Strategic HR CEO of the year
Most people-focused CEO
Matthew Austin,
CEO UK and
Ireland, Lindt
and Sprüngli
Austin joined Lindt as
CEO for the UK and
Ireland in January 2018.
He is known for his collaborative and inclusive
leadership and firmly-held belief that for a
business to grow and develop, its people also
have to grow and develop. The challenge has
been to sensitively balance being respectful of
the company’s history while steering it towards
a plan for continued success. Austin says:
“Everything we do at Lindt is rooted in our
purpose of making people feel special…We’re
a high-growth business and we believe this is
only achieved as a result of individual growth
and development… We believe this growth
culture feeds our business performance, which
in turn allows us to invest in our people. It’s a
mutual way of operating that underpins
everything that we have achieved.” Little
wonder then that the UK business topped the
large business category in this year’s Great
Place to Work’s UK’s Best Workplaces, and
reported double-digit growth in 2018.
Paul Harris, CEO,
Vibe Teaching
Harris has always
recognised that leaders set
the emotional climate for
the team, and so focuses on
role-modelling behaviours
that instil a positive tone and that enhance
performance through engagement and
wellbeing. The aim is to ensure all Vibe
Teaching employees live the business’ values of
family, health and happiness. Harris starts the
day by greeting everyone with a friendly ‘hello’,
before sharing breakfast with a different group
each day and then sending someone a ‘thank
you’ message to show his gratitude for their
efforts. Such a hands-on approach has
undoubtedly contributed to the business
achieving Centre of Excellence in Wellbeing
status and topping the medium category of
2019’s Great Place To Work’s UK’s Best
Workplaces. Impressive business results have
also been achieved, including 70% of people
coming to Vibe Teaching through
word-of-mouth recommendations.
Kate Bendall and
Louise Laver,
joint managing
directors, Connect
Catering
Bendall and Laver are not
only joint managing
directors they’re also sisters, taking over from
the business’ founder (their dad) in 2014. This
gives them a strong understanding of the
importance of family and work/life balance.
The pair are apparently quick to spot any
employee who is working too many hours
when they go out and visit the company’s 72
sites. The sisters visit each site at least twice a
year and have both been known to take off
their suit jackets, roll up their sleeves, and
make a cake from scratch or do the washing up
after the Christmas lunch. The pair also
regularly bring in homemade cakes to keep
everybody going. They made all the cakes for
the May company conference for 130
employees as a thank you for all their hard
work. Which pretty much sums up their
commitment to freshly-made food, their
passion for the company, and their dedication
to the people they have working with them.
Rob Jupp, CEO,
Brightstar
Financial
Described as a “giant” of
the mortgage industry, it’s
Jupp’s vision, courage and
tenacity that staff believe
make him CEO of the year. Jupp has more
than 25 years of experience in the financial
sector. Not only has his knowledge led to the
emergence of a new business during a time
of economic uncertainty, it has also meant
the company being seen as a leading specialist
distributor. Jupp’s ability to foster an
outstanding work culture is clear; in the
most recent employee survey 94% said that
they believe management respects and values
staff, 97% said that Brightstar was a great place
to work, and 100% said they believe
management is available to discuss issues
and offer help. Staff say Jupp is a fair and
supportive boss and someone who has
been there for his teams from day one,
prioritising modesty and compassion
every step of the way.
A deeply people-focused
culture starts right at the top. A
CEO who truly gets why
engagement, wellbeing,
reward and recognition all
matter to productivity,
innovation and the overall
success of an organisation can
be the deciding factor in
whether such a culture
is achieved.
So these individuals are
well-worth celebrating. This
shortlist has been compiled
using leadership scores across
public workplace surveys: Best
Companies, Great Place to
Work, Top Employers and
Glassdoor. We looked for
people who had consistently
scored well, jumped up in
rankings, appeared on more
than one list and achieved top
approval rankings for
themselves personally as
leaders, as well as taking into
account the position of their
business in these rankings as a
whole and their achievements
over the year.
Our winner will be
announced at
the awards
gala dinner
on 2 July.
Good luck to everyone
shortlisted!
36 HR June 2019 hrmagazine.co.uk
/hrmagazine.co.uk