Tim Hopgood is the first HR director for Howden UK & Ireland, bringing over two decades of relevant experience to the newly created role.
The appointment took effect starting Jan. 30 and placed Hopgood under the leadership of Howden UK & Ireland CEO Carl Shuker and group HR director Diahann Williams.
Hopgood has spent more than 20 years in HR roles in companies such as Lloyds and Starbucks Coffee. He has built a reputation for the management of people, projects, and transformation, and has had a significant impact on organisations with a strong rate of growth or pace of change. Hopgood most recently served at Banone, where he acted as the company’s business services HR director.
“Tim’s appointment comes at a critical time for us as we undertake the integration of our UK and Ireland businesses,” said Carl Shuker, CEO for Howden UK & Ireland. “To optimise success, we must ensure we have the best HR operating model, infrastructure, and tools to support our colleagues through this exciting period of accelerated growth. Tim will provide the necessary level of leadership and influence to effectively guide us whilst we integrate and evolve our people development practices, policies, and talent acquisition, whilst ensuring our exceptional client service remains in place.”
Hopgood said that Howden’s “people first” attitude was what first attracted him to the role of HR director at Howden UK & Ireland.
“I am thrilled to be joining Howden, a company that has a culture of employee ownership at its core,” he said. “Its ‘people first’ attitude enables Howden to truly engage and support its employees in all areas, something that especially attracted me to the role. It will be hugely rewarding to be part of a company that has such a fantastic growth trajectory, and I am very excited to join the HR team at this important time for the business.”
Howden UK & Ireland is a newly consolidated, leading British and Irish insurance broker. Its business comprises 5,000 employees across 180 branches and offices, and 1.5 million clients across general insurance, employee benefits, healthcare, and mortgage advice.
