United Kingdom, January 2026 – Gordon McFarland has started a new position as Chief People Officer at Harmony Fire, taking on a strategic leadership mandate to build the people, culture, and capability foundations that will enable the company’s next phase of growth. In this role, McFarland is engaged with the board and executive leadership team to support Harmony Fire’s ambition to become the leading provider of fire safety and risk consulting services globally.
At Harmony Fire, McFarland provides expert strategic guidance to the board, C-suite leaders, and management, helping solve complex business challenges, improve organizational performance, and implement data-driven change management initiatives. His focus is centered on strengthening leadership and talent, embedding scalable organizational systems, and ensuring that as Harmony Fire grows, it continues to deliver exceptional outcomes for its clients and the communities it serves.
Immediately prior to Harmony Fire, McFarland served as Executive Head of HR (Interim CHRO/CPO) at J A Kemp, a leading European firm of patent and trade mark attorneys. As a member of the senior leadership team, he led the HR function, shaped a new people strategy, oversaw systems implementation, and delivered end-to-end talent lifecycle and HR services—helping attract, retain, and grow top-tier talent critical to the firm’s commercial success and reputation for service excellence.
Earlier, McFarland was Global HR Director at Freshfields, where he was a senior member of the global HR leadership team and management committee, working closely with managing partners across global practice areas. He overhauled performance and reward models, led global HR strategy, and ensured full-lifecycle HR service delivery to support innovation, talent retention, and exceptional client experience.
Before Freshfields, he spent five years with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as Senior Global HR Director, leading global HR strategy, coaching managing partners and directors, developing global services operations, and improving employee experience across the US, Europe, and Asia while reducing operational costs. His earlier leadership roles include Head of Global HR Operations at Kingfisher plc, HR Director at Deloitte, HR Consultant and Business Transformation Specialist at Coresbrook Consulting, and Managing Consultant – Human Capital at IBM, building a deep portfolio of global HR, change management, and organizational transformation expertise.
Harmony Fire is a global leader in comprehensive fire protection solutions, delivering consulting, design, project delivery, and maintenance services through its distinctive ‘think. protect. sustain.’ methodology. Founded in 1976, the organization partners with clients worldwide to create sustainable, long-term safety outcomes through expertise, innovation, and passionate people.
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