Leading with Courage Challenging Conventions, The Missed Opportunity Jane Smith Chief People Officer
Our latest episode featuring Jane Smith, Chief People Officer at Curo Homes and former People Director at BT. Jane’s career spans some of the world’s biggest names, including Harrods, Tesco, and Mothercare, where she’s led significant transformations and proven herself as a true leader and collaborator.
In this episode, we dive deep into her unique experiences, from navigating cultural complexities as the only foreign, female director in a highly hierarchical, male-dominated environment in South Korea, to redefining the role of the Chief People Officer as a strategic partner to the business. Jane also shares valuable insights on leadership, resilience, and how to foster a culture of inclusivity and impact in any organization.
If you’re interested in learning what it truly means to lead with courage, challenge conventions, and build bridges between people and business, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Imagine taking a role in a foreign country, South Korea, where you are not only the only female director but also one of only two English speaking Directors, would you do it? How might you cope and what can you learn from it?
Hello and welcome to The Impact Room. In this episode Michelle Ansell, Managing Partner at Douglas Jackson, is joined by an exceptional guest, Jane Smith. Currently the Chief People Officer at Curo Group a not for profit Housing Association, Jane has had an impressive career journey, previously serving as People Director at BT and holding senior, global roles in major retailers such as Mothercare, and Tesco. Jane's wealth of experience goes beyond the traditional HR domain, she’s a true collaborator with both operational and commercial skills.
In our conversation, we explore Jane's unique insights into leadership, her time working in South Korea as the only foreign female director in a hierarchical, male-dominated environment, and her thoughts on navigating the challenges of aligning people and business goals.
Jane is also a passionate advocate to the benefits of job sharing and how this is often a misunderstood and underutilised tool in todays corporate world.
Jane shares some fantastic insights, lived experience, thoughts on growth, development, opportunity, how to help CEOs achieve a better outcome, as well as how CEOs can get more from their HR Director and Chief People Officer.
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The Impact Room Podcast from Douglas Jackson, where exceptional, diverse, impactful leadership and wisdom is shared.
#Douglasjackson #chiefpeopleofficer #hrdirector #housingassociation #ceo #corporate #corporatelife #jobshare #jobsharing #opportunities #femaleleadership #diversityandinclusion Intro Music: “Podcast Background Music While Talking – No Copyright” by @PodcastBackgroundMusic. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY 3.0)