Business Culture Awards | View our Judges

Business Culture Awards Judges are part of a growing community of professionals who are passionate about exceptional culture, and seeking to make the workplace a more engaging, collaborative and productive place.

Meet the Judges

JJ Thakkar
Global Human Resources Director
TE Connectivity

Jairaj (JJ) Thakkar is an experienced global HR leader with experience in both corporate and consulting sectors. He held various international senior leadership positions at GE, Rolls-Royce plc, Equinor, Merrill Lynch/Bank of America and Aon based in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Prior to his career in HR, JJ served as a diplomat and founded an IT consulting firm specialising in online training.

He has a deep understanding and experience in all aspects of human capital management and strategic consulting. JJ specialises in working with leadership teams on driving business results through the intersection of strategy, talent, and culture. With a distinct focus on leading large-scale complex change, JJ’s areas of expertise include developing top talent, change management, systematic process improvement, and helping organisations thrive in dynamic conditions.

He is an experienced board member and currently serves on the Board of Durham University and is a Trustee for Reach South Academy Trust.

JJ is a Fellow of The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

Ceri Connolly

HRD Insurance, Pensions & Investments and Interim Group DE&I Director

Lloyds Banking Group

Andrea Kilgour

People Director, UK Operations

Domestic & General

Simon Youngs

Talent & Leadership Consultant

Williams Racing

Lena Tailor

VP Talent Development, Business Partnering & Inclusion

GoCardless

Jo Franco-Wheeler

VP, Culture & Inclusion

Viasat

Zsolt Boros

Global Director People & Culture

Dorchester Collection

Fran Williams

Human Resources Director UK&I

DFDS

Rebekah Heaven

Head – Future of Work & Advocacy Strategy

Standard Chartered

John Shurmer

Director – Head of Talent & Development Coverage – Group Technology

Barclays

Kate Griffiths-Lambeth

Director

DEMAT

Nadine Bainbridge

Vice President – HR and Global Talent & Learning

PlayStation

Nichola-Jayne Thomas

HR Director

Elis UK

Karen Terry Weymouth

HR Strategy Director

University of Warwick

Phil Vickers

Chief People Officer

Foresters

Adam Lancaster

Former Global Director of Learning & Development

Coupang

Sarah Hopkins

Global HR Director

Financial Times

Sasha Watson

Chief People & Culture Officer

Beam

Jane Embley

Chief People Officer

Northumbria University

Sufia Sheikh-Hussain

Inclusion, Equity & Belonging Director

VML

Lisa Robbins

Vice President Partner Resources EMEA

Starbucks

Sunil Balakrishnan

Chief Values Officer

UST

Stephanie Atkinson

Vice President HR

ESW

Corinne Mills

Chief People Officer

Alzheimer’s Society

Sue Swanborough

Group HRD

Aquila Food Group Holdings

Bernadette Thompson

Executive Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Aggie Cooke

Director, Global People Strategy

Royal Canin

Glynis Scarcio

Head of Culture and Change

Legal & General

James Hartley

Interim Strategic People Planning Lead

Leeds Building Society

Kate Billyard

People Experience Director

Staff Base

Simon Clements

Talent Director

Drax Group

Carrie Westwell

Director of People & Culture

Bensons for Beds

Simon Gosney

Head of Learning & Development

Dimensions UK

Natasha Whittaker

Director of HR

Games Global

Tim Pointer

Operating Partner & Portfolio Chief People Officer

Three Hills

Heidi Khoshtaghaza

Group HR Director

Bellway Homes

David Frost

Group People & Organisational Development Director

Dole

Claire Smith

People & Culture Director

Hamid Motraghi

Director of Health Equity and Inclusion

North East and North Cumbria NHS

Caroline Smith

Head of HR

The Football Association

Craig McCoy

People Director

Anchor

Claire Thomas

Director Organisational Development and Talent

Penguin Random House UK

Devi Virdi

Non-Executive Director

CSSC

Dean Corbett

Chief People Officer

Unibuddy

Kate Muller

Chief People Officer

Caseware

Charlotte West

Head of Employee Engagement

XPS Pensions Group

Olu Alade

Head of D&I Policy, Data and Insights

Ministry of Justice

Ed Smyth

Head of Talent Management, Performance & Engagement

Sky

Nadine Anderson

People, Culture & Engagement Lead

Westminster City Council

Claire Wilkinson

HR Lead – Wellbeing, ERGs and Functions

AECOM

Liz Pannaman

Organisational Development Lead

Transport for London

Wayne Clarke

Award-Winning Leadership & Management Expert

Sandra Johnson
Ex Civil Servant
& Social Mobility Advocate

Founder of Sandra Johnson Consultancy dedicated to supporting career development and personal branding. A certified CMI coach with 35 years’ experience in strategic communications and policy. I’ve successfully navigated my career across Whitehall, and FTSE listed companies in the UK and India. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), an Accredited Commercial Specialist and Assessor for the Government Commercial Function. As a champion of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, social mobility and wellbeing, I serve as a UN Women UK delegate for Gender Equality and a Judge for the Business Culture Awards.