Palletways has appointed Michaela Pound as head of HR for its Palletways business with a brief to lead the human resources team, overseeing 680 staff members across seven owned depots in London, Lichfield,  Milton Keynes, Bristol, Cardiff, Livingston and Edinburgh..

Pound brings over 20 years of managerial expertise at operational and strategic levels to Palletways. She joins the company from the G&W UK Group, which includes Freightliner and Pentalver, where she was head of HR for its Intermodal Logistics business unit and responsible for 1200 employees across 13 depots and terminals.

Pound has worked in the manufacturing and distribution, services and transport and logistics industries, both nationally and internationally. She has led employee engagement, cultural change, coaching and mentoring, training and recruitment, learning and personal development programmes. 

Palletways Michaela Pound, head of HR[67346] 

As part of the senior management team at Palletways UK, Pound will report directly to managing director Rob Gittins. 

Commenting on her new post, Pound said: “I’ll build on the excellent foundations created by the team here at Palletways UK. Some of the existing initiatives I can add value to include Apprenticeships and Armed Forces recruitment and coaching and training to support the next generation of logistics managers, as well as our diversity, inclusivity and equality commitments. My goal is to help the business become an employer of choice and provide a platform where every employee can develop and grow. 

She added: “It’s important that the HR function is an integral part of any business. This is only achievable by building partnerships, providing pragmatic, proactive initiatives and developing a performance improvement culture which benefits everyone. As a trusted and respected brand which consistently demonstrates ongoing commitment to its employees, members and customers, I’m excited to get started.” 

Gittings welcomed Pound’s recruitment. He said: ”Michaela’s background in strategic planning and her experience working with stakeholders, across all functions of business and at multiple sites, made her our ideal candidate. We’re delighted she’s joined us.” 

He continued: “She has an impressive commercial track record of developing and delivering HR initiatives with demonstrable impact on business growth and profitability and embedding a culture of high performance in people at the same time. These are all aligned with our values and help enable the delivery of our strategic ambitions.”