I work with ambitious companies to help them grow, change and thrive. I do this as a fractional or contract Chief People Officer, Head of People/Talent, Coach, HR Business Partner, or Talent Acquisition Consultant. Need help building talent, leadership and culture? Let's connect on LinkedIn.

I also release music. I post here about work and creativity.


People & Culture

My mission is to connect human potential with purposeful work to have impact at scale. I use my transformation, design thinking, strategic and operational P&C/EX/HR skills to grow the talent, leadership, and culture that achieves high-performing outcomes for teams and customers.

I do this as a fractional or contract Chief People Officer, Head of People/Talent, Coach, HR Business Partner, or Talent Acquisition Consultant.

I have previously led large-scale change, recruitment, talent management and core HR for great brands. I have leadership experience in startup/scale-up and enterprise organisations. My recent work has been in banking, travel tech and fintech.

What people say

💡
Mathew’s superpower is his ability to rapidly drive understanding, create momentum, and deliver outcomes in spaces of high ambiguity and change. As a self-described business-person who happens to work in HR, Mathew’s people and commercial acumen is astute and clear. As a partner and consultant, Mathew is incisive, considered, and brings a strong critical thinking lens and connection to strategy. As a leader, Mathew actively championed talent and development, bringing constructive challenge and insight to what our team needed to succeed, and leaning in to make this a reality. I valued working with Mathew and feel richer for the experience. I hope to do so again in the future.

—ASB Bank
🎯
Mat went above and beyond, delivering more than what was originally scoped. His deep knowledge of HR best practice, coupled with his exceptional problem-solving skills, was instrumental in navigating the project's complexities, ensuring a seamless and successful implementation.

Prior to this, I also had the pleasure of working under Mat at Open, where he demonstrated exceptional knowledge in HR practices, strategic talent management, and overall HR vision and execution. Mat's ability to balance strategic vision with detailed execution was truly inspiring.

I highly recommend Mat to anyone seeking a proficient HR fractional leader or contractor. His expertise and pragmatic approach make him an invaluable asset to any team.

—Flux Federation

Experience

2024 | Fractional People & Culture Leader, HR Contractor

Startups & enterprises

Consulting on HR strategy, change, transformation, org design, employee experience, strategic workforce planning, talent acquisition, recruitment and selection, talent management, succession planning, performance management, and coaching.

2023 - 2024 | Head of People Partnering (Enablement & Transformation)

Banking

Led a team of Senior HRBPs and partnered the EGM Technology & Operations and Chief Transformation Officer. Executed divisional people strategies to enable technological and organisational transformation through a period of unprecedented change/restructuring.

2022 - 2023 | Head of People, Performance & Culture (Technology, Product & Design)

Travel tech SME

Leadership team member partnering with Executives across a portfolio representing ~70% of the employee population. Growing culture and accelerating business performance in a context of heritage systems change and tech sector headwinds.

2022 | Chief People Officer

Series B fintech

Executive team member of a fintech and digital insurance company in hypergrowth across three territories. Established a new People & Culture function to build the organisation and ways of working to win in a disruptive market. 

2019 - 2021 | Senior HR Business Partner, Digital

Airline

Strategic business partner to Chief Digital Officer. Led HR change and transformation initiatives and the seamless execution of the full HR cyclical and operational activity along the employee journey.

2013 - 2019 | Senior Manager, Talent

Airline

Led the global talent function (four direct reports; 21 in total), delivering executive search, lateral and volume recruitment as well as talent management and succession planning for the Senior Leadership Team.


Music

I'm a songwriter and recording artist. One of my projects was to create a new band from scratch—remotely, using agile principles—and record on a 1939 lightship moored on the River Thames 18,000 kilometres from home. I've toured through Japan, South Africa and Australasia.

Selected work:

  • Magnalith, Oblivion (2023) — post-metal solo project
  • Domes, Vol. I (2020) recorded on a 1939 lightship moored on the River Thames 18,000 kilometres from home [metal, space rock]
  • Decortica, Love Hotel (2010) alt-rock, prog rock concept album