Conversation with Liz Jewitt-Cross: the case for HR at the top table
Liz Jewitt-Cross is the founder and MD of Future HR, a consultancy specialising in HR strategy, transformation and change.
She has held senior people leadership roles at some of the UK’s best known retailers and brands, including Sainsbury’s, New Look, Jaeger and Joules.
Subscribe to TRBA judge at The Retail Bulletin’s People in Retail Awards, Liz will be speaking at TRB’s free-to-attend conference Retail HR Central in Birmingham on 14 May and chairing a special lunch event on staff safety.
Here, she talks about what drew her to retail, why HR must operate as a true commercial partner, and the people challenges that most often derail growth and transformation.
What attracted you to a career in HR and within the retail sector?
Retail wasn’t so much a career choice as a kind of family indoctrination and in the best possible way.
My late father spent 33 years at Marks & Spencer. By the time I came along, he had moved from store leadership into head office, helping shape the company’s then revolutionary food business and early standalone food store strategy. This was something he was incredibly proud of.
Even in retirement, he never really left. He stayed close to the business, running part of their retired employee network and continuing his informal “store inspections” in Rickmansworth and Pinner, always supportive and with a sharp eye for standards.
So growing up, Saturday mornings meant store visits rather than lie-ins. I saw retail at its best, including the energy, pride, quality, service, and obsessive attention to detail. That stayed with me.
I started with Saturday jobs in fashion, then at M&S Harrow, and somewhere along the way HR clicked. Initially, I moved into HR in banking before returning to retail to build my career in earnest.
I’ve always loved HR because it’s the closest role to the CEO without being the CEO. You touch every part of how a business operates sitting at the centre of purpose and strategy, customer and people experience, culture, capability and ways of working. It’s a role that is central to answering the fundamental question: what’s the mission, and how will we deliver it?
While I’ve worked across sectors, my career has remained firmly anchored in retail, across food, fashion and DIY, in large-scale, international, omnichannel businesses. And forty years on (I started at seven, obviously), I still love it.
You’ve had an incredible career. What shaped your focus on transformation and change?
I’ve been fortunate to work with and lead many brands through significant periods of change, growth and success.
Often that came down to a mix of brilliant leaders needing to elevate their approach to organisation and the experience of the team delivering it. They liked my commercially centric and business holistic and highly inclusive style which broke down silos and joined the dots to give a very thorough approach to change management delivering strong returns. There were also a few well timed moments where something needed fixing quickly.
Early in my board and C-suite career, I was part of a very small minority. Fewer than 5% of UK board roles were held by women, and fewer than 2% of HR leaders had a seat at that level. At the time, HR in many organisations was still seen and operating as transactional rather than a true commercial partner.
That experience shaped my perspective. I became involved in contributing to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development curriculum development, helping shift thinking toward more commercially focused HR leadership. I’ve also spent time lecturing in business schools and supporting future talent entering the profession.
From early on, I focused on a few key questions: is the strategy truly clear to everyone, and does it translate into roles, goals and ways of working? Are leaders aligned? How does the organisation really function? And do we have the capability we need for tomorrow, not just today?
That lens naturally led me into broader transformation roles across systems, supply chain, customer experience, property and facilities, and operating models while always keeping people, leadership and organisational effectiveness at the core.
I’ve never been a “business as usual” HR leader. I’ve always gravitated toward roles where business transformation and change – alongside elevating the capabilities, contribution and often the confidence of HR – were central to the agenda. That’s what ultimately led me into interim executive work, supporting organisations through transformation, scaling, new technology adoption and, at times, turnaround situations, while always aiming to leave businesses stronger than when I arrived.
You often talk about organisations operating holistically “as a system”. What do you mean by that?
Think of it like a car engine. When everything is connected, it runs smoothly. When it isn’t, it splutters or stalls.
Organisations are no different. They need clarity, cohesion, connection, collaboration, capability and adaptability. If one of those is missing, performance suffers.
Leadership cohesion and enterprise understanding are critical to averting disjointed silo working, and strong organisation design has become equally important, particularly as businesses scale or transform and roles and systems become ever more intertwined. Historically, it wasn’t always prioritised, but today it’s central to how effectively change is delivered and sustained.
