Who are you and what is your current job role? I am the Executive Director, HR for AEG Europe. My remit extends to HR and Training, Health & Safety, Occupational Health and CSR across the Group, which includes The O2. I am also a Board member of Thames Clippers (one of the businesses within the Group), having just stepped down as Chairman after a 2.5 year period of growth How did you get to this position…what was the pathway and what did you do before? Before I joined AEG in 2006, I was involved in a number of start-up departments and businesses most of which were in the Corporate Fitness and Health Management sector. This ranges from my first start up setting up and opening the Fitness Gallery at The Savoy in 1993 through to a variety of HR, Consultancy and Operations roles at a VC backed Corporate Health Management company from 2000. What are the challenges in this job? My top 3 challenges would be (1) balancing the service delivery to meet the needs of each of the businesses within the Group according to their culture, delivery against budget, stage in lifecycle, mission and expectations; (2) finding a fit between ‘local’ European HR delivery within a US business with a different approach to HR and (3) finding more hours in the day! Who has influenced you the most in your career and why? I would say Wendy Thorburn who was the HRD at Bladerunner, a Corporate Fitness company, who made the initial suggestion that I develop my general management skills further by specialising in HR and completing a Masters What do you do to switch off? I like to balance an active social life which includes live music, eating and drinking with Bikram yoga, competing in triathlons, playing for Wasps Ladies Legends, skiing and surfing! Any Pearls of Wisdom or strategies for success that you would like to share? Consider at least one more perspective than you have been presented with before you act…
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