Hannah Cooper Promoted to Chief People Officer at LRG

Hannah joined Leaders in 2013 as an HR advisor and progressed through to head of HR operations, overseeing HR operations for more than 3,000 colleagues. Most recently, as Group HR director, she has led work spanning recruitment, employee development and employment compliance, with a focus on fair treatment and practical support for colleagues across a nationwide network. 

One of Hannah’s achievements is establishing, in collaboration with colleagues, EmpowerHER, LRG’s programme to strengthen support for women across the business. EmpowerHER brings together curated networking and mentorship events, an internal resources hub, structured mentoring that pairs aspiring female leaders with members of LRG’s senior team, a library of learning materials, ongoing roundtables to share challenges and good practice and a push to put forward female colleagues for industry awards. It complements additional internal initiatives including a fertility benefit, a menopause policy, enhanced maternity leave and a strong emphasis on flexible working. 

In her new role, Hannah will continue to lead the Group’s people function, bringing together workforce planning, skills development, engagement and organisational design to support LRG’s brands and businesses as the Group continues to expand. 

Michael Cook, Chief Executive Officer of LRG, said: ‘During the last few years Hannah has overseen staff retention rates improve to our best ever recorded levels, reflecting the quality of our recruitment and ongoing staff engagement, which make LRG a place people thrive and choose to stay not just for a job, but for a career. 

‘Hannah’s promotion reflects the impact she has already been making across the Group. LRG is built on the quality of our people - how we recruit, develop and support colleagues and how we create a culture that helps teams do their best work. Appointing a chief people officer recognises that this is not a support function on the side. It is central to how we run the business and how we serve customers.’ 

Hannah began her HR career after completing a business honours degree specialising in human resource management at the University of the West of England. She later completed a Level 7 postgraduate diploma in human resource management while working in her first HR role within the biotechnology industry. She has more than 15 years’ HR experience, including 13 years in the property industry.