From an interview with Simon Nash, SVP HR"

Simon Nash, Senior Vice President (SVP), Human Resources (HR) and Executive Committee (EC) member, joined RB in July 2009 from Novartis Consumer Health. He plans to further develop HR services that help colleagues strive to give their best and create a more efficient HR infrastructure. Fast Forward caught up with Simon to find out his first impressions.

When Simon Nash joined RB in July, he knew he was joining a company that asks a lot of its people, but gives a lot back in return. His seat on the executive committee means he's able to develop a HR function that supports our colleagues, so that we can focus on growing our brands.

FF: What do you think is the job of HR at Reckitt Benckiser and why?

SN: HR improves the performance of the company by getting the best out of individuals and teams. If we make sure the right performance management processes are in place and insist on open and honest career discussions with all our colleagues, HR can ensure people's personal aspirations and expectations are realistic, achievable and aligned with those of the company and their current role.

I also see the role of HR as that of advocate - for both the company and our colleagues. On the one hand, we support good business decisions by making it easy for people to deliver them in their role, but we're also there to push back on potentially unreasonable company requests.

FF: What do you think are the most relevant skills you bring to RB from previous roles?

SN: I've spent the last 15 years focused on talent management - looking at how to assess and inspire talent, move them to the right places and get the best out of them.

I also bring a fresh perspective on where we're different from our competitors. A big challenge for me is to remain curious - to find out what has contributed to making RB so successful; what needs to stay the same?

FF: What are your first impressions of RB and even though it's early days, your first priorities?

SN: At RB there's a continuous energy to attack issues head on, to refuse cost and to get better. There's an unusually clear focus on Marketing and brands, and compared to a number of other places I've worked it's best in class in a number of areas - one that particularly sticks out for me is mobility.

There is clearly a lot right with the HR structure as it is so I'm not planning to come and change everything. Like every area of the business though there is a huge volume of work, so one of my first priorities will be to address the way to automate and enhance the HR infrastructure to improve efficiency.