This mid-spring edition of latest moves in HR features significant appointments at three prominent UK companies: Associated British Ports, Sodexo, and Stagecoach

Rachael Parr, Associated British Ports

ABP, the UK’s largest port operator, has announced the appointment of Rachael Parr as its new group human resources director.

Parr joins from Electricity North West, where she was people and corporate services director.

The new appointment comes following Alison Rumsey’s decision to retire from ABP in May.

Parr said she was delighted to be “heading up the people agenda that is so crucial for achieving the company’s twin missions of Keeping Britain Trading and Enabling the Energy Transition. I’ve been hugely impressed by the ambition of ABP, which has been evident throughout the recruitment process”.

Henrik L. Pedersen, ABP’s CEO, said Parr’s experience leading HR in a “significant infrastructure business which plays an important role in the energy transition is entirely relevant to ABP”.

Parr and Rumsey will share a hand over period following Parr’s arrival in May.

Sarah Blake, Stagecoach

Bus and coach operator Stagecoach Group has appointed Sarah Blake as its new chief people officer.

Reporting into chief executive officer Claire Miles, Blake will be responsible for Stagecoach’s people strategy across the organisation. This includes overseeing key areas such as talent acquisition, employee value proposition, learning and development, employee engagement, reward and benefits.

Prior to joining Stagecoach, Sarah served as chief people officer at TalkTalk, where she led the people agenda for the fast-paced, digital consumer business. During her tenure, she played a key role in driving the company’s people strategy, supporting the company’s growth.

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Blake said: “I’ll be working with an incredibly talented and dynamic team to help drive the company’s vision forward and foster an environment where inclusion thrives, and all employees feel empowered to make a difference.”

In her new role, Blake will also support Stagecoach through a period of transformation as the company works towards its goal of transitioning to a fully electrified fleet. The firm says Blake’s appointment reinforces its commitment to strengthen its leadership team with experience outside the industry to complement a wealth of bus expertise. Her arrival also means that the company has achieved a 50:50 gender split for its senior team.

Helio Fujita, Mars

Mars has named Helio Fujita as global people and organisation VP for its pet health, services, and nutrition business. Fujita, who will join the business in July, will report to Loïc Moutault, president of Mars Petcare.

Fujita is an HR leader with over 25 years’ experience in diverse industries – including health, pharmaceuticals and automotive. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Mars business.

Moutault said: “Helio’s combination of deep experience across HR and commercial strategy, coupled with his proven track record in building organisational capabilities to drive business growth will be incredible assets to our team.”

Fujita, whose career spans the globe at major health care firms such as Fresenius Kabi, Abbott, Novartis and Sandoz, said Mars was known for its “special company culture and principles.”

Fiona Lavery, PPL

Social enterprise management consultancy PPL has appointed Fiona Lavery as operations and people director in a newly created role.

She will lead the in-house operations team at PPL with strategic responsibility for the people division, the finance division and facilities, including the PPL Hub, which is an office space in central London available for charities and community groups to use free of charge.

Fiona brings nearly two decades of experience working in strategic HR across the health and charity sectors.

Claire Kennedy and Simon Morioka, joint chief executives of PPL, said Lavery’s “passion for workplace culture and building and sustaining psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces will ensure we can continue to deliver the very best work for our clients and partners in change.”

Lavery, who joins from WaterAid where she was global leadership and employee experience director, said her focus would be on ensuring the overall employee experience supports individuals and teams to maximise their strengths and work in an effective and efficient way to deliver outstanding client work.

Lavery is an associate member of the CIPD and is studying with Cranfield Management School on organisational behaviour and leadership.

Bill Buchan, Sodexo UK and Ireland

Food services firm Sodexo UK and Ireland has appointed Bill Buchan as its new HR director.

He will join the UK and Ireland regional leadership team while maintaining his role within Sodexo’s global HR leadership team.

The firm said that with his experience in building, developing and engaging high performing teams across different countries, he would play a key role in driving service excellence among teams working on client sites and ensuring the organisation has the right talent to support its continuing growth.

Buchan joined Sodexo in 2009 as HR director for health and care in the UK and Ireland, before progressing to various senior global HR roles. This includes senior vice president for its global HR operations, where he was responsible for the HR strategy and strategic HR projects.

Before joining, he held various HR positions in the UK and internationally with BAE Systems, Airbus and BG Group.

Angus MacGregor, Shaw Gibbs

Accountancy and tax advisory firm Shaw Gibbs has announced the appointment of Angus MacGregor as its new chief people officer as of this month.

MacGregor has worked for three decades in the financial services and legal sectors as both a legal and HR professional. He said he was passionate about developing talent management and people strategies that deliver rewarding careers while aligned with business growth.

He added: “It is clear that [CEO] Peter O’Connell, his leadership and the Apiary team are passionate about developing the people side of the business as part of their overall strategy.”

O’Connell said: “Scaling sustainably demands more than headcount growth; it requires investment in how we empower professionals at every tier, from those who are on the first rung of their career ladder to strategic hires. Angus will help us build a people strategy and lead the HR teams, including recruitment and learning and development at Shaw Gibbs. His position will be pivotal in countless ways.”

Sarah Williams, OCS

Facilities management firm OCS has appointed Sarah Williams as its new chief people officer for the UK and Ireland.

The company said her role would focus on delivering people-led initiatives that enable every OCS employee to thrive and embedding the firm’s values into everyday practices. By aligning leadership and development frameworks with its values, Williams would seek to embed a culture in which wellbeing, belonging and a sense of purpose were central to the employee experience, it added.

With experience across services, construction, distribution and retail sectors, Williams has a passion for people-led initiatives and is committed to creating a culture where frontline employees feel valued and empowered to perform at their best.

She said: “To lead effectively, I need to experience the reality of our employees’ roles. That means spending time on the frontline, shadowing shifts, and engaging directly with teams to understand their challenges and how we can better support them. Our values are not just words; they are already being lived across OCS.”

Beth Conway, UKG

Multinational technology firm specialising in workforce and HR management UKG has appointed Beth Conway as chief people officer. Reporting to chief executive officer Jennifer Morgan, Conway will lead on talent acquisition, total rewards, people operations and employee relations.

With more than 25 years of HR experience, Conway has led transformational HR technology initiatives and has experience supporting mergers and acquisitions, and providing environmental, social, and governance guidance.

Most recently, Conway served as executive vice president and chief people and places officer at AI market firm Nuance Communications, but has previously led a global HR organisation and worked at enterprise management software engineering organisation CA Technologies.

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Conway said: “UKG’s growth aspirations are both bold and attainable, and our ability to rapidly scale the business depends heavily on how we develop, support, and empower our people.”

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