CRF‘s goal is to be valued for excellence, rigour, relationship building and providing an independent view which, together, lead to measurable improvement in members’ people and organisation performance.
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
Before establishing CRF, PARC and Strategic Dimensions, I had the privilege of working Senior HR roles in the US and Europe with six major international businesses including Avon, Rowntree, Unilever and Hewlett Packard. Those who were successful had a clear and compelling strategy, fostered a high-performance team-based culture, set clear objectives, employed clever people, understood the importance of customers and learned from the evaluation of outcomes.
In CRF, PARC and SD we apply these principles in the delivery of our services. We’ve built an unrivalled international network and knowledge bank in the HR and People Management communities and provide the very best advice, resourcing, research, solutions and networking to our clients.
Mike Haffenden
OUR TEAM
A blend of ex-HR practitioners, advisors and business leaders combined with senior management experience in thought leadership and forums.
Ali Akkaya
Senior Instructional Designer
Ali is responsible for designing, developing and managing the content development of interactive instructor-led courses, and technology solutions in CRF’s digital transformation process. Ali has his master’s degree in Educational Technology field, and also has over 8 years of professional experience in the field.
Melissa Bull
Commercial Director
Melissa is responsible for the growth of CRF through the acquisition of new corporate members and sponsoring partners of the annual programme as well as the growth of CRF Learning. Melissa also helps members optimise the value of their CRF membership through events, research, networking, and advisory services. Melissa brings 10 years of experience within the HR Advisory space from her experience at Korn Ferry, Hay Group and CEB.
Eloise Burns
Communications Executive
Eloise is responsible for marketing and communications across the CRF and PARC networks. As a Second-Class Honours Upper Division Business Management graduate from Henley Business School, University of Reading, she has a great expanse of knowledge within the HR and Marketing space. Her role also includes supporting the events team in both the marketing and delivery of CRF’s digital and in-person events.
Nikki Chiles
Finance Assistant
As Finance Assistant Nikki is responsible for accounts receivable for CRF and associated businesses PARC and SD. A BSc (Hons) graduate from Bath University, Nikki joined SD in 2005 as an EA and has held various positions across the three businesses.
Baris Demirer
Online Learning Team Leader
Baris is responsible for designing and developing interactive instructor-led courses, explainer videos, learning reinforcement tools, CRF’s digital transformation process and creating project plans. Working closely with subject matter experts and lead team members to design and produce top-quality learning journeys with his 8 years of experience.
Jon Evans
Membership Engagement Manager
Jon brings over 30 years’ experience of working with clients in HR and L&D, and holds a degree in Leadership and Management from the Open University. He is passionate about providing outstanding service to our members, proactively seeking to connect them with vital and relevant information.
Rachel Friend
Senior Project and Events Executive
Rachel has over five years’ experience within the events industry. At CRF, Rachel manages the core programme of member events across Europe. Alongside this, Rachel coordinates CRF Learning’s open and bespoke development programmes.
Nigel Hadleigh
Finance Director
Nigel is the Financial Controller for CRF and its associated businesses, PARC and SD. Nigel is responsible for all financial matters including accounts payable and receivable, payroll, taxation and monitoring business performance. He has extensive experience in accountancy, taxation and payroll.
Richard Hargreaves
Managing Director
Richard is responsible for the sustainable growth of CRF through delivering world-class HR content, facilitating knowledge exchange between HR professionals, focussing on future ventures and developing a great team. Prior to this role Richard was Commercial Director across CRF and PARC and previously the EMEA Sponsorship Director at The Economist Group.
Nick Holley
Director of CRF Learning
As Director of CRF Learning, Nick has responsibility to run and provide development programmes for HR teams and senior professionals. Prior to joining CRF, Nick spent 10 years at Henley Business School where he was a visiting professor and Director of the Centre for HR Excellence. He has developed and delivered HR capability programmes for organisations across the UK and Europe, and internationally.
Athena Kitching
Head of Operations
Athena leads the CRF member and events team through the effective coordination and delivery of CRF’s core programme events. She also has oversight of the CRF Learning events programme (open and bespoke in-house programmes). After graduating with a BA (Hons) Events Management and prior to joining CRF, Athena spent eight years managing events in the UK, New York and Australia.