Was there a moment you realised your approach was quite unique?
Yes, I remember a leader once saying to me: “You’re quite different. You’ve spent the whole meeting asking about the business commercially, and you’re the first person not to tell me why my idea won’t work, but instead how it might”.
In another case, a change programme was being heavily influenced by risk-averse legal advice that was about to take the business down an expensive and unnecessary path, threatening to undermine the whole project. We quickly found a far better and less disruptive solution for everyone.
Those moments stuck with me. For me, it’s simple – if you don’t understand the business and can’t operate beyond policy and process, your people strategy won’t be fit for purpose.
HR’s role today is one of the power roles and is to help the business perform better, commercially, organisationally and culturally. That mindset has become more widespread in recent years, supported by advances in HR technology and data, which are transforming how the function operates and the value it delivers.
How important is the CEO–HR partnership?
It’s critical. The most significant growth and performance shifts I’ve seen, including major transformations and successful M&A activity, have occurred when HR is truly at the top table as an equal and central partner and co-creator of strategy, a genuine partner to the CEO, and an equal contributor and accountable to business outcomes.
What people challenges tend to arise during growth and turnaround situations?
It’s rarely about effort and usually about clarity, alignment, prioritisation. Too many competing priorities, leadership teams that aren’t fully aligned, organisational overload, capability gaps, and ineffective organisation design all play a part. Programme governance can be weak, performance management underutilised, and middle management often underdeveloped.
One of the most overlooked areas is the layer just below the executive team. If that group isn’t aligned and engaged to the mission and to each other in how this is distilled operationally, performance suffers.
The positive side is that when businesses address these areas properly, the impact can be transformational. It sharpens focus, improves results and builds high-performing cultures.
So how do you support businesses today?
Very practically.
Through Future HR and my work with The Coaching Solution too, I provide board advisory, project consulting and executive and HR coaching.
Increasingly, that includes tailored and blended programmes designed to support both individuals and teams. Everything is centred around one core question: do we have what it takes to deliver our ambition?
Giving back is also important to me. Over the past year, I have supported around 150 individuals on a pro bono basis, helping them navigate one of the most challenging job markets I’ve seen. In 2026, part of our profits will go toward the Fashion & Textile Children’s Trust and St Luke’s Hospice.
Looking ahead, what trends will shape HR in retail?
We’re at a real inflection point. Technology has become a performance engine, people experience a commercial lever, and organisation design more critical than ever. Leadership must be agile enough to navigate constant change, innovation and disruption. while delivering great experiences for both customers and colleagues.
HR must continue to evolve by building stronger commercial acumen, embracing AI and technology, leveraging data and insight, and focusing on organisational agility, talent and next-generation people experience.
We’re also seeing more cross-pollination between HR and broader business leadership roles. Chief people officers are increasingly viewed as one of the most influential roles in an organisation and that trend will continue.
As a returning judge for the People in Retail Awards and contributor to The Retail Bulletin HR programmes, what keeps you coming back?
I genuinely love it. The Retail Bulletin has created something special. The events are energising, inclusive and grounded in real conversations. There’s a strong sense of community and a refreshing lack of grandstanding.
The People in Retail Awards are a real highlight. They shine a light on the people behind the performance. Every year I’m struck by the creativity, resilience and commitment across the industry.
Retail is constantly evolving, often facing unexpected challenges, but it continues to adapt and innovate. That’s what makes it so special.
Why are people-focused awards so important right now?
Because people are the difference. Everything else can be replicated but leadership, culture and teams cannot. Retail is a dynamic industry, but it’s also facing real challenges, including the increasing pressures frontline colleagues deal with. Recognising and celebrating the people behind the industry has never been more important.
Final thoughts?
Forty years in and I’m not done yet. I still get a buzz walking the stores (and yes, I’m still the person sending clients photos when I spot their products in the wild). I love helping businesses and leaders to succeed.
At Future HR, the focus is simple: accelerating performance through people. When you get that right, organisations don’t just improve, they take off.
And I’m very much looking forward to seeing everyone at the next Retail HR Central event in Birmingham on 14 May, and to celebrating this year’s People in Retail Awards.
