This Years’ Top Award at The Cherries
Our Founder Dean Hunter has been crowned this year’s Top Cherry at Aberdeen’s Cherries Award, recognising excellence in the HR community, 15 years after winning HR Director of the Year at the very first Cherries Awards.
This prestigious award is given to a leader in the field who has made an impact beyond the organisations in which they have been employed (or in Dean’s case, founded!)
Read on to find out why Dean is so deserving of the Top Cherry award.
Dean’s History
In 2006 Dean and eight of his fellow Directors led the people management buyout of the operations and management division of KBR Inc. to create PSN, at the time one of the largest MBOs in Scotland. During his time at PSN, he supported the start-up of business in over 10 countries and managed a global HR team of 110 staff. From a workplace culture transformation perspective, he reduced staff turnover from 40-7% and listed the business in the Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For, four years in a row.
In 2011 PSN was bought by Wood Group and Dean led the merger of Wood Group and PSN from a people perspective, bringing together 41,000 employees worldwide.
Following this sale, Dean went on to found his own HR consultancy – cue the birth of Hunter Adams! Initially intended to be a one-man band, Hunter Adams has grown to have four offices across the UK, and a team of 70 HR professionals supporting over 900 clients. It’s accolades include winning Best New Company at the Scottish Business Awards in 2014, and earning the highest Scottish SME ranking for Wellbeing in the Times Top100.
Dean is an avid supporter of the HR profession more generally
- working alongside many other senior HR professionals in Aberdeen and playing an active role throughout his career in Energy Sector forums, designed to share learning and best practice
- regularly commenting on HR, employee engagement and skills in oil and gas through his column in trade publication Energy Voice
- mentoring placement students, graduates and experienced professionals entering HR from other professions, such as the Police
He is passionate about helping organisations to improve their culture
- supporting other Founders to get the people side of their business right as they scale
- working with HR teams to help them set their people strategy, and also with Boards and Leadership teams to help them understand the value that great HR can bring to their business
In recent years, Dean has also been a vocal champion of LGBTQ rights, and has spoken openly abut his own personal experiences, as well as the benefits of gender equality, female leadership, and the advantages that having a largely female workforce has brought to his business. He is also a heartfelt advocate of supporting children through adoption, and is a Trustee for Parents and Children Together (PACT), a charity providing adoption services, award-winning adoption support and inspirational community projects across London.
Please join me in congratulating our Top Cherry for 2023, Mr Dean Hunter!
The team at Hunter Adams couldn’t be prouder of Dean, and this award couldn’t be more well deserved.
