Jackie Orme, former chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, died yesterday evening after losing the battle with pancreatic cancer.
Orme, who was only 46, headed the organisation from April 2008 until her condition was diagnosed in the summer of 2011.
She had worked in HR for 17 years, starting her career in the steel industry. Orme subsequently joined Pepsico’s Walkers Snack Food division, before rising to become Pepsico’s chief people officer in the UK and Ireland, a role she held for almost seven years before moving to the CIPD.
Gill Rider, the Institute’s president told its in-house publication, People Management: “We are devastated by Jackie’s death and we have all lost an inspirational leader who was so ambitious for our HR profession. She managed to connect in a deeply personal way with so many of us – we have lost a good friend.”
Rider also sent her own and the CIPD’s deepest sympathies to Orme’s husband David and two young daughters, who were with her at her bedside when she passed away and could “remember her achievements with great pride”.
Peter Cheese, who recently took over as chief executive, said: “Jackie was extraordinarily influential in the profession not only for her vision and passion, but also because of deep values and humanity. Her colleagues are deeply saddened to lose such a leader and friend.”
He added: “We are all the better for having known her and had her as a leader of the profession, and I am determined to build on her legacy and vision for the future.”
