Interim Interviews with… Margarita Ziborova

Our Interim team here at Macmillan Davies works with a range of fantastic interim professionals. In the latest edition of our ‘Interim Interviews’ series, Sophie Atkinson, Senior Consultant in our Interim Recruitment team, speaks to Margarita Ziborova, a skilled HR professional with a career that has spanned business such as Orange, Kantar, Pepsico, East West Rail and The Palladium Group.

Tell me about your career to date?

The first part of my career was spent at big brands like Kantar, Orange, PepsiCo. Out of them, PepsiCo was the most memorable thanks to its fantastic culture and people. This is where I grew and progressed from HR Generalist to HR Business Partner and operated across Europe. I supported corporate functions and worked with my beloved R&D function the longest. During my years there I led globalisation and the major acquisition of a $2 bln business for the functions I supported. In 2013 PepsiCo relocated me from Russia to the UK as part of their exceptional talent programme.

After a few years I felt it was time to roll up the sleeves and run an HR agenda that I could create myself. I joined Enable, a growing construction business with a very nice family-feel culture and turned it into a much more dynamic organisation, able to attract and retain forward-thinking talent. It was there that I built an HR function from scratch and received Investors in People Silver accreditation after just 18 months. I helped them to scale up and scale down whilst keeping people engaged.

I then joined East West Rail – one of the most innovative projects in the railway industry, with a great purpose to make a difference by connecting people through the railway. I grew EWR from 40 to 350, bringing in all the best HR practices and building a talented HR team. I was part of the Board and had an opportunity to influence positive changes to culture and leadership at EWR. I also worked with the Department for Transport as our shareholder to ensure they bought into our people agenda and helped us to sign off critical people-related decisions.

I decided to change the industry and remit of my role and joined a global consultancy firm, The Palladium Group, which runs sustainable projects for the public and private sectors to improve people's lives and our planet. As VP HR I designed and ran the HR strategy for the EMEA region and supported the Managing Partner in building and developing her leadership team. This is when I understood that after designing 3-years' HR strategy and building an HR team I can leave it to deliver a nicely outlined and clear HR plan and start my interim career.

What attracted you to a career as an Interim specialist?

I love to get to know new people. Looking back at my career I understood that the biggest asset in my life is people who I was lucky to meet. Being a natural problem-solver, I get excitement from identifying issues and finding solutions to them, I really like helping companies. I also love change and interim career puts you on this ever changing and evolving track. You grow and develop only if you challenge and stretch yourself.

What has been your most enjoyable/memorable part of a project thus far?

The most exciting part is looking back and seeing the legacy you left. All these fantastic people that were hired, those who have grown and have brought value to the company thanks to you and your team. This is the most rewarding part.

I call it "this is my company, these are my people".

What are some of the core skills you use as an HRD?

• Transferring company strategy into HR agenda - understanding what the company tries to achieve and helping it get there
• Balancing strategic and operational tasks - there is time to think big and time to roll up the sleeves
• Be a people voice on the board - help leaders keep people's interests in mind when making any decisions
• Connect hearts and minds - engaged and happy people deliver more
• Be a coach and a listener - ask the right questions to bring the right answers

What is the best piece of career advice you have received?

Develop your strengths rather than work on your weaknesses as your strengths are what make your personal brand, this is what you are known for.

How would your colleagues describe you?

My managers and my colleagues always say that my passion, my positive energy and my creativity are endless. My teams say that I am their most inspirational and supportive leader. So now it's time for me to share all this with as many companies as I can. HR is not a support function; it is a business-enabling function. With each role and each company, I am working hard to prove it.

Get in touch

Margarita is immediately available and won’t be on the market for long. To discuss further please contact our interim consultants:

• Sophie Atkinson – satkinson@mdhr.co.uk – 07930 086 518

• Amy Smith – asmith@mdhr.co.uk – 07946 173 393

Alternatively, if you require candidates of a different calibre for your business’s interim needs or if you would like to discuss how you can become an exclusive Macmillan Davies Professional, please contact the above.