Findex appoints new CPO at crucial time

Kath Nell has been appointed the new chief people officer of Findex.

Ms Nell has over 20 years’ experience in the HR industry, previously working for BlueScope, Campbell Soup Company, and NBN Co.

Findex secured Ms Nell as talent shortages impact the HR industry.

“It is currently a dynamic job market globally and as Australian employers we need to reframe how we engage with our existing talent and standout to the next generation. The Findex leadership team is very much cognisant of this and I am excited to hit the ground running with this talented team,” said Ms Nell.

“I pride myself in providing pragmatic solutions at all levels – the enterprise, executive leadership team, functional, and individual levels – catalysing organisational changes that ultimately make a difference in the long run.”

Findex CEO, Spiro Paule, is excited to have her aboard: “We are committed to investing in our team and attracting the right talent to provide the highest level of service to our clients. Kath is a deeply experienced senior executive, and her skillset is well matched to our people agenda and attracting and retaining talented people."

Kath Nell spoke with HR Leader about what she hopes to bring to the role, what her position means for diversity at Findex, and her tips for those with similar ambitions.

“As a c-suite member you need to think business and customers and then look at it through the people and culture lens,” she said.

“At Findex we have big aspirations for growth and one of the key goals of the executive team is to continue to build a high-performance culture to realise that growth potential. We will further build out our foundations to ensure we can drive scale.”

Ms Nell’s goals for the next year are to build a great culture to drive growth and maintain a strong focus on leaders to make sure they’re able to push performance in a collaborative way to create a great employee experience.

Co-CEO Tony Roussos is further testament to the organisation’s commitment to growing internal leadership skills. Mr Roussos started with Findex when the business had only 50 employees.

“Like many other organisations, Findex has seen the value of investing in its people and culture talent, and I could see this was an organisation where I could continue to build a team that is highly commercial, has strong capability in data and metrics and is able to do quality work that adds value to the business and ultimately our customers,” said Ms Nell.

She was drawn to her new role for a variety of reasons, namely the opportunity for growth and their commitment to the community.

“Findex’s dynamic working approach is highly outcomes based and allows great flexibility for people to work in locations all over Australia and New Zealand. We can access a wider pool of diverse talent and our employees, including me, can have long and rewarding careers regardless of location,” she said.

Ms Nell encourages young women aspiring to reach success to ‘just say yes’: “I had the opportunity to change from a marketing career to people and culture, change the way a consumer goods company operated in stores, lead the post-acquisition integration of a sales force, successfully implement an enterprise system in the US and lead a consulting practice out of New York to name a few. Within the same organisation, I would look for problems/opportunities and areas ripe for change and work out how I could help.”

“Know your strengths and find others that complement you. Don’t be afraid to hire people smarter and different to you, always be lifting the bar on talent. For people and culture professionals, spend some time working outside the people space and get as close to the customers as you can. It sharpens your perspective about what’s important and has impact,” explained Ms Nell.

“Find a way that works for your life. I have 3 children, a working husband who is a true partner. We made it work. I value family and friend time, exercise, eating well, and vacations and have made sure I prioritised that over my career. I wasn’t perfect but I think I got it right more times than I didn’t.”

Jack Campbell

Jack is the editor at HR Leader.