Event details

Welcome to our Career Pathways into HR event 

Our Career Pathways into HR event aims at providing insights into the diversity of HR careers and giving advice on how to make a career in HR for current and future students at the University of York. The panel will share their personal career journey into HR, give insights into challenges and opportunities of working in HR as well as offer advice to the future generation of HR leaders.

After the talks, we’ll continue the evening with roundtable discussions, networking, drinks, and finger food — a great opportunity to connect and exchange experiences.

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Agenda

17.00-17.05 Welcome

17.05-17.40 Introduction of HR Experts and Alumni

17.40-18.10 Panel discussion on the future of the HR profession

18.10-18.20 Studying the MSc Human Resources Management at the University of York and CIPD insights

18.20-18.30 Break - Light dinner buffet served

18.30.19.00 Roundtables: Employability/Getting Hired, HR Qualifications, HR in different Industries, Student Life

Facilitators

Fabien Baugard, Careers Consultant, School for Business and Society, University of York

Fabien leads career development strategies for the School for Business and Society. His work focuses on social mobility, mentoring, and building inclusive recruitment pathways. With a background rooted in social mobility and EDI, Fabien focuses on creating sustainable pipelines between higher education and the professional world.

Dr Juliet Kele, Lecturer and Programme Leader, MSc Human Resources Management

Juliet is a Lecturer in Human Resources, a Postgraduate Admission Tutor and an EDI Champion in the School for Business and Society. She is passionate about conducting research on equality, diversity, and inclusion and specifically, using intersectionality theory to advance our understanding of the lived experience, inequalities and power relations.

Prof. Katharina Bader, School for Business and Society, University of York

Katharina is Chair in International HR Management and Head of the People, Work and Employment group. Her research focuses on global mobility and equality, diversity and inclusion in organisations. Her studies have been published in leading academic journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Work Employment and Society and The International Journal of Human Resource Management and she has received several international awards for her research. Having worked as a leadership development manager in a multinational company, she also brings industry experience and has conducted various collaborative and co- productive research projects with industry partners and non-profit organisations.

Panel Speakers

Tracey Akamaguna,Head of People, Tapestry Compliance, Leeds

Tracey oversees the people's agenda end‑to‑end - from recruitment and talent management to wellbeing, engagement and policy. Her approach is people-first, evidence based and anchored in Tapestry’s employee‑owned model. Before joining Tapestry, Tracey held HR leadership and business‑partner roles mainly across the technology and professional services sector, experience she now brings to scaling modern, inclusive people practices. She’s an active community builder in Leeds - co‑launching the first Lean In Leeds Circle for HR professionals - and is often found championing inclusive, people‑first workplaces. Tracey is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (FCIPD) and has completed the CIPD Level 7 Diploma in Strategic People Management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of York.

Amelia Cameron, HR Adviser, Branston Ltd, Lincoln

Amelia provides professional HR services with food manufacturing. She completed an MSc in Human Resource Management at the University of York and enjoys applying academic learning to real-world HR practice. She is keen to share practical insights on getting into HR and building a career in the field

Caroline Chapman, Creator and Founder, Grounded HR, York

Caroline Chapman is the Founder and Director of Grounded HR, a York-based HR consultancy supporting micro and small businesses across Yorkshire and beyond. 

With nearly three decades of experience, she specialises in compassionate, pragmatic HR that helps leaders navigate complex people issues with clarity and confidence. 

Caroline is passionate about putting the “human” back into Human Resources - championing inclusive practice, flexible working and wellbeing-led cultures. She helped shape York’s 10-year Skills Plan and now delivers through FUSION, part of the York & North Yorkshire Employer Support Programme, helping employers build inclusive pathways for young people aged 16–24. 

Alongside her client work, Caroline contributes to regional business and economic growth conversations and advocates for ethical, evidence-based HR practice.

Lorraine Dong, HR Officer, Voopoo, Manchester
After graduating from the University of York, Lorraine remained in the UK for work and currently serves as a comprehensive HR professional for a company engaged in foreign trade. During her time at York, Lorraine gained extensive exposure to the British HR system and obtained a CIPD certification, which laid a solid foundation for her subsequent career in the UK. Following graduation,Lorraine secured a local position in the UK and stayed in the country through a work visa.Lorraine enjoys working in the UK, appreciating not only the work environment and professional atmosphere but also the society's overall inclusiveness toward women in the workplace. She is keen to exchange insights on career development in the field of HR.

Tracy Evans, Group Director of HR and Facilities at Family Fund

Tracy joined Family Fund in March 2019, bringing 20 years’ experience in Human Resources management, across public, not-for-profit and private sectors. After starting her career in British Steel, she has held roles in a number of organisations, including Aviva, Yorkshire Housing, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Housing Trust and the University of York. Her experience covers the whole HR spectrum, including generalist HR, change management, learning and development and outside traditional HR, has included internal communications, inclusion, facilities management and health and safety.  Tracy has been a chartered Member of the CIPD since 2014 and has a MA and BA from Oxford University in English Literature. She leads the HR and Facilities team across Family Fund and Family Fund Business Services.

