Hello PPMA friends and colleagues

Last week was #PPMAHR22 in Manchester. It was a brilliant 3 days and one of the highlights was the inauguration of our new President – Gordon McFarlane. As you will probably know Gordon is Assistant Director, Corporate Services at Leicestershire County Council and has been a PPMA member for a number of years. More recently he’s been supporting outgoing President Steve Davies as his VP. We would like to thank Steve for all of his work, especially during the difficult time of the pandemic and are delighted to say that he is remaining on our Board as Secretary. We would also like to welcome Gordon as our new President and know that we are in very safe hands for the next 2 years and into the future. Below Gordon shares with us his reflections from last week’s event.

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“It feels like a good time to briefly reflect on our 2022 conference – our first in person one for 3 years! We’ve had lots of really positive feedback over the last week from those of you who were able to attend, and there was a great atmosphere and a really positive vibe for the whole conference. It very much felt like a celebration of our profession and our achievements!

I was really impressed with all of our speakers – both in terms of quality, and also the diverse range of topics that were covered. A few themes developed over the conference e.g. the role of HR/OD now and in the future, EDI, workforce pressures and challenges, hybrid working, and wellbeing.

Huge congratulations to all of our award entrants and winners across all categories – we had some fantastic submissions, with great stories to tell and real evidence of your achievements.

I’d like to add my grateful thanks to all of our sponsors, whose support and ongoing commitment is invaluable. In addition, many  generously donated raffle prizes, and we raised a brilliant total of £2,200 as a result of your generosity. This will be split equally between our two chosen charities – Parkinsons Disease Society and British Red Cross – DEC Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal.

You can view all of the photos, speaker slides on our website  The highlights video from the whole event will be available to watch very soon.

I feel really optimistic about the future of the PPMA – your association, and whilst we’ll soon begin to plan for next year’s conference at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole Hotel on the 26th to 28th April 2023 (save the dates!), there will be lots of activity and engagement with you between now and then.

Finally, enjoy the early summer weather!”

Gordon McFarlane, PPMA President