventures, there's no place like home.
Partnered with the UK Executive Board and HR Director to deliver enterprise-wide talent management and leadership development within a highly regulated telecoms and data environment. Operating as a senior individual contributor, I designed and implemented integrated talent, succession and leadership strategies, informed by workforce planning analytics and focused on strengthening leadership pipelines, retention and internal mobility from early career through to executive and board level. Enterprise Talent & Leadership Strategy • Designed and delivered the organisation’s first three-year Talent Strategy, grounded in workforce planning and future capability requirements • Built an integrated talent pipeline from early career to executive successor, driving flagship programme retention of 99% (vs KPI 80%) • Launched Talent Passport for senior leaders, increasing internal executive promotions from 22% to 100% within two years. Capability, Inclusion & Assessment • Created Women in Leadership and Emerging Leaders programmes, achieving 20% promotion rates and 61% progression into new roles • Improved accuracy and transparency of high-potential assessment by 50% across 3,000 leaders and managers, strengthening trust and decision-making. Impact 💥Shifted talent management from fragmented activity to a coherent, enterprise-led leadership and succession model 💥Strengthened internal mobility, bench strength and executive readiness at scale 💥Built credibility as a board-facing talent strategist operating through influence rather than authority. Known for: enterprise talent and leadership strategy, integrated succession and pipeline design, data-informed decision-making, succession planning, career coaching and board-level influence.