About Tea Colaianni
Tea is a dynamic, experienced and forward-thinking Non-executive Director. Her current appointments include NED and RemCo Chair of Mothercare, NED of global Payroll and HR service provider SD Worx. She is also on the board of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a Board Mentor for Criticaleye.
Until recently, Tea was a NED and Chair of RemCo at Poundland. During her tenure the organisation went through an IPO (early 2014) and was acquired by the Steinhoff Group in late 2016.
Tea’s executive career spans different industries and countries. Her most recent executive role was Group HR Director at the FTSE 100 Merlin Entertainments, until March 2016. During her six-year tenure, Tea was part of the leadership team that led the business through one of the most successful IPOs in 2013. At Merlin, Tea transformed the HR function and achieved industry leading engagement scores that attracted external awards.
Prior to this, she was Vice President of Human Resources for Europe at Hilton Worldwide, driving the strategic HR agenda in a region with $2.5 billion revenue, 20,000 employees and 180 properties across 26 countries.
Tea began her career in Brussels as a lawyer advising multinational companies on EU-related affairs.
She is a passionate fundraiser for disadvantaged young women and seriously ill, disabled and disadvantaged children, and is a Mentor for the Aspire Foundation. A keen advocate for diversity, Tea also sits on the Board of Women 1st and is a Founding Member of the Prince’s Trust ‘Women Supporting Women’ initiative.