At school my ambition was to become a navigator in the RAF. But at my medical examination doctors discovered that I was colour blind and my world shattered. Then I received a letter stating I could join as a personnel administration clerk, and suddenly I was back on course for the RAF. That’s how I got into HR.

When I joined the RAF I soon discovered that I had cheated myself educationally and could have gone to university before joining. Instead, I went in at the lowest rank and had to work my way to the top. My ambition was to get a Queen’s commission, enabling me to hold a senior leadership position. I reached this target after 16 years on 2 August 1990, and after that my career started to move at a tremendous rate. I held a variety of positions in places such as the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia. By the time I left the service I had reached the rank of squadron leader.

I’m very goal focused. Having achieved the commission I refocused my objectives and decided to become professionally qualified. Shortly after doing so, I was selected by the RAF for a posting at an engineering base in South Wales to undertake a massive workforce restructure – changing it from military to civilian makeup. This involved work with the University of Glamorgan, and my tutors suggested I do a masters course. I then realised that I could not maximise the potential of my qualifications in the RAF. After completing the posting it was a convenient break point in my career and I soon secured my first role in the private sector with BAE Systems.

I joined Equifax from defence firm Thales in April last year. At first, the business was performing well, but then the credit crisis hit and we have had to closely watch and manage the size of our business. We have just completed a resizing programme in the UK and Ireland, which involved a number of job losses. The challenge now is to remain competitive in a sector that is under immense pressure. We always have to keep an eye on the changing market place, as if there is sudden growth we will have to take immediate steps to ensure that we can meet increased demand.

I like the fact that my job is challenging. You never know what the next day is going to look like as things change by the minute. I also enjoy the international dimension. The firm’s headquarters are in Atlanta so we have lots of dealings with America and global markets.

I seriously buy into the business partner model outlined by Dave Ulrich. It works effectively as long as you get all the key ingredients in place.

If I have a proposition to sell to someone I always think about how I would feel to be on the receiving end. This helps me determine how much information needs to be communicated to others.

Don’t ever underestimate your employee base. When I joined BAE Systems it was my first job in civilian life and I was working with technically minded civil engineers. Initially, I thought I could respond to most employee challenges fairly well but soon learnt that engineers are trained in taking things apart and putting them back together again in a way that works for them. You need to remain alert to this sort of challenge.

I look forward to the day when the global economy starts to grow again. A growth environment will provide another dimension to my work at Equifax.

My whole belief system centres around making sure that wherever I am working I can deliver 100 per cent. Without realising I wanted to be an HR director I have kept driving myself in both service delivery and self development and hope now that all my experience will help me continue to deliver the best for this business.

CV
Education: Dunfermline High School; University of Glamorgan (masters in HR management)
Previous roles: Head of HR, Thales (2006-08); head of HR, Rockwell Collins (2005-06); head of HR, BAE Systems (2001-05); strategic HR planning and training executive (1999-2001), senior HR manager (1997-99), senior HR manager and agency advisor (1996-97), senior succession planner and career executive (1994-1996), various personnel administration roles (1974-94), Royal Air Force
Hobbies: Sailing catamarans, golf, hill-walking