Meet Clare Martin, Group HR Director, Jardine Motors Group and IAW Award Winner for 2019
Clare joined Jardine Motors Group four and a half years ago as Group HR Director and is responsible for the people strategy for 3,500 colleagues. Working as part of the Leadership team, she ensures the business delivers its business strategy and mission.
An innovation culture is part of the DNA of Jardine Motors Group and the HR function is no exception. In the time that Clare has been part of the company’s leadership team, she has put HR at the centre of the operational part of the business. Every key strategic business decision is made by putting its people first with Clare influencing commercial decisions. With so much disruption and change in the industry driven by technology which for example is changing people’s roles and trends around the future of work, which is changing working patterns, Clare’s influence at senior level, ensures colleagues are supported throughout any transformation projects.
Clare has spent 14 years in the automotive industry, which is where her career began, and she quickly rose to a senior management position within a dealership. Before joining Jardine Motors though, Clare spent 10 years in other retail and consultancy businesses building expertise in change management culture, strategy and practice.
Clare explains the inspiration that drove her to pursue her career in the automotive industry: “My very first boss, Andy Lawton, the owner of Gilbert Lawton VW/Audi who sadly passed away over 15 years ago, was my inspiration. He invested in me, gave me a chance and invested in my CIPD qualifications, which included helping me achieve my post grad. He was tough, but I learnt a lot from him. I came back into the industry nearly five years ago because I could see not much had changed and I wanted to make an impact and help bring about a difference.”
Clare has been a strong supporter of the UK Automotive 30% Club’s activities, including taking part in outreach in schools, participating at the annual conference, and featuring in the Inspiring E-Zine.
Clare’s reaction to hearing the news that she’s an Inspiring Automotive Woman, was: “I’m overwhelmed to be recognised by an external panel of judges who have awarded based on outcome driven criteria. And congratulations to all the other winners; it’s brilliant to see how many amazing women we have in the industry today and long may it continue!”
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