Janis Heather, Director of HR and Head of Culture & Change at KPMG Ireland, joins the judging panel for the HR Leadership & Management Awards 2026, bringing almost 20 years of strategic and operational HR expertise in culture transformation and employee engagement.

As a qualified Executive and Leadership Coach and member of the Association for Coaching, she brings coaching-informed perspective on evaluating how people initiatives drive business growth and organisational performance aligned to cultural priorities.

At KPMG, Janis leads the firm's culture, employee engagement, and people change agenda across a professional services environment characterised by complex talent markets, high-growth demands, and requirement for sustained cultural alignment. Her role requires integration of strategic vision with operational delivery, ensuring culture change initiatives translate to everyday practice across distributed teams.

Her career at KPMG spans multiple leadership roles supporting business growth through people-centred initiatives. Prior to her current culture and change focus, Janis led recruitment teams across both experienced and campus hiring, developing sophisticated understanding of talent acquisition strategy, employer brand positioning, and employee lifecycle management from entry through development.

This combination of recruitment expertise and culture transformation positioning positions her to evaluate how organisations build talent pipelines, develop emerging talent, and sustain engagement across career stages. Her experienced-hire and campus-hiring background particularly strengthens her capacity to assess graduate development and talent acquisition submissions.

Her coaching credentials, Executive and Leadership Coach qualification and Association for Coaching membership, indicate commitment to coaching-enabled culture and leadership development, positioning her to evaluate how organisations embed coaching practices as culture enablers rather than isolated interventions.

As an awards judge, Janis evaluates submissions through the lens of culture-business alignment, employee engagement sustainability, and coaching-informed leadership. Her assessment focuses on initiatives demonstrating authentic culture change, business growth enablement, and integrated talent strategies spanning acquisition through development.

Organisations preparing for the ceremony should ensure their people and culture initiatives demonstrate clear business alignment, authentic engagement impact, and integrated talent strategies spanning recruitment through development. Janis Heather's presence on the judging panel signals the awards' commitment to recognising culture and people excellence that drives sustainable business growth and employee performance.

Visit the official HR Leadership & Management Awards website to view award categories and the shortlist to explore finalists by category. Subscribe to the newsletter for ceremony updates, finalist spotlights, and exclusive event coverage.