Shanthi Flynn | Speaker

Shanthi Flynn has over 30 years of commercial HR leadership, most recently as CHRO on the Executive Board of the Adecco Group (Fortune 500). Previously she was SVP HR at Walmart Asia, based out of Hong Kong, responsible for the People and Organisation strategy for 150,000 employees across China, Japan and India, sitting on the Regional Executive Committee team. Her time as Group HR Director at A S Watsons Group gave her hands-on experience of acquisitions and organic growth across Europe and Asia.

Her foundational HR and early leadership came from 10 years with Ford Motor Company and as International HR Director, FMCG Healthcare and Retail for the Boots Company plc (FTSE 100). She has an exceptional track record of improving organisations by leading and supporting business strategy with appropriate people and organisation plans, heading up change programmes, and recruiting, training and developing individuals and teams, up to board level.  She has led start-up teams in fast-growth and challenged economic environments, creating efficient small, medium and large enterprises. During her tenure, Adecco Group was voted 2nd in the Great Place to Work global survey.

She is the founder of S Flynn Consulting, providing services from keynote speaker and board and executive facilitation to people and organisation strategy diagnostics. She draws on her practical insight from being on 6 business executive leadership teams and 4 industry sectors – services, retail, manufacturing and FMCG healthcare, global (60 countries), and regional and local operational knowledge.

Shanthi is a passionate advocate for inclusive and merit-based workplaces and is one of the founding members of the ZIS Professional Women’s Network. She currently is a facilitator and advisor to the ZIS Board. She has previously been a member of the WEF Global Council for Economic Growth and Social Inclusion, a speaker at the Inclusion Summit at the Paralympics in Rio, a keynote speaker for The Women’s Foundation (HK) Mentoring Programme, chair of the AmCham HR Committee (HK), and a speaker and panellist at multiple conferences on topics ranging from the Future of Work and Multi-Channel Organisations to Leading High Performance Teams.

Shanthi was born in the UK to Sri Lankan parents and is the mother of 3 girls, ages 11, 13, and 15, and met her husband at Manchester University, having read Physiology and Pharmacology. She lived in Hong Kong for 14 years and now is based in Zurich.