Tim Hopgood appointed as new HR Director for Howden UK & Ireland

London, 9 February 2023 – Howden, the international insurance broker, today announces the appointment of Tim Hopgood to the newly created role of HR Director, Howden UK & Ireland. This role reflects the importance Howden places on its ‘people first’ principles and on the retention and attraction of top talent to drive its ambitious growth strategy. Hopgood’s appointment was effective from 30 January and he reports to Carl Shuker, CEO, Howden UK & Ireland, and Diahann Williams, Group HR Director, Howden Group.

Hopgood brings with him over 20 years of experience in HR, having worked for a number of companies, including Lloyds Banking Group and Starbucks Coffee Co. He joins Howden from Danone, where he spent the last 12 years in a variety of roles, most recently as Business Services HR Director. Hopgood has a proven track record in the management of people, projects and transformation, and has had a significant impact on organisations that have seen a strong rate of growth and pace of change.

Carl Shuker, CEO, Howden UK & Ireland, commented: “Tim’s appointment comes at a critical time for us as we undertake the integration of our UK and Ireland businesses. 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.”

Howden UK & Ireland is a leading British and Irish insurance broker, providing clients with an ‘end to end’ insurance offering delivered in a seamless way. The business comprises 5,000 employees across 180 high street branches and offices, servicing some 1.5 million clients from private individuals to businesses large and small across general insurance, employee benefits, healthcare and mortgage advice.

Hopgood added: “I am thrilled to be joining Howden, a company that has a culture of employee ownership at its core. 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.”