Currently the HR Director at Wilkins Kennedy, Adrian Glynn spills the beans on his career to date.

All the previous career profiles can also be seen in the special How Did I Get Here? page.

Current job title

Director of HR, Wilkins Kennedy

Describe your initial training within the profession

I transferred into HR when I was working for BAe (British Aerospace), after a career in management accounting. I was sponsored by my firm to take a Diploma in Management Studies and, some years later, to do a part-time MBA. Most of my learning was, I have to say, experiential and as part of an HR team.

What positions have you held?

In the past 6 years, HR Manager in a Swedish Engineering Company; promoted to HR & Quality Director there, prior to my move to WK two years ago. Before all that, I’d spent 20 years in various accounting roles in a number of industries followed by a spell in Project Management and then Change Management/Organisation Development/HR within the Space Industry.

Is there a significant event you can tell us about which had an impact on your career?

I think two; training as a facilitator with BAe at a time of great change – and being part of that – and later, managing a small project in the Far East – which necessitated me working abroad for 12 months and learning about cultural differences (and myself) first hand.

What has been your greatest achievement?

Apart from two children that I like? I think helping colleagues achieve more than they thought they could themselves.

Which of your colleagues played the biggest role in you getting where you are today?

A Director earlier on in my career who believed in me and was a true mentor – without using the label!

What advice would you give to someone thinking of entering the profession?

Get really good at what you do – whatever it is – and then if it isn’t valued where you are, move on. Also, learn to listen – none of us do it well enough. And have an interest outside work, something to draw pleasure from when things get difficult, as they have a habit of doing, from time to time!

About Wilkins Kennedy
Wilkins Kennedy is ranked in the Top Thirty Chartered Accounting firms in the UK. The firm is a leader in providing accounting services and business advice to owner managed businesses. In addition to our core services, we offer specialist services in HR, Corporate Finance, International Taxation, Charities and Property Investment.
www.wilkinskennedy.com

Previous How Did I Get Here? features:
Susan Stevens, Toshiba Information Systems
Irene Burwin, HMG Paint
Trevor Lakin, IPPM
Alison Clarke, Quantica
Laurence Collins, Ceridian HR Consulting
Paul Kearns, PWL
Fiona Knight, KPMG
Adrian Glynn, Wilkins Kennedy
Joanne Darling, Cooper Parry
Sue Matthews, Coventry City Council
Nichola Nair, European HR Strategic Programmes Manager for Xerox
Alison Lewis, Corporate Learning & Development Manager, Oxfam
Jessica Diggins, HR Manager, Chartered Management Institute
Linda Klassen-Brown, Group HR Manager, The Logic Group
Keith Hanlon, HR Manager, Quantum Business Media
Andrew Mayo, frequent speaker and writer on HR issues
Jim Brooks, HR Manager for ServiRail Ltd
Jean-Bertrand de Lartigue, Chairman of HR2all
Karen Caddick, Head of HR, Channel Five
Madeleine Tate
Keith Luxon, HR Policy and Reward Director, The Laurel Pub Company
Jeremy Thorn, Chairman and Director of QED Consulting
Roger Pattison, HR – Training & Management Development Consultant
Verity McVarish, HR Manager for Sift Media
Rus Slater
David Kelly, Head of Development and Training for Aventis
Jenny Kevan, UK HR Manager for Abbott Laboratories
William Martin, HR Manager, Telewest Broadband
Craig Truter, HR Manager, The Body Shop
Martin Stockton, HR Transformation Leader, Towers Perrin
Nick Heap, Consultant, New Directions
Crispin Garden-Webster, HR Specialist, Asian Development Bank
Sandra Walsh, HR Delivers
Carole Leslie, Director, IT Learning Ltd
Shaun Dunphy, Project and Process Manager, EMEA HR Service Centre for MCI
Debra Artlett, HR Officer, NGJ
Dianne Miles, HR Manager, Rollalong Ltd
Jacqui Mann, HR Manager, Integra NeuroSciences
Isabella Montgomery, Human Resources Officer at The new Housing Association
Iain Young, Head of HR for Cofathec Heatsave

Have you got any useful insights or cautionary tales regarding your career? If you would like to contribute to the ‘How Did I Get Here’ feature please email our employment correspondent: Dawn-Marie Dart

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