Liz Jewitt-Cross, founder and managing director of Future HR, argues that effective human resources management must function as a true commercial partnership to drive success in the retail sector. With decades of experience leading people strategy at major brands, she says the modern HR role has evolved beyond administrative tasks to become a central component of business strategy.
From family visits to boardrooms
Growing up meant Saturday store visits instead of lie-ins. The energy, pride, and quality stood out. Her background led her to start with fashion Saturday jobs, eventually moving into banking before returning to retail to build her career in earnest.
Jewitt-Cross explains that retail was less of a career choice and more of a family tradition. Her late father spent 33 years at Marks & Spencer, moving from store leadership to helping shape the company’s food business and early standalone food store strategy. Even after retirement, he remained involved, running part of their retired employee network and continuing informal “store inspections” in his local area.
Beyond policy and process
She describes HR as the closest role to the CEO without actually being the CEO. Answering the fundamental question regarding mission and delivery depends on that central role.
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During her early board career, she noticed HR was often seen as transactional rather than a true commercial partner. She found that leaders needed a commercially focused approach. By breaking down silos and joining the dots, she helped deliver strong returns during periods of change. Her work spans food, fashion, and DIY across large-scale, international businesses.
Real change happens on the shop floor when HR leaders move beyond paperwork and start asking how people strategies fuel the bottom line. It creates a ripple effect where store staff feel supported.
Morale improves, and customer service becomes better because employees are engaged in the business’s success rather than just following scripts.
Jewitt-Cross emphasizes that the CEO-HR partnership is critical. Significant transformations and successful M&A activity often occur when HR sits at the top table as an equal partner. She notes that the most significant growth and performance shifts she has seen rely on a genuine partnership between the chief executive and the human resources leader.
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The human element
Challenges during growth or turnaround usually stem from a lack of clarity rather than a lack of effort. Competing priorities and misaligned leadership teams often derail progress. She highlights that the middle management layer, just below the executive team, is frequently overlooked. If that group is not aligned with the mission, performance suffers.
She believes people-focused awards are important because leadership and culture cannot be replicated. The creative resilience and commitment across the industry often go unnoticed. Over the past year, she supported around 150 individuals on a pro bono basis, helping them cope with one of the most challenging job markets seen.
Looking ahead, she predicts that technology will become a performance engine. Chief people officers are increasingly viewed as one of the most influential roles in an organization. Future HR focuses on accelerating performance through people. As the industry adapts to constant change and disruption, the connection between leadership, culture, and teams remains irreplaceable.
