When Matt Wiggs was young his parents told him he was good at understanding people, arguing his point of view, speaking his mind and convincing people to do things that they didn’t know they wanted to do. On reflection Wiggs wonders whether this was actually good foundations for being a lawyer but whatever the career guidance at the time might have been, he certainly had an affinity for working and communicating with people. “Although my path has been somewhat indirect, HR is a great fit for me,” he says. “It allows me to collaborate with different people, engage with leaders, solve complex problems on a global scale and help people to recognise new opportunities or possibilities.”
His indirect career path has spanned multiple companies and countries. Working primarily in the professional services Wiggs points out that HR plays a central role in this sector. “Our people and their skills and experience are what we sell to our clients,” he says. “That makes HR integral to supporting their growth, and ours. It’s the perfect place for me.”
Rising to global challenges
Having started out in agency recruitment, working on the placement of temporary accountants across a variety of industries, Wiggs feels his career really got underway with an operational role at PwC. Working hard he took every opportunity that presented itself and progressed swiftly up the ladder. Five years on he took a place at EY, delivering on several operational, HR and project roles. He then transitioned from operations into HR and spent the next 15 years in various roles across the UK and US at one point becoming EY’s Global Talent Director for Transaction Advisory Services where he focussed on talent strategy for the business on a global basis. He then moved into global talent development, leading on the development of EY’s global career framework and career architecture.
With so much experience of EY under his belt, Wiggs decided he needed a new challenge so joined the law firm Dentons, as Europe HR Director, a move which took him to Munich and then Madrid. Four years later he took on his current role as EMEA VP of HR at FTI Consulting, again based in Madrid.
The COVID challenge
Wiggs acknowledges that moving to Munich in March 2020 at the very start of COVID was a particular challenge. A new city and job is challenging enough, but doing so in the pandemic scenario ranks among the most personally demanding experiences of his career. “It taught me what resilience really means,” says Wiggs, “especially when you are new to the firm that you are helping to navigate the same challenges from a business perspective.” Wiggs found having his husband with him, and the great environment of Munich around him was more than enough to keep him going.
Part of the attraction of HR for Wiggs is this element of difference – the ability to be working and contributing in such vastly different scenarios: “I love the fact that I get thrown new and different challenges every day,” says Wiggs.
