Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom – September 2024 – Rachel Baldwin has begun her new role as the Chief People Officer at Highbourne Group. In this position, Baldwin will oversee the company’s human resources strategy and operations, focusing on enhancing employee engagement and driving organizational growth.
Prior to joining Highbourne Group, Rachel Baldwin served as the Vice President – Human Resources at Pilgrim’s UK for approximately 6 years. Here, she was instrumental in managing HR, L&D, Corporate Communications, and more across 11 sites with around 5,000 employees. Pilgrim’s UK, recognized as a major producer of higher welfare pork and lamb, is part of JBS, the world’s largest food company.
Before her tenure at Pilgrim’s UK, Baldwin was the HR Director – UK at Arriva Group for nearly 4 years. At Arriva, a leading European passenger transport provider, she played a key role in developing and directing the HR and people strategy across the company’s extensive operations in the UK.
Baldwin also held significant HR roles at Dairy Crest, where she was the HR Director for over 3 years, overseeing HR functions across the company’s foods division and its subsidiaries. She began her career at Dairy Crest as an HR Manager and advanced through various positions, contributing to strategic HR initiatives.
Her earlier career included roles such as HR Manager at Kraft Heinz and Personnel Manager at Centura Foods, where she provided comprehensive HR services in both unionized and non-unionized environments.
The Highbourne Group is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with $45 billion in equity capital under management. The Group, led by CEO Dave Evans, includes several brands such as City Plumbing, PTS, DHS, NSS, The Underfloor Heating Store, Plumbnation, and Plumbworld. It serves trade customers and consumers in the new build, social housing, and repairs and maintenance sectors of both residential and commercial construction.
Read Also : Imagination in a Disrupted Age: Navigating the Future with Curiosity and Empathy
