Gillian McMahon, Director of HRIZN Business Advisory Services Ltd, joins the judging panel for the HR Leadership & Management Awards 2026, bringing senior advisory expertise in leadership, M&A, restructuring, and gender pay equity across complex organisational transformations.

As Chartered Fellow CIPD with MBA in Employment Relations and background as Head of HR at BT Ireland overseeing critical infrastructure and emergency services, she brings commercial rigour and strategic HR perspective to evaluating how organisations navigate complexity and drive sustainable people outcomes.

Through HRIZN Business Advisory Services, Gillian delivers senior advisory services spanning leadership, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and gender pay gap and pay transparency programmes alongside comprehensive HR offerings. The firm's positioning around clarity, decisiveness, and commercial focus reflects Gillian's operating philosophy, ensuring HR strategy translates to business outcomes and stakeholder confidence.

Her experience successfully completing complex HR M&A divestment programmes positions her to evaluate submissions demonstrating strategic capability during transformational change. As Head of HR at BT Ireland, she managed HR operations across critical infrastructure, including responsibility for Ireland's 999 Emergency Call Answering Service, an environment demanding integration of performance, safety, compliance, and resilience across mission-critical functions.

Her earlier career spans strategic HR business partnership roles, country HR management for Falcon Holidays (TUI Group), and diverse HR functions across Irish Blood Transfusion Service, Eircom Multimedia, and Eircom Net. This breadth of sector experience, from public sector blood transfusion through telecommunications to tourism, positions her to evaluate HR submissions across contexts and understand sector-specific talent and organisational challenges.

Her Chartered Fellow CIPD credential and MBA in Employment Relations ground her in both professional standards and academic rigour, whilst her board involvement across charities reflects commitment to governance and organisational stewardship beyond commercial contexts.

As an awards judge, Gillian evaluates submissions through the lens of commercial HR impact, strategic capability during transformation, and authentic commitment to contemporary HR priorities including pay equity and transparency.

Organisations preparing for the ceremony should ensure their HR initiatives demonstrate commercial alignment, strategic capability during change, and commitment to contemporary priorities including gender pay equity. Gillian McMahon's presence on the judging panel signals the awards' commitment to recognising HR excellence that delivers clear business outcomes and navigates complex organisational transformation.

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