Specialisms
I specialise in the following areas:
- HR Consultancy
Emma Plowman is a Fractional Chief People Officer and Fellow of the CIPD with over 20 years of strategic HR and organisational development experience in complex, multi-stakeholder environments, including AstraZeneca, ARM, and Anglian Water. She specialises in making an immediate impact in organisations facing significant change—whether that involves transformation programmes, restructures, or cultural shifts.
Currently leading P2 Knowledge Ltd, Emma provides cost-effective fractional HR leadership to growing businesses, tech scale-ups, and organisations navigating change. Her experience spans global HR operations, complex employee relations, M&A integration, and large-scale culture change programmes. She has successfully led teams through redundancy processes, capability procedures, and significant organisational redesign while maintaining employee engagement and operational effectiveness.
At Anglian Water, Emma delivered a long-term culture change programme impacting thousands of employees, working closely with the Management Board to embed new ways of working and drive efficiency improvements. At ARM, she scaled a global HR team from 5 to 12, supporting rapid growth across multiple European acquisitions while maintaining compliance and employee engagement.
Emma is also Co-Founder of the Diverse Directors Programme, which develops aspiring directors and non-executive directors, and she previously served as Talent Director at Start Codon venture builder, supporting 25 life science start-ups with people strategy and founder development.
What sets Emma apart is her ability to quickly understand complex organisational dynamics and deliver practical solutions that work—without being wedded to ‘how things have always been done.’ She brings big corporate experience with a pragmatic, no-nonsense approach that is particularly valuable in public sector environments undergoing transformation.
Key Strengths/Area of Expertise
- Change Management & Transformation: Proven track record of leading complex organisational change programmes across large-scale operations, including cultural transformation, restructures, and operating model redesign.
- Building High-Performing Teams: Expert in both talent acquisition and organisational design, developing team structures that deliver results whilst managing resource constraints and competing priorities.
- People-Focused Leadership: Balances strategic commercial objectives with genuine care for employee wellbeing, engagement, and development – creating sustainable change that people actually buy into.
- Simplifying Complexity: Translates complex people challenges into pragmatic, actionable solutions. No jargon, no unnecessary process – just practical frameworks that work in the real world.
- Strategic HR/People Planning: Aligns people strategy with organisational goals, whether supporting growth, managing decline, or navigating significant structural change.
Professional Qualifications
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) – 2019
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD) – 2007
- Postgraduate Certificate in Psychology of Leadership – ARU, 2012
- Certified Management Drives Practitioner – tech-enabled consulting framework for understanding individual and team motivation
- BSc Economics and Geography – Kingston University, 1999
Notable Achievements/Value Added
- Anglian Water Culture Change Programme: Designed and delivered a comprehensive 5–10-year culture transformation programme impacting the entire organisation. Programme included establishing new organisational values through extensive consultation, developing the Management Board’s strategic cultural understanding, and creating embedding plans to drive efficiency and effectiveness improvements. Successfully managed the roll-out whilst delivering concurrent restructures within a renewed operating model.
- ARM Global Team Scaling: Grew global People Business Partner team from 5 to 12 members whilst supporting company’s rapid expansion across multiple European markets. Led M&A due diligence and integration for acquisitions in France, Sweden, and Norway, and established new branch office in Slovenia – maintaining employee engagement and compliance throughout.
- Building Teams Under Pressure: Consistently delivered recruitment strategies and organisational design projects across sectors – from early-stage life science start-ups to established global organisations. Track record of building high-performing teams whilst managing resource constraints, union relationships, and competing stakeholder priorities.
- Complex Employee Relations: Successfully managed large-scale redundancy processes, capability procedures, grievance appeals, and organisational investigations across multiple jurisdictions. Delivered outcomes that balanced legal compliance, commercial objectives, and employee wellbeing.
- Diverse Directors Programme: Co-founded NED development programme that has achieved 75% board observer placement rate, 50% NED placement rate, and 25% paid NED/Director placement rate from Cohort 1. Secured sponsorship from top-tier law firms, international PR companies, and VC firms for programme expansion.
Relevant Sector Knowledge
- Utilities & Water Sector: Deep understanding of operational complexity, regulatory environment, and stakeholder management in regulated utilities (Anglian Water)
- Technology & Innovation: Extensive experience supporting tech scale-ups and global technology companies through rapid growth and transformation (ARM, multiple tech clients)
- Life Sciences & Biotech: Supported 25 pre-seed and seed stage life science start-ups through venture builder programme, plus HR leadership in pharmaceutical sector (AstraZeneca)
- Complex Multi-Stakeholder Environments: Proven ability to navigate organisations with diverse stakeholder groups including unions, regulatory bodies, multiple governance layers, and geographically dispersed operations
- Public Sector Transformation: Understanding of efficiency and effectiveness imperatives facing local government, with transferable experience from large-scale cultural change programmes in regulated environments
- Manufacturing & Packaging: HR leadership experience in manufacturing environments (Sealed Air Corporation, Newsquest)
Training/Coaching Programs/Workshop Offers
- Management Drives Leadership Programmes: Certified practitioner delivering tech-enabled programmes that reveal what motivates individuals, teams, and entire organisations – driving better leadership decisions and team performance
- Leadership Team Development: Facilitated workshops and coaching programmes for executive teams navigating change, including Board-level cultural development and strategic people planning
- Change Management Workshops: Practical frameworks for leading teams through organisational transformation – no theoretical fluff, just actionable approaches that work
- Founder & Senior Leadership Coaching: One-to-one coaching for founders, directors, and senior leaders on people strategy, leadership capability, and navigating complex stakeholder relationships
- HR Professional Mentoring: Currently mentoring several Heads of HR in growth companies; extensive experience developing HR capability across teams
LGR Experience & Expertise
Reorganisation:
- Complex Structural Change: Led large-scale restructures in multi-layered organisations with diverse stakeholder groups, regulatory oversight, and significant public scrutiny (Anglian Water, AstraZeneca, ARM)
- Cultural Transformation at Scale: Designed and delivered comprehensive culture change programmes impacting thousands of employees, including consultation processes, values development, and embedding plans that actually work
- Managing Competing Priorities: Expert at balancing efficiency requirements with employee wellbeing, stakeholder management, and legal compliance – exactly what LGR demands
- M&A Integration Experience: Successfully integrated multiple European acquisitions, managing due diligence, harmonisation of terms and conditions, and cultural integration across different operational models
- TUPE & Redundancy Expertise: Extensive experience managing large-scale redundancy processes, TUPE transfers, and complex employee relations issues across multiple jurisdictions
- Fresh Perspective Without Baggage: My external viewpoint means I’m not constrained by ‘how local government has always done it’ – I bring proven frameworks from complex organisations that can be adapted for public sector context without the usual resistance to change
Local Government Experience:
Haslemere 2021:
To support the organisation to develop their approach and to consider new ways of working, specifically Hybrid Working and the impact it would have on the organisation I created and undertook a programme of activities centred around Appreciative Inquiry to generate data and research to be considered by the organisation as it makes key decisions on hybrid working across Hertsmere Borough Council. Hertsmere wanted to consider the quick wins that will continue to build the case for change across the senior teams within the organisation and to enhance the ability to consider more radical change.
Norfolk 2021
Supported with their job levelling/OD project giving to support to an internal OD resource.