David Deacon

Mr Deacon has had a very successful career as a leader in the Human Resources profession and brings over 30 years of international HR experience to the team across a spectrum of roles, including HR Business Partner, Head of Talent, Chief Talent Officer and Head of Leadership. In addition, David is also a published author and had his first book, ‘The Self Determined Manager’, published in 2019.

As a thought-leader in the fields of learning and development, talent management and leadership development, Mr Deacon has influenced leaders and teams around the world and created better-managed companies as a result. Using his wealth of experience and prior to joining activpayroll, David established The Talent Office, a talent management consulting firm.

Having worked and lived in the United Kingdom, United States and Asia, Mr Deacon’s expertise spans a wide range of private sector organisations and has been at the heart of elevating corporate cultures and empowering effective teams in industries such as professional services, financial services, investment and commercial banking and energy.

The new appointment follows several significant hires made by activpayroll over the last six months, including CFO, Nick Southwell, Chairman, Jim Faulds and Payroll Operations Manager – Ireland, Paul Shelley.

The position of Chief People Officer is the first of its kind within the organisation and has been designed to drive forward the global people strategy and build on the strong culture that already exists while keeping in line with strategic global expansion plans.

David Deacon said: “Given the ongoing global growth that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon and the people-centric culture at activpayroll, it’s a really exciting time to be joining the team and I’m thrilled to have this opportunity. Employee engagement and talent development play an extremely important part in the success of any organisation and I look forward to contributing my own expertise to help activpayroll achieve its full potential over the coming months.”

Alison Sellar OBE, CEO of activpayroll, commented: “We’re delighted to announce that David has joined as our first-ever Chief People Officer. Our people truly are our most important asset and with David at the helm, I have every confidence that activpayroll will continue to thrive as an employer of choice.

“The invaluable experience and fresh outlook that David brings to the team is already evident and I know that he has an important part to play in the future of the company as we continue to drive our people strategy to be the best employer we possibly can be.”