Having found this area of business management through his first placement in a graduate trainee programme at Proctor & Gamble, Mark Simmons has stayed in HR ever since.
He was offered his first real job before completing the graduate course when a member of the HR team left and subsequently offered him a position as lead for the manufacturing part of Revlon International. With that move, Simmons became responsible for around 1000 people.
“That really grew my experience and career,” he says. “It gave me experience as an HR generalist, dealing with everything including Trade Unions and employer relations.”
Simmons moved on to become HR manager across a number of sites for Body Shop before taking on a role at Christian Salvesen as an HR Business Partner. He’s stayed in the transport and logistics sector ever since, working for Norbert Dentressangle, XPO and finally GXO. Unsurprisingly his career has included foreign experience and given him a view over international businesses. He has also guided the people function – and through this the wider businesses – through a number of take-overs and significant business deals, as well as ensuring the companies he works for have not just the people they require but the skills necessary to lead in their sectors.
Strategy and tactics
The breadth of experience offered by these roles, alongside the influence achieved has always attracted Simmons and ensured he’s pushed forward in the function: “HR requires strategic and tactical leadership,” he says. “At the same time you have to be close to the business and be able to articulate the direction of the business. It’s a role where you can influence every part of the organisation.” His role at GXO has been particularly influential and incredibly important as the business has grown from 5000 people to 40,0000, now enjoying a £3bn turnover.
