From early commutes from Winchester to overseeing people strategy at one of the world’s leading sports and live entertainment companies, Kirstie Loveridge’s days are as dynamic as the industry she works in.
As executive vice president of People & Culture at AEG Europe, Kirstie – 50, based in Hampshire and commuting into the company’s Blackfriars office in London – draws on three decades of HR experience to lead a people-first approach across a business renowned for iconic venues like The O2 and global ticketing platform AXS.
In this edition of A Day in the Life of an HR Professional, Kirstie shares the habits that keep her grounded, her thoughts on HR’s future and why she’ll always make time for a good sudoku challenge.
I awake at 6am and as much as I try not to look at my phone — as any parent with a child living on another continent will attest to — my days always start by reaching for my phone to see if there have been any messages from my son, Josh, overnight. Josh has been playing football in the US since August. He’s loving it, and while my husband and I are loving the fact he’s living his best life, I’d certainly be happy with a bit more communication. But that’s life when you’re a mother to a teenage boy, I guess.
During my office days, I’m up and out the door on a 7:48am train. There isn’t a lot of time for anything else. Sometimes I manage to squeeze a workout in first thing, but if I don’t get to it in the morning, it’s always a great way to wind down at the end of a day. Exercise is my happy place, and I’m positively addicted to my Peloton. I’ve also taken up reformer Pilates this year, as my New Year’s resolution.
On the train, once I’ve prioritised my schedule and set my to-do list for the day ahead, I tend to spend my time with my nose in a book, or binge watching Netflix. I learnt the hard way to watch softer programmes only after screaming mid-journey when watching Luther a few years ago.
I’ve recently discovered UpTime, which is quickly becoming one of my favourite apps. It summarises nonfiction titles. I’m an avid reader — I love it — but sometimes, especially for the dryer business and leadership titles, a succinct summary can only be a good thing.
We have a daily Sudoku competition going at AEG, and while I’m several minutes out from the top 10, I still give it a whirl each day. Can’t blame a girl for trying.
In the next five years, I believe the most transformative innovation in HR will be the shift toward hyper-personalised employee experiences
My office is on the other side of the building, so I tend to spend a good few minutes, chatting to people on the way to my desk. I believe accessibility to leadership is so important. People can’t trust who they don’t know, so I always spend as much time as I can walking the floors and checking in to see how people are. I learn so much that way — both about the pulse of the organisation and, most importantly, about wellbeing and engagement.
After that, I spend 30 minutes in email, clearing the decks, before diving into the day ahead.
I grab a decent coffee on my way to the office from Waterloo and after that it’s meetings, meetings and meetings. When I’m in the office, I tend to be away from my desk, whether that’s in leadership meetings, with my team or various one-on-ones. Every Monday I meet with the full People & Culture team and we run through our current projects and priorities; Tuesday morning is our senior leadership meeting; Wednesday I tend to catch up with the communications and employee engagements team.
I also often head to our other offices, whether that be at our venues like The O2 or Apollo, or our AXS offices, our ticketing division. Thursdays are spent on calls to our European businesses and offices, as well as catching up with the US team. Fridays are mainly spent on the big projects and seeing to tasks I didn’t get a chance to address during the week.
In the next five years, I believe the most transformative innovation in HR will be the shift toward hyper-personalised employee experiences, powered by data, behavioral science, and a deeper integration of employee voices into decision-making. In the music and entertainment industry — where creativity, passion, and individuality drive everything we do — recognising people as unique contributors rather than one-size-fits-all resources is critical.
For example, we’re moving beyond the traditional “career path” towards dynamic, portfolio-style careers that allow individuals to flow between roles, projects and even geographies based on their passions and evolving skill sets.
In the future, I believe this fluid approach — coupled with the predictive people analytics I mentioned –will allow our function to proactively craft environments where talent can thrive long before burnout, disengagement or attrition show up on a dashboard.
Usually it’s a quick working lunch for me, as well as a 10-minute walk to get some steps in. Aside from an oat latte or two, I like to walk where I can at lunch – moving keeps my brain engaged and prevents me from hitting that afternoon slump. We’re also based on the Thames so there’s plenty to see and do. Sometimes I’ll pull one of my afternoon one-on-ones forward and we’ll walk and talk. There’s a great poke place not far from the office that’s a favourite.
Our job is to champion the individual, to listen deeply and to create environments where people feel seen, valued and inspired
“Get shit done” is my mantra. I’m all for big-picture thinking and love ideation sessions with my team, but ultimately, we all need to actually do the work to bring these ideas to life.
I’ll have most of my one-on-ones in the afternoon, but I do leave a chunk of time for bigger projects. I also try to not leave the office too late, so I can get home ahead of calls with the US.
My pet peeve is when we forget the “human” in human resources. We must always remind ourselves of “the why”. In the rush to optimise, create efficiencies or roll out policies, we sometimes lose sight of the people at the heart of it all.
In a creative industry like ours, where emotion, identity and personal expression are everything, it’s critical that HR doesn’t become too transactional. Our job is to champion the individual, to listen deeply and to create environments where people feel seen, valued and inspired to bring their whole selves to work.
People & Culture should be the cultural pulse of the business, not just a service function. That’s something I try to hold myself and my team accountable to every day. And while I’m biased, I genuinely think we achieve this at AEG and for that, I’m incredibly proud.
I don’t really view my time as being work versus personal. My team and I talk about work-life integration a lot. Some days require more; some require less. I, of course, work outside the traditional 9-5 — my role sees me work across many markets and geographies, as well as requires me to coordinate with my colleagues Stateside. But in the same breath, I also get plenty of time for what I love. I’m really happy with my schedule and think AEG is exceptional like that. It’s genuinely very people-first.
Despite the job I do and the industry in which we operate — a role which sees me have privileged access to the world’s greatest artists and performances — for me, nothing will ever hold a candle to Take That.
I’m generally running for a train, so while my office exit is somewhat frenetic, I get a good 80 minutes to tick those final few items off the list on the 80-minute train journey home. I spend a chunk of my commute planning for the day ahead to ensure I can switch off that evening, knowing I’m ready to hit the ground running when tomorrow comes.
My husand, Jon, and I are big on HelloFresh and so we usually cook together. Although if I’ve been in London, he will tend to take the lead, and of course, the corresponding credit.
I also head to the gym twice during the working week. I’m Peloton-obsessed, so exercise always helps me unwind, but I also volunteer as secretary of a local youth football club, managing 26 teams from ages 7-18. So that keeps me pretty busy outside of work hours.
I tend to try to be in bed for 10pm, as I have a 6am wake-up. I’m at my best during the morning, so I tend to make the most of them. Now that I’m not being woken up by a teenage son and his mates returning home at all hours, I tend to sleep quite well. My last thought is always Josh. Is he safe? Is he happy? And how many days is it until I get to see him next? Something any parent will identify with.