theHRDIRECTOR INTERVIEW
This month we speak to David Fairhust
Senior vice-president/chief people officer
McDonald's Northern Europe

Richard Higginson - Towry Law

Richard Higginson - Reward Manager, Towry Law

Richard Higginson decided at an early age that a career in Human Resources would be more lucrative than one in professional cricket, and probably easier too. After a generalist role in insurance Richard joined CDC, the British government’s investment bank for the developing world, expecting a life of exotic travel. When this yielded only assignments to East Africa, Papua New Guinea and barren Caribbean outcrops, he leaped at the perfect opportunity to align himself with one of his chief hobbies and joined British American Tobacco, heading International Assignments & Policy.

In an astonishing volte face in 1999, however, Richard moved to GlaxoSmithKline, whose pharmaceutical portfolio includes most of the world’s leading smoking cessation brands. As Director of International Benefits, however, he achieved the life of exotic travel he once craved, providing strategic direction and policy for GSK’s reward programmes world wide.

His current role of Reward Manager at wealth managers, Towry Law, gives him the opportunity to implement those elements of reward strategy the merits of which he has spent so long banging his head against a brick wall trying to convince previous employers. Richard is a graduate in Spanish and French, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development and a keen cricket and hockey player. He has given up smoking.