JONATHAN SMILANSKY, Ph.D.

Flat 2 Gabriel Court, 1 Lancaster Grove, London NW3 4EU United Kingdom

jsmilanskyat yahoo dot com
Tel +44 207 905 7159 (work); Mobile+447931 911101
Senior Human Resource executive with in depth leadership experience in large, international businesses, as a Partner in consultancy firms and an academic. Key capabilities include:
  • Heading the Human Resource function in truly global businesses.
  • Leading edge expertise in talent management and large scale organisation change (especially M&A)
  • Experience in working within the field of educational leadership

Professional Experience
(2003- Present) Partner, Hydrogen Consulting (London)
Working with senior executives on the development of talent management practices, assessment of executive capability and potential, tailored coaching and career development planning. Current clients in the creative industries, insurance, hospitality & professional services (joint venture with Oxygen Executive Search). Consulting in Israel with Bank Leumi, Hadassa and the Israeli Human Resource Association
(1996- 2002) Executive Vice President Global Human Resources, Universal Music Group (New York)
Developing effective Human Resource practices for the largest international music company with over 25% market share and 12,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Key achievements include:
  • Facilitating a very successful merger (between Universal & PolyGram) including the design and implementation of processes for choosing the best country management & HQ teams, retaining the best executives and achieving significant headcount reductions without negative impact on work processes
  • Establishing global talent management processes to ensure early identification of capable executives around the world, training efforts to build their skills in key competence areas (Finance, negotiations, creative problem solving, people management) and systematic succession processes using these executives to fill open positions (instead of always recruiting from outside)
  • Assisting HQ, country and label management teams to identify strengths and areas for improvement, design and implement plans for improving organisation effectiveness (in terms of selecting the appropriate people, building effective management processes, dealing with interpersonal issues and developing a performance oriented culture).
  • Designing and implementing global compensation processes (including base pay, annual and long term incentives) that focus on the achievement of short and medium term business objectives. Building management support for the new schemes and ensuring that they are implemented effectively.
  • Becoming a key player in the senior executive team, contributing to business decisions especially in terms of the organisation implications and what needs to be done to prepare for change at an individual manager and management team level. This was achieved in an entertainment industry that is not used to business contribution from Human Resource professionals.
  • Volunteer work with the New York school system focused on talent management and the development of school principals leadership capabilities.

(1995-96) Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources & Service Quality, Forte-Meridien Hotels & Resorts (London)
Responsible for the development of effective Human Resource management & service quality processes for 83 five star hotels with around 25,000 staff world-wide. Key achievements include:
  • Facilitating a large-scale merger, between Forte and Meridien, which were organisations with very different cultures and work processes. This included selecting the best executives, team building efforts to develop effective working relationships and internal communication efforts to build support for the new culture.
  • Building a service strategy that could provide competitive advantage. This included the development of alternative approaches to service excellence, ensuring management buy-in, developing service quality monitoring tools, implementing global programs for staff training to develop the required skills, and working with Marketing to include service as a component of the marketing message.
  • Developing a global internal resourcing/career management process that will enable employees to apply for open positions while enabling management to develop the career of high potential executives
  • Reducing employment costs through the development and implementation of flexible staffing systems and through delayering of middle management ranks within hotels where more experienced staff could expand their responsibility through empowerment initiatives.
Improving hotel sales processes through the implementation of competence based recruitment, focused skills training around improved work processes and changing bonus payments to reflect actions within the control of each sales executive.
(1993-95) Partner, Pilat Consulting Group (London).
Consulting at senior management level (e.g. BUPA, BMW, Volkswagen - Audi Group, Boots, Forte Hotels, National Power, TSB Bank) focused on developing organisation culture in line with business objectives, improving manpower utilisation, performance management and talent development processes.

(1988-93) Senior Vice President, Internal Services, VISA International – (Europe, Middle East & Africa Region- London)

Responsible for Finance, Human Resources, Facilities, Total Quality and Management Information. Key initiatives include implementing performance management processes, Activity Based Costing for improving financial efficiencies and Total Quality Management
(1984-88) Partner, Hay Management Consultants (London)
Responsible for United Kingdom assessment, training and development consulting practices. Direct involvement in consulting at senior management level to various financial, retail and industrial organisations regarding short and medium term Human Resource requirements for strategy implementation (e.g. Nomura Bank, Lloyds Bank, Metal Box, Mobil Oil, The Royal Air Force, Volvo, and Central Electricity Generating Board).
( 1976-84) Associate Professor, University of Illinois (Chicago), Senior Lecturer, HebrewUniversity (Israel)
Research and theory on professional, management and organisation development processes. Training programme development consultant to military, high technology, financial & academic organisations. Working with the educational system to develop teachers and school principals.
EDUCATION: PhD, University of Chicago.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS: Fellow, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (United Kingdom); Member, American Psychological Association (USA); Principle Member, Association of Business Psychologists (United Kingdom).
BOOKS: ‘Teaching Techniques’, McGraw Hill, 1980; ‘The New HR’, Thompson Publishing 1997; ‘Talent Management’, Wiley, 2006. Numerous articles in professional journals.