Listen to the leaders of the HR

Gillian Thomson is the Founder of the Fearless Edge and is an executive coach and leadership consultant.  She is also instrumental in the creation of the podcast, following my participation in her podcast, which she hosts with David Wynn: the Heart Centre Leadership Programme.

Gillian gives us an insight into Human Resources within large organisations from her early career but we also explore the role of an HR Consultant supporting numerous companies which she’s done successfully for the last 10 years. Gillian has now taken up the role of Head of People at Verlume since this recording.

Graeme Cook is our second guest on this podcast. Graeme is Chief People Officer at the Alshaya Group, and at the time of recording was just finishing up with Keller.

In this episode we discuss Graeme’s entry into Human Resources, and his progression to Chief People Officer and some of the key experiences along this journey. We also discuss some of the changes he has experienced within Human Resources during his career.

Toni Wilks is our third guest on this podcast. Toni Wilks is HR Director for Corporate Development at Subsea 7, and we worked together during my time at Subsea 7.

In this episode we will get insight into Toni first impressions of Human Resources, which were not that favourable given her Engineering background. We then explore her journey in Human Resources, in particular focusing as a specialist within Organisational Development and Talent Management, and why these roles so important to success of any organisation.

Sally Clift is our fourth guest on this podcast. Sally Clift is Global HR Business Partner at JLL Services in London. I have known Sally for over 20 years having both worked together at Texaco.

In the episode we get insight into Human Resources across different geographies as Sally has worked in Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Australia as well as the UK. Sally has also worked in a number of different industries including Oil and Gas, Financial and Commercial Real Estate including supporting the Third Sector too.

Kim Woolner is our fifth guest on this podcast. Kim is the Head of People and Culture at Ithaca Energy. I have known Kim for over 10 years through a number of different HR network forum within Aberdeen Energy sector.  At the time of recording, she was Head of People and Culture at Ithaca Energy, but is now providing HR Consultancy and Coaching through her own business.

In this episode we will explore Kim entry into Human Resources and her early journey. We then explore her move into a different industry and location in London ,before her return to Aberdeen and Oil and Gas into senior roles. We also discuss Kim involvement in Well Being and its increasing impact on Human Resources.

Stuart Payne is our final guest of the first series. Stuart has just moved into new role as Chief Executive of the North Sea Transition Authority.

In this episode we discuss Stuart’s early career in HR working within large international organisations across different geography (US and UK). We also discuss his work outside of HR in the third sector and finally going beyond senior HR leadership roles and becoming a Chief Executive at one of the key industry bodies in Energy.

A fantastic guest to finish these series of career journeys. Six fantastic discussions, six very different paths, six passionate highly successful HR professionals.

Natalie Brindeau is currently Stop Hunger Europe Director since 2019.  Prior to that she has worked for Sodexo across a number of global locations since 2002, including France, Africa, US and UK.

She was educated in France but also studied in Canada too, going on to work at Disneyland Paris for 10 years. Natalie gives us an insight into Human Resources from her early career in France, but we also explore the other international locations and roles she has carried out over the past 20 to 30 years.

At the time of recording Melanie Bowes was Human Resources Director for the Kellogg Company covering UK&I for Sales, European IT leadership teams and now founder of Budie which provides HR Consultancy and Career Coaching.

Prior to this Melanie worked for Asahi Beverages in Australia and Tokyo, Origin Energy and Wood Group PSN in Melbourne. She gives us an insight into Human Resources from her early career in Australia, but we also explore the other international locations and roles she has carried across very different business sectors.

Daniel Bosman is Vice President for HR Services Delivery with Technip Energies based in the Netherlands.  Prior to this Daniel worked in a variety of roles and locations for Technip including, Aberdeen, London, Paris and Rome as well as the Netherlands.

Daniel gives us an insight into Human Resources from his early career in the Netherlands, including his academic education. He also provides insight into working across multiple roles in different countries but with same organisation for past 20 years.

Liat Berger is Chief People Officer for Cognite based in Norway.  Prior to that, she held a number of leadership roles positions with Aker Solutions, including SVP for People and Organisation within their corporate head office, and other leadership roles across their different product lines across multiple locations including Norway and Brazil.  She also worked in different sectors prior to this for Kraft Foods and HSBC.

Liat offers an insight into Human Resources from her early career in Brazil, including her academic career. She also provided insight on an early upbringing across different cultures and how this impacted her and her future career as well as sharing her very unique career journey.