Marie Horner Consultant Solicitor, ALT Legal, Wetherby

Marie is a specialist employment law solicitor at ALT Legal with extensive experience advising businesses and HR professionals across the full spectrum of workplace legal issues — from employment tribunal defence, TUPE, and complex business restructures to the due diligence that underpins mergers and acquisitions. A member of both the Employment Lawyers Association and the Industrial Law Society, she brings a rare dual perspective to her work, combining legal expertise with HR practice credentials being an Associate CIPD member with a Level 7 Certificate in HR Management. A sought-after speaker and in-house trainer for managers and HR teams, Marie has a talent for translating complex legislation into practical, real-world guidance that practitioners can actually use.

Laura Ibbotson, Head of HR, Green Spark, Doncaster
Laura is an experienced human resources leader with over 20 years in the field, helping organisations navigate growth, change, and people-centred strategy. She holds both a first degree and a master’s in Human Resource Management, is a Fellow member of the CIPD, and a qualified NLP coaching practitioner. She has held senior HR leadership roles, where she has led people strategy, employee engagement, wellbeing and educational partnerships. Supported regional careers education initiatives, working with schools to help young people understand career pathways and develop employability skills. Her work was recognised with regional awards for creativity and innovation in engagement. Today Laura continues to influence HR practice at senior levels, mentoring others, contributing to industry discussions, and championing environments where people and organisations can thrive.

Mark Johnston, CIPD Branch Chair, General Manager Britannia Hotels, Scarborough

Mark is a hospitality leader and people professional, with a career that demonstrates there is no single route into HR. After progressing through a range of operational leadership roles, Mark became increasingly motivated to understand the why behind workplace behaviour – the evidence, thinking, and practice that sit behind effective people management. This led him to begin his professional development with the CIPD in 2015, completing a Level Diploma in Human Resource Management, followed by an MSc in Human Resource Management in 2022. In 2025, he achieved Chartered Membership, reflecting his commitment to ethical, evidence-based people practice.

Marks’s specialist interest is change management, where he applies professional HR principles to complex, real-world challenges. In his  current role, he leads organisational acquisition projects, using a structured, people-centred approach to culture integration, leadership capability, and sustainable performance.

Lerato Khumalo, Director of HR at HireHaus Recruitment Consultants, Leeds

Lerato Khumalo is a Human Resources practitioner and founder who works at the intersection of recruitment, people development, and organizational culture. With postgraduate qualifications in HR Management and experience spanning employee relations, team leadership, and now fractional consulting, her career has been shaped by both strategic thinking and the practical realities of navigating professional growth as a Black woman in UK workplaces. Alongside her HR work, Lerato has founded initiatives focused on mentorship and employability, driven by a belief that everyone deserves access to opportunity - not just those who fit traditional molds.

Mary Meyer, HR & Marketing Manager at Yorwaste, Northallerton

Mary Meyer is a Chartered CIPD HR and Marketing Manager with nearly 20 years’ experience across the NHS, charity and waste sectors. She has expertise in organisational change, culture transformation and TUPE processes. Mary now leads HR and employer branding at Yorwaste, where she built the HR function and contributes to strategic leadership. Mary has been shortlisted for national HR leadership awards and is a committed marathon and ultramarathon runner.

Dr Pia Neilson Following a BA in Economics, Pia began her career in HR marketing and recruitment with one of the Big Four. She relocated to Scotland in 2014, where she completed an MSc and later fully funded PhD in International HRM focusing on expatriate management in hostile environments. After a brief period in the academic world, Pia felt drawn back to hands-on HR work and transitioned into several operational HR roles, including a job as HR Advisor at the Scottish Government. Always wanting to put her research into action, she has spent the past four years specialising in global mobility, supporting organisations with their international assignments in the oil and gas industry as well as the renewable energies sector. She is currently responsible for creating a global relocation policy and building a global mobility team to ensure smooth and compliant project assignments in key locations including the USA, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden.

Dr Giovanni Oscar Serafini,  Dr Giovanni Oscar Serafini is Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour at the School of Business, University of York Europe Campus, and Senior Researcher at the South-East European Research Centre, Greece. His research focuses on inclusive people management, digital transformation, skills development, and comparative international human resource management. Prior to academia, he devoted nearly two decades to senior HR roles within the international hospitality industry, most notably with Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Dr Serafini is actively engaged in executive education, delivering seminars on human resource management and organisational behaviour. He integrates applied human capital expertise with rigorous academic analysis to advance evidence-based and sustainable human resource management practice.

Sian Whelan, CIPD Chartered Fellow, Managing Director, Norton Loxley, York

Sian’s HR career journey began 19 years ago after  completing a degree in Psychology from Durham University. Unlike many, she actively pursued a career in HR as she felt it complimented my interests in people and business. Over the years, Sian has worked across multiple industries and organisations in the public and private sectors, operating at senior HR management level both in the UK and across Europe. Since 2018, alongside her business partner and team, she is running her own independent HR consultancy focusing on providing outsourced HR support to SME’s across Yorkshire and the wider UK.

Mohamad Zayer, Managing Director, Hospitality Skills Solutions, Beirut

Mohamad Zaher is the Founder and Managing Director of Hospitality Skills Solutions recruitment agency, and a hospitality HR leader with nearly 20 years of international experience. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the Lebanese American University and a Master’s in International Hospitality Management from Leeds Beckett University. He built his career across the Middle East from Junior to senior HR roles with leading companies and hotels before transitioning into independent consultancy in 2025, specializing in recruitment, HR strategy, and learning & development. Based between Lebanon and Colombia, he is dedicated to mentoring talent and fostering people-focused hospitality cultures worldwide.