First Sentier Investors has appointed Melanie Halsey as chief people and culture officer, based in London, reporting to the CEO Mark Steinberg.

Ms Halsey will join the group on 6 September 2021, bringing more than 20 years’ experience in senior HR roles, most recently as Executive Vice President, HR at Colt Technology Services Limited, where she led a global team of 150 HR professionals across 15 countries.

Prior to that, Ms Halsey was Global Head of HR for Eight Roads, a global venture capital firm. Ms Halsey joined that business after working for Eight Roads’ major shareholder Fidelity, where she was the Head of HR for UK Financial Services.

In her role, Ms Halsey will be primarily responsible for partnering with the business to design and implement strategies that will attract, engage, and develop employees and help the business build a high-performance culture, based on its values and reflecting the evolving changes in workplace culture globally.

CEO Mark Steinberg said the appointment strengthens the firm’s leadership team, and paves the way for progressive approaches to employee engagement and organisation design.

“At First Sentier Investors, we see an opportunity to further align our people programs with our vision, purpose and growth ambitions. Ms Halsey has extensive experience in the operational areas of HR, and has led broad strategic cultural transformation programs in the areas of D&I, CSR and employee engagement, which we know will play a pivotal role in our ongoing success.

“Her strong financial services experience, coupled with her commercial experience at Eight Roads and Colt means Ms Halsey is well placed to contribute to our growth strategy,” said Mr Steinberg.