Fractional CHROs in London Making Things Happen in 2025

London Interim Chief People Officers to Know

London has always been a global business center. It’s where legacy industries meet innovation, and where fast-scaling companies are just as likely to be found in heritage buildings as in co-working spaces. Across fintech, professional services, life sciences, and nonprofits, companies in London are facing growing complexity—and are increasingly solving it through fractional leadership.

Among the most in-demand roles? Fractional Chief People Officers (CPOs) and CHROs. These professionals are helping organizations navigate growth, transformation, and culture shifts—without the long lead time or high cost of a full-time executive.

At Digital Reference, we’ve curated a list of London-based fractional CHROs who are bringing clarity, structure, and alignment to companies that need senior HR leadership right now. Whether operating independently or as part of advisory collectives, these leaders aren’t just consultants. They’re trusted partners, embedded thinkers, and action-oriented strategists.

Our Curation Process: How We Select Fractional CHROs in London

We don’t believe in surface-level directories. Digital Reference evaluates each profile through a lens of quality, alignment, and local relevance. To be featured, each professional must:

• Be active in the London metro region and serve UK-based organizations
  
  
• Clearly identify as working in a fractional, interim, or embedded CHRO/CPO capacity
  
  
• Offer a track record of HR leadership across multiple sectors or high-growth contexts
  
  
• Be publicly accessible and referenceable via LinkedIn or firm profiles
  
  
• Align with Digital Reference’s core belief in reputation as currency
  
  

The result? A highly curated resource for founders, operators, and boards who need executive-level HR partnership on flexible terms.

London Fractional CHROs to Know

🔹 Ally Maughan

Founder & Chair, People Puzzles | Strategic People Leader | Board Advisor
Ally Maughan founded People Puzzles to help mid-sized businesses get access to senior HR strategy without hiring full-time. Since 2010, her firm has embedded fractional HR Directors and CHROs across the UK. Ally herself has led transformational people projects in businesses ranging from scale-ups to complex enterprise environments. She’s passionate about aligning people strategy with commercial outcomes—and she’s built a team of leaders who do just that.

🔍 Specialties: People planning, growth-stage orgs, founder coaching, team effectiveness
📍 Based in: London, UK

🔹 Michelle Lustig

Fractional People Director | HR Consultant | Commercial HR Partner
Michelle brings a pragmatic, outcomes-focused lens to her work as a fractional HR director and CPO. With experience across fintech, retail, tech, and healthcare, she’s known for helping companies grow intentionally—especially as they approach inflection points like fundraising, re-orgs, or international expansion. She partners with leadership teams to align HR strategy with wider business goals, focusing on both the structural and cultural dimensions of scale.

🔍 Specialties: Scaling people ops, HR infrastructure, org design, HR audits
📍 Based in: London, UK

Why London Businesses Are Turning to Fractional HR Leadership

London’s labor market is one of the most international and dynamic in the world. But that dynamism brings complexity—especially when companies need to:

• Scale HR functions quickly
  
  
• Professionalize culture without losing identity
  
  
• Navigate compliance across the UK and EMEA
  
  
• Manage hybrid and remote transitions
  
  
• Prepare for due diligence or investment rounds
  
  
• Introduce performance management or reward systems
  
  

Fractional CHROs solve for these challenges in weeks, not months—giving companies the leadership they need at exactly the right time.

Common Use Cases for Fractional CHROs in London

🧭 Startups post-funding: Founders need help building HR from scratch
📈 Mid-market growth: You’ve outgrown your people systems but aren’t ready for a full-time CHRO
🌐 Global expansion: Need HR strategy across borders with compliance in mind
🔄 M&A and integration: Fractional CHROs help unify people practices across entities
📣 Crisis or brand damage: A trusted CPO helps rebuild internal culture and trust

Whether it’s for 10 hours a week or a six-month engagement, fractional HR leaders are giving London companies the clarity and capacity they need to lead through complexity.

What Sets a Great Fractional CHRO Apart?

At Digital Reference, we look beyond credentials to find leaders who embody three things:

✅ Contextual judgment: They can drop into any org stage and assess what’s really needed
✅ Reputation and referenceability: Others trust them—and that trust travels
✅ Alignment with founders and boards: They know how to navigate high-stakes, high-urgency environments

Ally and Michelle aren’t just doing HR—they’re helping organizations become better versions of themselves.

Digital Reference Spotlight: Related Reads

Looking to learn more about fractional leadership or build a reference-first hiring strategy? Check these out:

📘 How to Hire a Fractional Executive
A practical guide for founders and operators navigating interim leadership.

📍 The Importance of Professional References
Explore why third-party credibility is more critical than ever in today’s trust-driven hiring market.

📘 Collecting Professional References: The Dos and Don’ts
References are often the make-or-break element of your next opportunity. Yet many professionals still treat the reference process as an afterthought or, worse, scramble to collect them last minute.

📗 The Talent Ecosystem: Why Fractional Operators Are Reshaping the C-Suite
Explore the structural shifts behind the rise of fractional leadership and what it means for your next hire.

Final Thought: The Future of HR Is Flexible—and That’s a Good Thing

As London continues to evolve into a hub for startups, scale-ups, and global firms, the leadership models supporting those companies are changing too.

Fractional CHROs are no longer a “maybe.” They’re a strategic yes for companies that want to scale without losing their culture—or their edge.

From building DEI frameworks to designing performance systems, from coaching founders to helping boards regain trust, these people leaders aren’t waiting for org charts to be finalized. They’re showing up, solving real challenges, and shaping workplaces that work better for everyone.

Ally and Michelle are already making things happen in London. And if your business is growing faster than your people strategy, this is exactly where you start.

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