Sara Mageit
Research Executive
Sara is responsible for supporting the content team in expanding and diversifying CRF’s digital learning and development content and resources. After graduating with a BJTC accredited BA (Hons) in Journalism and Media, and prior to joining CRF, Sara held a number of editorial roles where she gained experience in creating a range of multimedia content.
Rosanna Neary
Senior Membership Engagement Executive
As Senior Membership Engagement Executive, Rosanna assists in helping CRF members optimise the value of their membership through events, research, networking and advisory services. Prior to joining CRF, Rosanna held a number of client-facing administration roles.
Harriet Ojo
Senior Design Executive
A First-Class Honours graduate in Events Management, Harriet leads the design and layout of all printed and soft copy materials, marketing collateral, membership programmes and reports. Her role also encompasses the same responsibilities for both CRF’s sister organisations, Strategic Dimensions (SD) and Performance and Reward Centre (PARC).
Will Pemberton
Senior Projects and Events Executive
Will has over three years’ experience in serving membership communities through events and other peer-2-peer sharing opportunities. At CRF, he organises the yearly events calendar, as well as all CRF Learning programmes.
Gillian Pillans
Research Director
Gillian has worked as a senior HR practitioner and OD specialist for several organisations including Swiss Re, Vodafone and BAA. Prior to her HR career, she was a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting and is also a qualified solicitor. As Research Director, Gillian has written various CRF reports on subjects including HR strategy, organisation design and development, leadership development, talent management, coaching and diversity.
Erika Rigley-Brown
Business Development Manager
Erika engages with organisations that are committed to developing and enhancing their HR function. As a Business Development Manager with a background in delivering effective corporate relationships, Erika has more than 12 years’ experience of building and supporting valued partnerships with global organisations.
Carmen von Rohr
Research Manager
Carmen is responsible for creating, expanding, and diversifying CRF’s digital learning and development content. Prior to joining CRF, Carmen spent several years designing digital learning solutions for higher education at Cengage Learning.
Katie Shortall
Administrative Executive
As an Administrative Executive, Katie is responsible for providing administrative, event and member support, to maximise the value of CRF memberships. Prior to joining CRF, Katie held a number of event organisation and administrative roles, including a placement in New York and various positions in Dublin.
Clive Steer
Business Development Manager
Clive has over 25 years’ experience in business development, initially for large software companies such as Autonomy and for the last 12 years has specialised in Online Learning primarily with Ashridge Business School. Clive has worked with organisations globally and across all sectors to support them with implementing online learning, his role at CRF is to help expand the continued growth of the CRF network with a focus towards the CRF Learning On Demand online programme suite.
Mette Stern
Partnership Engagement Manager
Mette is responsible for helping partners optimise the value of their CRF partnership through events, research, networking and advisory services. After graduating with a BA (Hons) from Cambridge University, Mette spent over 10 years in Professional Services Marketing managing integrated campaigns and a variety of stakeholders, advising Partners on communicating with their target audience and growing their business.
John Whelan
Director
Formerly UK HR Director of BAE Systems, the FTSE 100 defence, security, and aerospace company, John’s experience and strengths lie in business and HR Transformation, Organisation Development and Employee Relations. Prior to joining BAE, he held a variety of HR roles in Engineering, Technology and Manufacturing businesses across the Telecommunications and semi-conductor industries including Matra-Marconi Space where he was HR Director for the UK and, latterly, Group HRD.
CHARITIES WE HAVE SUPPORTED IN 2021/22
Throughout the year we make donations to Charities nominated by our team members. In the last 18 months CRF, PARC and SD have donated £25,000 to the following Charities:
Testimonials
I continue to be impressed by the way Corporate Research Forum links the best of leading academic input to the real organisation and people issues faced by businesses in today’s uncertain environment. Added to that, they are always a pleasure to work with.
Amy C. Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
I thoroughly enjoyed the course and thought the content was just right. I particularly enjoyed the practical sessions where we could put some of the tools to use and I will be using these with my Business Partners.
Clare Booth, Head of Reward & People Services, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
CRF offers us access to quality research, networking, resources and meetings that energise, engage and develop our diverse Human Resources community. Feedback from our HR team is always positive, stressing the pragmatic and freshness of the discussions and ideas.
Bev Cunningham, Vice President Human Resources Europe, Ricoh Europe
Ricoh Europe
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