HR Magazine:

Esther O’Halloran: making the jump from HRD to MD at Paul UK

I began my early career in retail fashion management and worked my way up from the shop floor to general manager at H&M, Oxford Circus. I had already gained a good insight into customer behaviour and what it’s like to work in retail in both small and large teams. On deciding to change career direction slightly, I moved into the hospitality sector as an operations area manager, with Whitbread which involved multi-site management of a number of branded restaurants and pub hotels including Brewers Fayre and Premier Inns. (Read More)

People 1st:

Career Profile: Esther O’Halloran, HR Director and Interim MD at Paul UK Ltd…

Esther has been working with Paul UK, the French artisan bakery chain, since 2006 and is one of the country’s most accomplished HR professionals. Last year she was shortlisted for HR Director of the Year. Esther has been a keynote guest speaker at a number of UK and International HR Conferences since 2001 both for the CIPD and other large organisations, including Scottish Enterprise. Esther’s journey through different areas of the retail and hospitality industry reveal that with tenacity and a strong personality a female can make it to the top.

COREcruitment:

Rising To The Top Of Business Business Advice From Esther O’Halloran

Read the tips below on how to become business savvy and build a successful career and business from Esther O’HALLORAN – Managing Director – PAUL UK. “From HRD to MD one baguette at a time!”

People Management:

Esther O’Halloran

My first degree was in fashion and textiles. I found I was good at engaging with customers and working in teams, so I progressed into retail management. I had a team of over 100 people at the H&M store in Oxford Circus. (Read More)

Page Executive:

Interview with Esther O’Halloran, HR director at Paul Page Executive works with leaders who regularly express an interest in what other organisations are doing within their HR functions and who are key players in business. With this in mind we are conducting a series of features with leading HR Directors to share information within the industry. (Read More)

CIPD:

HR Careers

I moved into HR 11 years ago following a career in retail fashion store management and area operations within hospitality sector, where I was a line manager for teams as large as 105 people. My only exposure to HR was from a ‘shop floor’ perspective and dayto- day management of people. It was not until I started getting directly involved in delivering management training modules whilst at Whitbread that I found a natural affinity to understanding how to get the best out of people through coaching/development, and how to achieve bottom line results through the motivation of others. From that point on I was determined to change careers from Operations to HR.