Hawksford has appointed a recognised industry leader with 20 years of global human resources experience as its Chief People Officer.
Richard Summerfield has strategic and operational responsibility for Hawksford’s people function and all related human resources (HR) activities for nearly 450 colleagues across Europe and Asia. His focus will be the integration of acquisitions, hybrid working, employee experience, recruitment, employee development, performance management as well as employee benefits and rewards.
A former Institute of Directors ‘Young Director of the Year’ winner (2016) and Fellow of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development), Richard was most recently Chief People Officer at Ocorian and a member of its Executive Board. He is a founding council member of the Jersey Good Business Charter and has held a number of business advisory positions throughout his career.
Richard commented: “I am passionate about the ‘future world of work’ and have already begun implementing a strategy across the business as we focus on Hawksford’s employee experience and ensuring we are in a position to attract and retain the very best talent in our industry across all of our global locations. My initial impression of Hawksford’s culture has been very positive and the company already offers a hybrid, flexible and collaborative working model.
“2020 brought unprecedented challenges to how businesses approach their working environment, culture, and employment practices, presenting real opportunities to design a modern and productive working experience for everyone, allowing for an optimised work-life balance”.
Michel van Leeuwen, Hawksford Group Chief Executive, said: “Richard brings forward-thinking and commercially focused leadership and his achievements in the industry are significant. As a growing business in a highly competitive global market, it is imperative that Hawksford offers an exceptional employee experience that covers all aspects of their expectations and needs.
“Hawksford is on a strong growth trajectory over the coming years, and ensuring colleagues are valued and that we are able to attract new talent is vital as we push ahead with our strategic plans”.
