New head of HR appointed at professional services firm

A professional services firm that specialises in real estate and investment management has welcomed a new head of HR for Australia and New Zealand.

JLL has appointed Julie Skinner as the new head of HR for Australia and New Zealand. 

Ms Skinner brings to the role over 15 years of experience and is based in Sydney. Throughout her career, she’s held executive roles across multiple sectors in Australia, including financial services and technology.

Ms Skinner joins JLL from Mercer, where she held the role of senior people partner. Prior to this, she held HR leadership roles at Suncorp Group, Lenovo Group and IBM.

Chief executive officer – JLL Australia and New Zealand Dan Kernaghan welcomed Ms Skinner to the firm.

“We’re delighted to have Julie join JLL to lead our team of HR professionals who are focused on providing the best work environment for our 4,000 people across Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“We are a people business – people are our most important asset, and we want to attract the best talent. One of the investments we make in our people is to provide workplaces [that] have the highest standards in wellness, sustainability and technology.”

Mr Kernaghan said the hire of Ms Skinner comes at an opportune time for JLL.

“Our specialist teams at JLL are experts in property markets, and we want to continue to provide the best opportunities and work spaces for them to do their best work,” he continued.

“We have just embarked on the relocation of our corporate office in Sydney to the new landmark Sydney Place development at 180 George Street. It’s an exciting time for Julie to join us in Sydney as we embark on the next evolution of our office space that will fuel performance, innovation and collaboration for our people.”

Speaking on her appointment, Ms Skinner said: “I’m thrilled to have joined the JLL team. Like many, my career aspiration is always to align my experience to a company with a values-driven purpose, a human-centred culture led by great people with a commitment to an ambitious and sustainable future, all of which are embedded here at JLL.”