Dean Royles, Director, NHS Employers

HR Most Influential 2012 Practitioner - position 1

"Role modelling best in call business partnering"

"Leading the HR community through choppy waters at a time of unprecedented change"

"A great role model in leadership both online and in person"

"Inspirational, motivational and dedicated"

Dean Royles was appointed as director for NHS Employers in December 2010 and has established a strong voice and profile for employers on issues, including pay, pensions, training, well-being and ensuring quality.

His knowledge comes from an impressive HR career within the service. This has proved invaluable because the scale of the NHS, as Europe's largest employer, is matched by its complexity.

His previous roles include director of workforce and education at NHS North West, director of HR and communications at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and deputy director of workforce for the NHS at the Department of Health, where he was responsible for developing a national HR strategy for the NHS, key elements of which include staff engagement and social partnership.

Royles was the first HR director at East Midlands Ambulance Service following its creation in 1999. He has also worked at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and in a community trust, having started his HR career in industrial relations in a local authority. 

He firmly believes in leading by example and champions projects including Positive, Fair and Diverse and the Apprenticeship Network.

He is a visiting fellow at Newcastle Business School, chair of the board of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a chartered fellow for the same organisation. Royles is married with four children and lives in Sheffield.