The changes behind the scenes continue at St James' Park with a key appointment introduced to staff today
Newcastle United swoop for ex-Virgin Media chief
Newcastle United swoop for ex-Virgin Media chief
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Newcastle United have appointed a new Chief People Officer at St James' Park as they look to perfect departments around the club.
Staff were today informed of the arrival of former Virgin Media head of talent Graeme Johnson who will take on both an HR role and look to improve people services around the building. The news comes on the back of a 100-day review conducted by CEO David Hopkinson.
It is also believed that Newcastle used one of the top three global management consulting firms to take a close look at the club's overall performance during a root and branch review. Newcastle deployed Boston Consulting Group as Hopkinson arrived at United last autumn with a view to take the club up a level, both commercially and on the field.
Johnson spent five years with Virgin Media but was introduced to staff at St James' Park today. The role of Boston Consulting Group was to help maximise performance with their company statement reading: "We work closely with clients to empower their organisations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact."
Hopkinson has spoken of Newcastle as a "rocket ship" ready to take off in his briefings with the media since taking over last autumn.
A recent fan meeting also revealed: "David Hopkinson outlined the three pillars of the Club’s transformation plan: ambition, culture and strategy. He emphasised the importance of aligning all staff behind a unified definition of success, streamlining decision making, and introducing a refreshed Delegation of Authority to enable faster and more effective local decision making.
"DH noted that, as part of the one-hundred-day review, the Club undertook a clear assessment of its strengths and opportunities for improvement.
"Approaching six months in post, he confirmed that the transformation plan was presented to the Board on 12 December, where it received unanimous approval.
"He described the strategic plan as one that sets out a clearly articulated vision and ambition statement, comparable to those of leading global organisations.
"He stressed that ambition must be supported by an aligned organisational structure and a consistent understanding of what success looks like across all staff.
"DH also highlighted the creation of a high-performance culture, reflecting the values supported by best practice approaches to recognising and rewarding aligned behaviours and recruiting individuals who embody them."
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