Sylvia Stoyanova
@sylviastoyanova
I align people, culture, and business strategy across international organisations navigating growth, change, and transformation.
United KingdomWhat I'm looking for
At GPA Global, I support teams across the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and France, aligning people and culture priorities with organisational performance, leadership capability, growth, and change.
I've built and redesigned HR functions across start-ups and blue-chip businesses, including scaling AirLabs from 20 to 55 employees and supporting international expansion across Europe, Asia, China, Singapore, and the USA. My work spans people strategy, talent acquisition, employee relations, TUPE, reward, payroll, and organisational change.
Across Pfizer, Carlsberg, retail, and financial services, I've led recruitment, talent, performance, culture, M&A, HRIS, and process-standardisation initiatives across multiple countries. I bring a practical, multilingual approach to building trusted partnerships and translating business needs into effective people strategies.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
European HRBP
GPA Global UK
Sep 2022 - Present (4 years)
Senior People leader supporting organisational effectiveness, performance, and leadership capability across a growing, international business. Focused on aligning people and culture priorities with business performance, strengthening leadership clarity, and supporting teams through periods of change and growth.
Head of HR
AirLabs UK Ltd.
Aug 2020 - Aug 2022 (2 years)
Established the HR function in a start-up company with offices in London and Copenhagen, scaling from 20 to 55 staff in 6 months. Managed bonus and equity schemes, reorganizations, redundancies, policy implementation, and international expansion.
Managed end-to-end recruitment for senior positions across EMEA. Handled stakeholder management at all levels including VPs and Senior Directors, and was part of the D&I team in the UK.
Managed HR operations in Bulgaria, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Coached managers during restructuring, merger and acquisition, and implemented talent management strategy. Led Workday (ATS) implementation for 9 countries.
Created the HR function and implemented culture and organisational change initiatives. Coached managers during restructuring, merger and acquisition, and implemented global projects.
Human Resources Director
Retail and Start-up Financial Services Companies
Jan 2007 - Jan 2010 (3 years)
Improved overall management of HR function in a company with 850 permanent FTE across Balkan countries. Created and implemented Performance Management System, established the company, team recruitment, and designed the organizational structure.
Human Resources Director
Carlsberg Bulgaria AD
Jan 2003 - Dec 2006 (3 years 11 months)
Established and managed the HR function in a company with 520 permanent FTE. Led HR topics during merger and reorganisation, and created and implemented Performance Management System, Employee Engagement, Talent Development program, Grading system, and compensation framework.
Administrative and Personnel Management
Various companies – Financial Services
Jan 1999 - Dec 2002 (3 years 11 months)
Held administrative and personnel management positions in various financial services companies.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
CIPD
Associate Member, Human Resources
Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Technical University of Sofia
Master of Computer Science, Computer Science
Master of Computer Science from the Technical University of Sofia.
GCDF
GCDF - Certificate Global Career Development Facilitator, Career Development
Certificate as a Global Career Development Facilitator.
IESE Business School
Certificate of Developing Leadership Competencies, Leadership
Certificate in Developing Leadership Competencies from IESE Business School.
Availability
Location
United KingdomAuthorized to work in
Salary expectations
Social media
Skills
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