Simon Cowdroy

Commercial, business-led Head of HR with extensive experience leading people strategy in complex, highly regulated and fast-paced environments across manufacturing, supply chain, and food production. Known for being highly organised, calm under pressure, and for building trusted relationships with Boards and senior leaders, shaping culture, and delivering pragmatic HR solutions that directly support business performance. Brings deep 'lived experience' of organisational change, including growth, acquisition, separation, and restructuring, with a hands-on, fair, and values-led approach.

Highly credible with both leadership teams and frontline workforces; combines strategic thinking with disciplined execution to create organisations where people, performance, and culture align.

Head of Human Resources (Humber) at ABP (2020-10 – 2026-03)

Member of the Humber Regional Leadership Team with full accountability for the HR agenda across four ports. The Humber region represented over 50% of ABP's total turnover and profit, making it one of the organisation's most strategically critical areas.

• Member of the ABP HR Leadership Team, contributing to organisation-wide people strategy, policy, and major change initiatives. Selected as part of the top 75 leaders attending company-wide conferences and strategy events.
• Led and delivered significant organisational change across the region, including reviews of contracts, terms and conditions, workforce structures, and ways of working, delivering c.£4m in sustained annual labour savings.
• Successfully negotiated long-term pay agreements for the first time in recent history, providing workforce stability while enabling cost-effective, long-term commercial contracts with new and existing customers.
• Consistently exceeded key people KPIs, including absence, turnover, and headcount management, while improving employee engagement year on year.
• Played a key HR leadership role in continuous improvement initiatives across all functions, contributing to c.£15m per annum in cost savings, with a significant proportion attributable to people-related efficiencies, while maintaining positive employee and industrial relations through a partnership-based approach.

Senior HR Project Manager (Contract) at Creative Foods (2020-01 – 2020-09)

Appointed as strategic HR lead for the mobilisation of two new ambient and chilled manufacturing facilities, designing organisation structures, grading, pay frameworks, and HR systems to ensure operational readiness.

• Recruited and mobilised 200+ employees, including leadership and HR teams; all HR deliverables completed on time and in full.

People Director at The Authentic Food Company (2015-01 – 2019-12)

Led the full HR agenda across three UK&I sites for a leading frozen food manufacturer; supported business growth as turnover doubled to c.£90m.

• Led acquisition and integration of a new site (c.170 employees), building a future-fit organisation and recruiting over 150 new roles across leadership, technical, and operational teams.
• Designed and embedded group-wide HR standards, policies, and best practice frameworks.
• Introduced a new labour model and talent strategy, delivering a 20% cost saving while improving flexibility and engagement.

Head of HR, UK & Ireland Supply Chain at HJ Heinz (2000-01 – 2014-12)

Owned and delivered the HR agenda across six manufacturing sites supplying UK&I and global markets.

• Led HR through a major separation programme, preparing multiple sites for sale and subsequently reintegrating them into the core business.
• Key contributor to global HR best practice initiatives, influencing absence management, pay negotiations, and consultation processes.
• Led the European Works Council across 20+ sites and 15 unions, navigating complex industrial relations with credibility and trust.

Senior HR Leadership at Young's Bluecrest / United Biscuits (1991-01 – 2000-12)

Led HR through mergers, integrations, large-scale redundancies, and workforce redesign in high-volume manufacturing environments.

• Built robust performance management and appraisal frameworks, improving retention of critical skills and leadership capability.

CIPD level 7