Heather Saville
London
Summary
Strategic People & Culture leader with over 25 years shaping high-performance organisations in Media, EdTech, FinTech and global advertising networks. International experience includes leading culture transformation, post-acquisition integration and enterprise-wide change across Europe, North America, LATAM, MENA and APAC. Expert in aligning executive teams and embedding values-led performance cultures, with a strong focus on HR functions as strategic business partners.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work history
SVP/Director of People & Culture
BritBox International
London
07.2023 - 03.2026
- Drove strategic HR transformation that embedded a high-performance culture which led to BritBox being awarded Broadcast’s Best Place to Work in TV 2026.
- Increased Engagement scores consistently year on year, with eNPS of over 80%.
- Aligned senior leadership, upskilled all people managers, and applied behavioural insights to optimise team effectiveness and individual impact.
- Created BritBox’s Global Values and behaviours through interactive workshops, embedding them across the full employee lifecycle to ensure consistent global standards and culture.
- Ensured successful alignment of BritBox and BBC Studios during BritBox acquisition, as evidenced by positive feedback and uplift in Engagement Survey and zero attrition.
Global HR Director
Zeal Tech (ZFX – a Fintech company)
London
06.2022 - 07.2023
- Set up Global Centre of Excellence (CoE) delivering transformational strategic and operational initiatives, including performance management, across diverse geographies and functions.
- Created and repositioned globally aligned, highly effective HR team of 40+.
- Built specialist TA team to fast track hiring of over 300 hires in 6 months.
Global Head - Culture & Engagement
WhiteHat Jr (a Byju’s EdTech company)
04.2020 - 05.2022
- Crafted a culture framework supported by powerful global values which attracted, retained and inspired.
- Designed a culture transformation strategy from startup to growth phase for 10K strong employee base.
- Trained and coached 2000 + employees across the global organization to ensure behavioural and leadership skills which aligned with the company strategy and culture.
- Empowered global stakeholders at all levels, driving cultural shifts in all elements of HR.
- Achieved a sharp increase in ESAT, NPS rating of 8.6% as well as strong qualitative comments in 6 months.
Group HR Director
The MullenLowe Lintas Group (part of IPG Group)
India
10.2018 - 03.2020
- Built brand identity and values to attract and onboard best talent through a performance-oriented framework.
- Created a learning programme for 600 employees to support business growth and cultural integration.
- Led training programmes for senior leaders with focus on employee recognition, wellbeing and DE&I.
- Developed the Employee Value Proposition both internally (2000 employees) and externally - increasing impact of the company Instagram page by 10x.
Chief Talent Officer
The 120 Media Collective (Independent media group)
01.2012 - 10.2017
- Developed a strategic HR vision to drive performance, leadership capability, talent attraction and retention.
- Hired and trained a team to implement deliverables to meet organizational and cultural objectives.
- Hired over 500 employees through a period of transformation for this fast-growing digital media business.
Channel Head Bindass TV / Group VP, HR
UTV Group, Mumbai (now Disney)
Mumbai
08.2007 - 09.2011
- Partnered with divisional CEOs leading change for maximum business impact.
- Set company’s values and behaviours delivering training and engagement solutions for 1000 employees.
- Ran TV Channel Bindass TV – winning market leadership from MTV.
Regional Business Director / VP, HR
JWT / Lowe Lintas
London and APAC
08.1997 - 07.2007
- Led regional teams developing localised advertising strategies and campaigns for Unilever’s foods and detergent power brands, across APAC region.
- Asked to take on role of HR Head for the company, leading a team of 12 – rebranded HR internally and led all elements of the HR mix.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
Level 7 Advanced Diploma -
CIPD
Skills
- Culture & Transformation Strategy
- Change Management
- Performance & Engagement Transformation
- M&A Integration & Organisational Alignment
- Executive Coaching & Leadership Development
- Talent Strategy & High-Growth Scaling
- DE&I Strategy & Cultural Advocacy
- HR Team Design & Capability Building
Certification
- Chartered CIPD Fellow
- ACC Coaching Certification - ICF (international Coach Federation)
- FICCI Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Certification Program
- Certified 200 Hour Yoga Teacher
Proud of
- My paper - How Hyperbundling reimagined India’s greatest brand builder shortlisted by India’s leading OD institution (TISS) for “The Future of Work and OD’.
- Author – Becoming Mrs Kumar (fiction – published by Penguin Random House 2013)
- Contributing writer – Idiva (https://www.idiva.com/) and various publications. ( Ungender, Mind Matters)
- Speaker and panelist at multiple leadership conferences and summits
Timeline
SVP/Director of People & Culture
BritBox International
07.2023 - 03.2026
Global HR Director
Zeal Tech (ZFX – a Fintech company)
06.2022 - 07.2023
Global Head - Culture & Engagement
WhiteHat Jr (a Byju’s EdTech company)
04.2020 - 05.2022
Group HR Director
The MullenLowe Lintas Group (part of IPG Group)
10.2018 - 03.2020
Chief Talent Officer
The 120 Media Collective (Independent media group)
01.2012 - 10.2017
Channel Head Bindass TV / Group VP, HR
UTV Group, Mumbai (now Disney)
08.2007 - 09.2011
Regional Business Director / VP, HR
JWT / Lowe Lintas
08.1997 - 07.2007
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
Level 7 Advanced Diploma -
CIPD