Ceridian’s strategy director, Penny de Valk – recently ranked as 40th in HR Magazine’s most influential - has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).  

Taking on the role in October, Penny joins the board of the City & Guilds Group which includes its subsidiary, ILM - the largest awarding body for leadership and management in Europe and leading professional body committed to developing managers and leaders.

Reporting to Chris Humphries, director general of the City & Guilds Group, Penny will be responsible for the performance of ILM, responding to the challenges of an increasingly competitive market place as well as contributing to the ongoing development of the strategic direction of the City & Guilds Group.

Humphries confirms that Penny has the right credentials for the post.  She was formerly the chief executive of New Zealand’s Institute of Management in Auckland for four years where she oversaw rapid growth and market impact before joining Ceridian in the UK ten years ago. She has also held two non–executive director positions with listed companies and worked in the fields of professional services, retail, insurance, publishing and management development.

Leading the work/life balance debate over the last ten years, Penny is a recognised pioneer in this area and was instrumental in making Ceridian the first organisation in the UK to offer a fully integrated EAP and work/life service. She was promoted to strategy director in 2005, with responsibility for planning and strategy development and the on-going build of Human Capital capability business through partnerships, alliances and acquisitions.  

Armed with an impressive portfolio of senior positions in corporate marketing, management development and consultancy in business to business environments, Penny said: ‘I am delighted to be joining ILM and look forward to contributing to the on-going success of the organisation and its critical purpose of developing leadership and management capability.’

Chris Humphries, director general of City & Guilds stated: ‘Penny’s track record in leadership and applying leading edge HR interventions into deriving true business benefit makes her an excellent candidate to lead ILM into the future.  She will be a great asset to ILM and the rest of the City & Guilds Group.’

     -ends-

Members of the media, contact the press office on 0207 294 8054 for further information, including high res images and interview requests.

Notes to editor:

• ILM: The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) is part of the international City & Guilds group.

• ILM is the largest provider of management education qualifications in Europe, building the skills of over 85,000 managers and leaders each year.

• All ILM qualifications are designed to deliver practical business benefit to the individual, their team and the organisation they work for.

• ILM's qualifications are delivered by 2,000 further education colleges, universities, training providers and companies in the UK and globally.

• ILM is the professional membership body of choice for forward thinking managers and leaders providing a wide range of member benefits, support and development opportunities throughout their career.

• City & Guilds is the expert and leading authority in vocational education and training - both in the UK and beyond.

• In operation for the last 130 years, City & Guilds is the UK’s leading awarding body for work-related qualifications.  Twenty million people in the UK have City & Guilds qualifications, and the organisation awards a further 1.5 million qualifications to learners every year.

• City & Guilds creates prosperity from skills for individuals, business and nations within and beyond the workplace.