‘It’s a huge honour to be recognised by HRD Global 100 after a year of profound change’
As we head further into 2021, our expectations of leadership continue to change. Gone are the archaic ideals of silent, faceless executive teams – with COVID-19 ushering in a new era of human-centric management.
In that vein, HRD recently announced our Global 100 2021 – a definitive list of the best and brightest HR practitioners across the world. HR leaders in New Zealand really stepped it up, with five leaders landing a place on the prestigious list.
New Zealand Global 100 winners, in alphabetical order:
- Kimberly Ford, Cordis Auckland by Langham Hospitality Group
- Debbie Kirby, Downer New Zealand
- Michelle Banfield, Fonterra
- Richard Parker, The Warehouse Group
- Mark O'Connell, Vocus New Zealand
“It’s been a huge honour to be recognised by HRD Global 100 after a year of profound change at The Warehouse Group,” added Richard Parker, CHRO, “This year has seen the HR team play a pivotal role in enabling TWG to become the first multi-brand retailer in the world to flip to a fully agile way of working, jointly lead the transformation of our store network’s operating model and manage two national lockdowns due to COVID-19.”
Read more: Future of work and the engagement crisis
There’s no denying that New Zealand was a shining example of how to lead through a pandemic. Prime Minister Ardern was lauded as the most successful leader in COVID-19, with Auckland successfully eradicating the virus in quick time.
Looking ahead to 2021, HR will continue to play a pivotal role as a strategic business partner. Now recognised as a key player by the C-suite, HR finally has a well-deserved seat at the boardroom table.
“Some key trends for my team in 202 will be the need to identify the changing capability and skill requirements being driven by a significant increase in online shopping accelerated by COVID-19, and then sourcing that capability (both within TWG and globally where required),” continued Parker.
Read more: Future of work: Does HR have the skills to survive?
“The demand for supply chain expertise, IS Dev ops talent, data scientists, digital marketers continued to grow exponentially due to the huge shift to online shopping in New Zealand. Another key issue is the need to significantly increase investment in upskilling and reskilling our employees - the types of skills and capability needed in the retail environment constantly evolve due to changing technology and customer habits.”
Take a look at HRD’s Global 100 full list here.