What is a CPO? Kristine Pollock on culture, engagement and earning influence at ILG
The latest episode of The People Agenda Podcast continues the show’s What is a CPO? mini-series, this time with Kristine Pollock, Chief People Officer at International Logistics Group (ILG). Chris Howard and Debbie Mitchell host, as always.
ILG is a third-party logistics provider serving beauty and wellbeing brands, many of which started small and grew into household names. Kristine has worked in people and HR roles for over 30 years, and has led the function at ILG for the past three years.
Why the title changed
Kristine’s job title shifted from HR Director to CPO only last year. But, as she explains, the change wasn’t really about her function specifically. It reflected a wider move across ILG’s senior team, CFO, CIO and CPO alike, away from purely functional leadership and towards broader, enterprise-level accountability tied to growth and long-term value.
“It wasn’t really HR trying to elevate itself. It was the business recognising that all senior roles need to operate at a different level,” she says.
Building one culture across two businesses
A large part of the conversation covers how ILG is building a shared culture and set of values across itself and its subsidiary GFS, without erasing what makes each business distinct. The work has involved focus groups, a refreshed sense of purpose, and thinking hard about how those values translate into day-to-day decisions, not just posters on a wall.
Debbie picks up on exactly this tension: “If my value is you’re empowered to do the right thing, but I’ve got to get 15 levels of approval before I do it, then I’m not really living that value.”
Engaging a genuinely variable workforce
ILG’s workforce ranges from around 520 permanent staff to 120 regular casuals, rising to as many as 400 agency temps during peak season. Kristine talks through how ILG keeps this mix engaged, from a CEO inbox that takes questions directly, to employee forums, to making sure agency staff get the same induction and recognition as everyone else.
Chris sums up why engagement matters in practical terms, not just sentiment: “If I’m not feeling it, I’m not going to go over and above.”
Kristine closes with a description she’s used for her own role in the past: “I’ve referred to myself in the past as the company conscience,” a phrase that captures how she sees the CPO’s job, keeping people at the centre of every commercial decision.
In brief
- ILG’s CPO title reflects a business-wide shift towards strategic, growth-focused senior roles, not a status upgrade for HR
- ILG is building one shared culture across itself and subsidiary GFS, with a strong focus on making values practical rather than aspirational
- Engagement strategies stretch to cover a workforce that ranges from around 520 permanent staff to 1,000+ at peak
Listen to the full episode for more on how Kristine translates people strategy into board-level language, and where she thinks the CPO role is heading next.
