Winners 2018

Cowie works in a very senior role overseeing a team of 110. She is based in Japan and is responsible for employees working in south east Asia, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, reporting to global vice president of HR operations Mark Stout. Cowie joined Nissan in 2001 as an HR graduate and has held a number of senior HR roles across a variety of regions, including HR director for talent management in Africa, the Middle East, India and Europe. She holds a master of science in HR gained from the University in Strathclyde in 2001 and a degree in English literature from the University of Glasgow.

Clarke took the top HR job at Britain’s Inchcape dealer group in 2015. Inchcape has 173 dealers, making it the fourth-largest dealer group in Europe, according to analysts ICDP, so Clarke’s is a big role. She started out in automotive working at Ford in a number of positions supporting operations, vehicle design and engineering. She then moved into non-automotive HR roles with companies as diverse as Hilton, Whitbread and Hutchison Whampoa, before taking the job at Inchcape in September 2015.

Neal was promoted to the top human resources job at Mazda UK and Ireland last year. She joined Mazda’s HR team in 2005, marking her move into automotive after a career spent as a training officer in companies such as law firm Jones Day. Her first role was HR and development advisor, before being promoted in 2010 to the post of HR assistant manager and then HR manager in 2012. In 2016 she switched roles to become manager of Mazda’s dealer training, managing an internal team and two training agencies. The UK is Mazda’s number xxx European market, and Neal has influence over HR strategy across Europe. 

Michelle Hepden-Dyer is responsible for the hiring and retention of staff within JLR’s engineering division – no easy task as the company grows and the talent pool shrinks. She joined the firm in 2016 from a freelance consulting role working for Dixons Carphone and travel company Tui, as well as JLR. Prior to working for herself, she was global talent director for Bupa. She has also worked for Centrica and Tesco. She holds an MSc in human resources management and services from the University of Luton.

Burnett joined Volkswagen Group UK’s board in 2016 when she was appointed human resources director, marking an impressive climb through the ranks after joining the firm in 2007 as an HR business partner. She then moved to the role of head of HR operations in 2011 before being promoted to her current position, from which she reports to VW Group UK MD Paul Willis. Burnett oversees the staffing strategy for the VW Group’s five combined brands in the UK, which together account for the largest amount of sales of any manufacturer in the country. She is committed to bringing more women into the business to reach 30% of roles by 2021. Applications from women to the VW Group have risen from 34% in 2016 to 44% this year, and the number of female hires increased from 44% to 49% in the same period. Before moving to Volkswagen, Burnett worked at UK intellectual property firm Barker Brettell and insurance firm AXA. She graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1996 with a degree in English.