National Timber Group (NTG) has appointed a new Chief People Officer.

Joanne Thompson will lead on employee engagement, talent attraction and development, and ensuring consistency across the group in all aspects of HR. She has 25 years' experience in all areas of human resources with a focus on talent management and driving commercial performance through the organisation’s people.

Her career began at Marks & Spencer, where she worked for 22 years, followed by cancer charity, Macmillan, and latterly mobility solutions provider, Zigup. She is a member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development).


Speaking about her appointment she said: "I'm excited to join National Timber Group and its 1,300 people in England and Scotland.

"The focus of my team and I will be colleague engagement so that all our people feel part of the future growth of the business. We want to create an inclusive place to work where all colleagues become problem solvers and see themselves developing their skills in a company where there is active progression.

"We aim to attract the very best people, not just from the timber industry, but from all sectors, and to engage, retain and reward the talent we have. My absolute focus is on our people, to support them and in turn, grow the business performance and culture. This business is changing positively, and this is an exciting time to be part of the future success of NTG."

Joanne is a member of NTG’s executive team reporting to Group Chief Executive, Scott Cairns.