Strategy to Reality: Can HR be a Business Leading Function?
HR has the potential to change businesses for the better. It can change company culture but it can do more than that, leading change as businesses strategically alter direction or simply evolve in order to meet the new challenges of the markets they serve. But what does this look like in reality? What does it take to make HR a truly business leading function? Gaining credibility and a voice is one thing, designing and delivering change is another. How do AI tools and organisational data play a part in this? In this webinar we discuss the reality of HR as a pivotal force for organisations, not just facilitating change but leading change. From arguing business cases to uniting the workforce behind new ideas this is a webinar that seeks to put HR firmly in the driving seat.
Claire Hawes has worked at Ciphr for over eight years. She joined the Ciphr Group board in 2022 and was promoted from CPO to chief operating officer in 2024; with her responsibilities expanding to include customer operations and experience, compliance, and information governance, as well as leading Ciphr’s people function and company-wide strategic initiatives. In 2025, she was named one of the UK’s top 30 most influential and impactful HR leaders by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). She also won ‘Outstanding Leader in HR’ at the 2025 Rewards and Incentive Awards.
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Carly Jenner is Senior Vice President, Legal & People at Apeel Sciences and has almost 20 years’ experience leading HR across global organisations in AdTech and BioTech. She has worked across 27+ countries, partnering with founders, CEOs and leadership teams through periods of growth, transformation and organisational change. Carly is also an accredited executive coach and organisational adviser.
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Kevin has been an entrepreneur, a CEO and HRD of a FTSE 100 company. He brings a wide range of skills and experience from each of these roles to assist the organisations he works with and he specialises in businesses that want to scale up or transform. Kevin was part of the leadership team that led one of the UK’s largest ever turnarounds, transforming the Royal Mail from losing £1.5m every day to making £450m profit whilst also creating a new dynamic culture. As CEO of recruitment industry organisation the REC he repositioned and grew the organisation and in his current position he has kicked off a transformational people strategy which puts colleagues and customers first.
He’s a TEDx speaker, has published the bestselling business book Competitive People Strategy and has been interviewed live on Newsnight and Radio 4’s Today programme.
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