The origins of the British institution Royal Mail can be traced back to 1516, when King Henry VIII established a “Master of the Post” position. This opened a line of untethered communication, nationwide, that had never been possible before. Post was even paid for by the recipient, not the sender. More than 500 years later, the Royal Mail identity is ever more entrenched within society: flashes of bright red post-boxes can be spotted on any street. Carol Hipkiss-Spencer, not quite “Master of the Post” but most definitely “Master of HR”, worked across Royal Mail for almost 30 years, delivering specialist expertise on human resources. We wouldn’t be surprised if red is her favourite colour.

Carol has previously worked at the Royal Mail across many senior roles for over 28 years and is now a Resolution Consultant for the TCM Group and a Trustee/Board Director of an Educational academy.  A successful and confident leader, she has held roles such as Head of Industrial Relations, Head of Learning & Development and HR Director, which have resulted in a depth and breadth of HR expertise at both generalist and specialist levels. With interests in managing and resolving conflict and as an experienced investigator, Carol has led a national mediation team and has a strong track record of successfully managing industrial disputes in a large, complex, and often volatile unionised environments. Excelling in individual and group development, Carol has also employed preventative strategies to conflict emerging in the workplace. A Post-Graduate and Fellow of the CIPD, Carol is accredited in mediation, executive coaching, and is a practitioner of MBTI. Carol has also successfully completed an Executive Leadership Development Programme on Strategic Leadership at Oxford Said Business School.