Drew Kitterringham

Can you tell me about yourself?

DK: I’m Drew, I’m from Sheffield and Yorkshire born and bred. I don’t have many hobbies to be honest with you. I think I’m very much work focused.

I’ve had a lot of experience in recruitment and in the L&D space. I’ve spent a lot of my time working on scaling up businesses, but I’ve mostly worked in the technology scale-up space.

I started my career at Plusnet, which was acquired by BT. I’ve done contracts in regulatory ISO compliance and scaled up a group of five companies called Alchemists. I also worked in education and technology before joining GLAS in May 2022. Initially brought in to handle recruitment, I’ve since taken on broader HR responsibilities to support the business’s growth.

As the Global Head of People, I oversee payroll, recruitment, HR operations, and compliance to manage the employee experience at GLAS. I have also been working closely with the US team to support their development and scale-up.

That’s me in a nutshell.

Why did you decide to go into the financial services sector?

DK: There are two reasons, really.

First, I met Mia. Our values aligned, especially around developing and enhancing people.

Second, because of GLAS’ expansion into the international arena. This was a great opportunity for my professional development and a good area for me to learn. I was fortunate that Mia gave me the chance. When I joined GLAS, we were at around 160 employees now, we’re well over 400. This is a big scale-up, especially on an international level.

Could you name some challenges that you found with this job and how you and your team have been able to overcome them?

DK: Yes, one of the challenges we face is supporting the people agenda during mergers and acquisitions. This is a new area for us.

Managing sites is also a challenge. Ensuring we have the right people at the right time to service our clients is crucial to GLAS’ USP: putting clients first.

I have a real passion for people, so ensuring everyone is supported and that our HR team is accessible is very important to me. It’s crucial that people feel comfortable talking to us.

What would you say is the most interesting aspect of your work at GLAS?

DK: The unifying of our payroll.

We’re doing a big technology project to make sure employees have access to their pay and pay slips. This is a core thing to do; as an employee, you shouldn’t have to think about it. But the complexities of delivering that across all jurisdictions in a unified approach is interesting, especially with all the nuances and rules and regulations around each jurisdiction, because each one is uniquely different for the employees in each country.

Can you discuss with me any recent achievements or milestones that you’ve helped GLAS or your team to reach?

DK: Bringing people in to the business, across the organisation to make sure that we are satisfying client demand and need.

That has been very much down to a member of my team, Alex, who has done a lot of work around that.

It’s something we talk about and work on every single day. There isn’t a day where we’re not thinking about how we can move that agenda forward to make sure that we’re attracting and bringing on the best talent for the organisation.

What do you think makes the GLAS culture unique?

DK: I think the GLAS culture is quite entrepreneurial.

You have a greater opportunity to shape your destiny here, which isn’t something you always get in a business.

GLAS employees care about GLAS and its success and have a direct influence by sharing ideas, knowledge, and best practices.

Everyone within their teams will also support each other and go the extra mile for their colleagues which is great

How does your title reflect your responsibilities, and how has your team’s structure changed with the organisation’s growth?

DK: My role has evolved over time. I started as the Global TA Manager, then became the Head of Talent and Engagement, and now I’m the Global Head of People.

In HR, there are two main areas: HR operations and the strategic side.

The HR operations include making sure people get paid, recruiting new employees, and ensuring everyone has access to the resources they need.

The strategic side involves business partnering, policy development, and performance management.

My title reflects my responsibilities, but it also covers a wide range of tasks. If we listed everything my team does, my job title would be enormous, so we just call it “Global Head of People.”

In most organisations, HR is split into these two models. As our organisation grows, the teams that report to me are becoming small centres of excellence. This allows the business to use these resources as needed.

Would you say being a leader within GLAS is a good job, and do you enjoy it?

DK: I love being a leader at GLAS.

As an experienced leader, I appreciate the flexibility GLAS offers in my leadership approach. Everyone needs different things from their managers, which is why it’s great that GLAS lets me tailor my leadership allowing me to support my team in the best way possible.

I operate on trust, and I’m grateful to Mia, Jo and the Board for trusting me with our initiatives. Trust and flexibility are key to maintaining high psychological safety within my team.

Being a leader is about being fair and consistent, and ensuring people are as successful, if not more, than you. Whether it’s small wins or big wins, I thrive on seeing my team achieve.

When the team delivers, you often don’t see the work behind it, but they’re excellent at delivering to the business, and that makes me proud.

I measure my success by their success, and that’s what I enjoy most.

How do your past leadership roles compare to your current role at GLAS, and how have they influenced your approach?

DK: I’ve had teams of one and teams of 160. All my previous roles have involved managing, developing, and working with people.

Some of my team members have worked with me before and applied to work with me again at GLAS. It’s rewarding when people want to be managed by you again. A big part of why employees stay at a company is the relationships they have with their line managers, which I see as a compliment.

My GLAS team is entrepreneurial and agile, making my role more hands-on and initiative-driven. It’s about providing practical support and knowledge, not just giving instructions. For example, some days I might be conducting interviews for recruitment, on other days, I could be working on processes and payroll or updating information to ensure compliance with reports.

My approach is consultative, focusing on our medium-and long-term goals to support the strategic objectives of the business. Everything we do in HR aligns with GLAS’s mission, vision, and strategic direction. Our job is to support the staff.

Top tips for being in a leadership role?

DK: Stability for your own learning is number one.

Second, research. Read up and don’t wait for someone to tell you how to be a leader. Learn about different leadership styles and take that on board.

Third, listen. You should be listening twice as much as you’re speaking when you’re leading.

Fourth, it’s about having a human connection. Understand what’s important to your colleagues. You can’t be their best friend, but you also can’t be so disconnected that there’s no relationship. Strike a balance and understand the level of connection each person needs to be a successful leader.