Kidd made diversity and inclusion manager in Hachette UK HR team expansion

Hachette UK is boosting its HR team with Kim Kidd (pictured) from the British Council joining as diversity and inclusion manager.

The company will grow and develop its HR team through the new appointments as well as increased responsibilities for existing team members,  following a commitment to overhaul its HR strategies outlined at the end of last year.

Kidd joins as diversity and inclusion manager at the beginning of March, reporting to Melanie Tansey, group HR director. Kidd will manage Hachette UK’s Changing the Story programme, which is now entering its sixth year, and work closely with its eight employee networks, which collectively have more than 1,500 members. She succeeds Saskia Bewley, who left last autumn for a role outside the publishing industry. 

She has worked in HR and recruitment for 25 years, initially at Sony Music Entertainment, before specialising in the field of recruitment, primarily for the publishing industry, including roles heading the publishing division at the Career Moves Group and as an in-house recruiter at Cambridge University Press. She joins from the British Council, where she has been working since 2016 as its global recruitment business partner across English and exams and cultural engagement.

Hachette said: “Throughout her career, Kidd has delivered strategies to attract diverse talent and create an inclusive culture. She is a member of the diversity and inclusion steering group at the British Council and has extensive experience coaching managers in unconscious bias and anti-racism, disability awareness, age discrimination and equal opportunities." 

Riccardo Dixon joined the publisher at the end of last year in a newly created role as head of talent acquisition. He reports to Lisa Waterman in her newly expanded role of head of HR for adult trade divisions and IT and group talent acquisition director.  

Hachette UK has also recruited Wing Ho, who started last week as recruitment assistant, reporting to Dixon, while HR business partner Ruby Delorie takes on line management responsibility for the HR support team for the adult trade divisions and IT. 

Tansey said: “I’m delighted to welcome Kim, Ric and Wing to Hachette and to congratulate Lisa and Ruby on the expansion of their roles. The HR team is integral to Hachette’s mission to represent all consumers, while maintaining the best culture in the business, and these appointments will help us deliver on our ambitions for 2022 and beyond. 

"I have no doubt that Kim’s deep knowledge of the publishing industry, combined with her passion for and expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion, will take Changing the Story to the next level. And for the first time in our history at Hachette, we have an in-house recruitment team in Ric and Wing that will help us to ensure our vacancies reach the broadest possible range of candidates, create processes and guidance with diversity and inclusion at their core, and ensure our four pillars of strategy — which describe us at our best and explain the behaviours that deliver success in our business — become central to our recruitment and appointments decisions.” 

Kidd said: “I am thrilled to be joining the team at Hachette. I’ve been watching from the sidelines with interest and excitement at the fantastic work and progress achieved so far through Hachette’s Changing the Story programme, but also across the industry. We know that there is still much more work to be done and I’m looking forward to sharing ideas, developing initiatives and working collaboratively with our employee networks, HR colleagues and outreach partners to ensure we continue to promote inclusion and value diversity in all its forms.” 

Dixon commented: “It’s an honour to be working at such a prestigious organisation as Hachette and joining the transformation journey, continuously driving change and setting new benchmarks. I’m excited to be part of that change and, together with the team, look forward to implementing best practice within talent acquisition and growing our organisation.”