Humans of HR: The story behind the leading lights – their career, motivation and achievements.
With an extensive career in HR within the professional services, Matt Wiggs, Vice President HR EMEA feels he was always in the right place.
03 December 2024
Story by
Simon Kent, Head of Content – The HR World
When Matt Wiggs was young his parents told him he was good at understanding people, arguing his point of view, speaking his mind and convincing people to do things that they didn’t know they wanted to do. On reflection Wiggs wonders whether this was actually good foundations for being a lawyer but whatever the career guidance at the time might have been, he certainly had an affinity for working and communicating with people. “Although my path has been somewhat indirect, HR is a great fit for me,” he says. “It allows me to collaborate with different people, engage with leaders, solve complex problems on a global scale and help people to recognise new opportunities or possibilities.”
His indirect career path has spanned multiple companies and countries. Working primarily in the professional services Wiggs points out that HR plays a central role in this sector. “Our people and their skills and experience are what we sell to our clients,” he says. “That makes HR integral to supporting their growth, and ours. It’s the perfect place for me.”
Rising to global challenges
Having started out in agency recruitment, working on the placement of temporary accountants across a variety of industries, Wiggs feels his career really got underway with an operational role at PwC. Working hard he took every opportunity that presented itself and progressed swiftly up the ladder. Five years on he took a place at EY, delivering on several operational, HR and project roles. He then transitioned from operations into HR and spent the next 15 years in various roles across the UK and US at one point becoming EY’s Global Talent Director for Transaction Advisory Services where he focussed on talent strategy for the business on a global basis. He then moved into global talent development, leading on the development of EY’s global career framework and career architecture.
With so much experience of EY under his belt, Wiggs decided he needed a new challenge so joined the law firm Dentons, as Europe HR Director, a move which took him to Munich and then Madrid. Four years later he took on his current role as EMEA VP of HR at FTI Consulting, again based in Madrid.
The COVID challenge
Wiggs acknowledges that moving to Munich in March 2020 at the very start of COVID was a particular challenge. A new city and job is challenging enough, but doing so in the pandemic scenario ranks among the most personally demanding experiences of his career. “It taught me what resilience really means,” says Wiggs, “especially when you are new to the firm that you are helping to navigate the same challenges from a business perspective.” Wiggs found having his husband with him, and the great environment of Munich around him was more than enough to keep him going.
Part of the attraction of HR for Wiggs is this element of difference – the ability to be working and contributing in such vastly different scenarios: “I love the fact that I get thrown new and different challenges every day,” says Wiggs.
“I get to solve complex business problems on a global scale that have an almost instant impact on our business and its success."
“Working with people and watching them develop and succeed is incredibly satisfying for me. I know many senior leaders today that I first met when they were graduates. That makes me feel very old, but it is incredibly satisfying knowing that I’ve played a small part in enabling their development and success.”
Matt has also found the international experience crucial to his development and enjoyment: “Working across the UK, Ireland, the US, Germany and Spain has taught me so much that I wouldn’t have learnt had I stayed in the UK,” he says. “It has provided me with a rich understanding of cultural nuances that training alone could not offer. Being immersed in different cultures and fortunate enough to work with some amazing leaders has expanded my perspectives and strengthened my ability to understand the global impact of decisions on different countries.” This experience, says Wiggs, continues to inform his approach and has made him a more effective HR leader. And since FTI Consulting is a global organisation, having an outward looking perspective is vital. “Embracing diverse viewpoints and thinking about problems from different perspectives is essential for our success,” he says.
HR supporting the business
Currently Wiggs acknowledges the challenging market for business generally and for professional services in particular. He says many firms are struggling and making difficult decisions and the role of HR becomes even more critical in those moments. “At FTI Consulting, we are facing similar headwinds, but the firm is growing and continues to invest in its people, attract new talent and focus on long term growth,” he says. In order to help grow the business the company have brought in a number of senior leaders over the past few years. “The key challenge is ensuring that our teams are aligned with our long-term goals, while sailing through the headwinds that we are facing at the moment,” says Wiggs. “We also strive to provide challenging assignments to ensure that our people feel engaged, motivated and continue to progress.”
As Wiggs notes, the role of HR has transformed significantly in recent years, both in terms of its importance and influence. “I love where HR stands,” he says, “at the heart of the business, working in partnership with senior leaders to solve complex problems, navigate challenging situations and highlight the human impact of the organisation’s decisions. It is exactly where I want to be. If I could change one thing, it would be to see the HR function foster more openness to change, particularly in embracing technology and AI. I think people can often fear these advances, but they should be seen as an opportunity.”
But whatever the future, and whatever the technology, Wiggs is clear the ‘human’ part of HR will never disappear. “We need to embrace the tools that are out there to streamline processes, boost efficiency and enable us to dedicate more time to high-value, human-centred interactions with our leaders and colleagues,” he concludes.
Matt Wiggs
Vice President HR EMEA, FTI Consulting
