When a new HR leader steps in, it’s rarely just a routine move - it’s a signal of change. Growth plans. Culture shifts. Pay pressures. Restructures.

In the data-driven world revenue teams live in, it’s easy to miss the human story behind senior HR appointments. Not anymore.

There are only so many C-level and Director-level HR hires each year - these are your best possible prospects, and they deserve proper attention.

At Honch, we don’t just track these key buyers - we research them.

Every day, we analyse every senior HR hire across the UK to uncover what’s really driving the move, through four simple lenses:

• ‍Company growth and challenges
• ‍Existing HR strategy and partners
• ‍Employee feedback
• ‍Immediate priorities for the new hire

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Here are just a few of the moves made in the first three days of this week - and the people challenges they’ll be tackling first.

🛒 James Goodman - Chief People Officer, Asda

From Tesco to Asda, James steps into one of the toughest HR jobs in retail. With 140,000 employees, a £4.9bn debt load, and recent strikes, Asda’s transformation hinges on people strategy as much as pricing.

Top challenges:

• Rebuilding colleague trust and repairing union relations
• Upgrading leadership training and accountability
• Using HR data and analytics to link people strategy with performance

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🚴‍♀️ Hayley Standen - Chief People Officer, Rapha Racing

Rapha’s culture is legendary, but after six years of pre-tax losses, the brand’s next chapter needs fresh people thinking. Enter Hayley, from M&S, bringing big retail HR experience to a creative brand.

Top challenges:

• Balancing cost discipline with employee engagement
• Building clear career paths and stronger leadership capability
• Keeping the cycling culture alive while formalising HR structures

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🧩 Ciaran Condren - Director of People & Culture, Auxilion UK

Auxilion’s on a £15m UK expansion drive, adding 30 more jobs and scaling fast. That’s great news - but rapid growth brings pressure.
Pay gaps, communication strains, and culture drift are already showing up in employee feedback.

Top challenges:

• Recruiting enough skilled staff to match growth
• Keeping culture intact through expansion
• Reviewing benefits to stay competitive

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🌍 Victoria Buck - HR Director, Ocorian Corporate Services

Global growth has been good to Ocorian, but integration hasn’t been easy. Rapid expansion, high workloads, and low pay reviews have tested morale.

Top challenges:

• Aligning UK people plans with global strategy
• Tackling pay compression and workload fatigue
• Embedding consistency through global HR systems

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🚆 Julie Reynolds - Director of HR Transformation, Hitachi Rail

Big engineering. Big change. Hitachi Rail faces supply chain pressures, leadership turnover, and HS2 uncertainty - all with a massive workforce to steady.

Top challenges:

• Fixing leadership confidence and communication
• Embedding SAP SuccessFactors for smarter HR decisions
• Boosting engagement across technical and project teams

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🏫 Sue Wood - HR Director, Minerva Learning Trust

Fresh from Sheffield City Council, Sue joins a growing education trust that’s just doubled in size through merger.

Top challenges:

• Harmonising HR systems and policies across 10 schools
• Recruiting and retaining teachers in a tight talent market
• Embedding wellbeing and professional development trust-wide

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🧀 Ann Baxter - HR Director, Supply Chain, Saputo Dairy UK

Saputo’s famous for Cathedral City and Clover, but behind the brand is a business juggling restructuring, closures, and new plant-based ventures.

Top challenges:

• Managing sensitive change amid facility closures
• Maintaining morale and communication across sites
• Accelerating talent retention in supply chain and operations

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And this is just a snapshot

We’ve already tracked 472 new HR appointments this week - each one signalling opportunity. Behind every move are businesses reshaping their people strategy, tackling retention, or rebuilding culture.

Get personal in seconds, with Bernard.

Behind every new hire is a human story - Bernard helps you find it.

He reads every appointment, every signal of change, and every company update, surfacing the HR leaders facing the exact challenges you can help solve. Then he turns those insights into tailored introductions that speak directly to their story - and yours.

Because great outreach isn’t about chasing data points - it’s about understanding people, timing, and the change they’re leading. Bernard helps you do exactly that.

Find out who’s been hired, what’s changing, and where your next opportunity starts.