International HR Leader Dublin, Ireland
I'm Michael Arkins. For more than 20 years I've built and transformed people functions in hypergrowth technology companies, across 21+ countries in North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM.
Experience with
I'm not your average HR leader. I'm the person you call when you need to build talent strategies in markets you've never operated in before.
Over 20+ years I've built and transformed people functions in hypergrowth technology companies, establishing HR infrastructure across more than 21 countries in North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM, and supporting growth from 160 to 4,000+ employees.
That work has run through PE-backed growth, pre-IPO readiness, M&A integration and multi-jurisdictional compliance. I specialise in scaling organisations across jurisdictions while delivering measurable business impact through strategic workforce planning and data-informed people programmes.
I work as a cultural bridge-builder, translating company DNA across very different regulatory and cultural landscapes. Whether I'm implementing AI-driven recruiting systems, leading executive searches or integrating acquisitions across continents, the aim is the same: unlock collective potential while respecting local nuance.
I believe in progress over perfection, authentic leadership, and doing work that genuinely matters.
Based in Dublin, with work across 21+ countries in North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM.
Chicago · New York · São Paulo · Lisbon · Madrid · Barcelona · Manchester · London · Paris · Liège · Luxembourg · Utrecht · Milan · Berlin · Stockholm · Prague · Kłodzko · Istanbul · Dubai · Abu Dhabi · Singapore · Guangzhou · Nanjing · Sydney · Christchurch
Countries include
SHEIN EMEA
Cora
Fleetmatics and Verizon Connect
Trendyol
Oct 2024 – present
Multinational SaaS business providing project and portfolio management software to aerospace and defence, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and healthcare customers.
Leading the global HR function across North America and EMEA on the senior leadership team of a PE-backed business, with a three-year people strategy supporting growth from 220 employees towards 500+.
Oct 2025 – Jan 2026
Türkiye's first decacorn and leading e-commerce platform, valued at over $16 billion and expanding across EMEA.
Contract engagement with senior leadership in Istanbul and Berlin to design a scalable global HR operating model for international expansion across Europe and the Middle East.
Jan 2022 – Oct 2024
Global retail business valued at around $60 billion, with 14 locations in EMEA and in its pre-IPO stages.
Led HR across Europe and the Middle East, and served as Commercial Director (EU), through roughly 40% year-on-year headcount growth and entry into multiple new employment jurisdictions.
Feb 2021 – Jan 2022
Global Customer Operations: 1,600 employees across 21 countries in customer success, professional services and solutions engineering.
Owned the HR annual operating plan for Verizon's largest international functional group, partnering with senior leadership on talent, engagement and retention.
Oct 2012 – Jan 2021
Connected-vehicle and fleet management SaaS business operating in 30+ markets, formerly Fleetmatics.
Director-level HR leadership across 15 countries in EMEA, APAC and LATAM, advising management on headcount forecasting, compensation, reward, learning, legal matters and workplace relations.
Oct 2006 – Oct 2012
E-learning software business with a presence in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, formerly MindLeaders.
HR and recruitment across Ireland, the UK and Canada, with direct responsibility for a population of 180+ employees.
Founder and HR consultant at Amplivate, a consultancy providing low-cost fractional HR services to Irish startups. Current clients include Boost Learning, Reap Interactive and Staq AI.
Organisation design, strategic workforce planning, change management, succession planning, M&A integration and TUPE.
Talent acquisition and management, performance management, compensation and value, talent development, learning design and delivery.
EMEA and US employment law, European Works Council frameworks, audit and compliance monitoring, ISO and SOC 2 aligned HR.
AI and automation efficiency, small language models for HR administration, HRIS and ATS implementation, HR dashboards and reporting.
Engagement strategy, corporate communications, diversity and inclusion, employer brand, onboarding and blended learning.
Executive advisory, cross-cultural leadership, stakeholder engagement, professional coaching and mediation, crisis communication, influencing and negotiation.
Get a workable version in front of people, learn from it, and make it better.
People follow leaders they can read. Say what you mean and show your reasoning.
Company DNA travels. How it's expressed has to fit each country's law and culture.
Great people strategy sets a company apart, and it's hard to copy. It earns its place by moving business results.
In a new jurisdiction, getting contracts, entities and audit trails right isn't separate from building culture. Each strengthens the other, because people trust a company that does things properly.
AI is at its best taking repetitive HR administration off the team. The time it frees belongs with the conversations only people can have.
A new hire decides what a company is really like in the first few weeks. A welcome designed with care pays back in early engagement.
Guest on how HR can differentiate itself and create commercial outcomes through organisational capability.
Benivo's case study on supporting new hires as the business expanded and recruited talent wherever it was located.
Webcast for 400+ Verizon Connect employees across EMEA, as part of the Emerging Leaders programme.
Contributed a chapter on onboarding, published in partnership with Benivo.
“He is one of the most authentic and effective leaders I’ve worked with… He creates credibility naturally through transparency, consistency, and a grounded leadership style.”
“Mick brought a global perspective, aligning HR strategies with the complex needs of our international teams… always finding balanced solutions that benefited both the business and our people.”
“Whether it’s finding your way around on day one or scaling teams 100X he is the most incredible HR leader you can have on your team.”
Seven books that have shaped how I lead and work.
How going beyond what's expected turns service into loyalty.
Courage, vulnerability and trust as leadership skills that can be learned.
A simple model for why people communicate so differently, and how to adapt.
How national cultures differ on feedback, trust and decision-making.
Small, repeatable changes that compound into lasting results.
A dialogue on Adlerian psychology and freedom from other people's expectations.
The two systems behind our judgements, and the biases that come with them.
For challenging the status quo and delivering results that move the business forward.
Recognised as an emerging leader and invited to present to employees across EMEA.
As president and co-founder of the Reaching Out Society, which also won Society of the Year.
MA Strategic Human Resources
BA (Hons) Accounting and Human Resource Management
National College of Ireland
Associate Member, CIPD, since 2006
Professional Global Management, ELI, since 2019
Long before the job titles, I was working with young people in New York and Dublin's inner city.
Co-created a dance company offering underserved teenagers from across the city another outlet for expression. More than 100 young people graduated from the programme.
Worked with Dublin City Council and An Garda Síochána on community crime prevention, representing Belvedere Youth Club and the Flashdance Stage and Dance School.
President and co-founder of a college charity society working with children from Dublin's inner city.
Seasonal Programme Director at a non-profit serving more than 300 young people a year.
Elsewhere: Medium · Spotify · SoundCloud
Work of Equal Value scoring: building a practical way to compare roles across job families, so pay decisions hold up under the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
HR Disrupted by Lucy Adams, on treating employees as adults, consumers and human beings.
An AI-enabled HR scorecard for compliance and risk intelligence.
Scaling internationally, transforming culture, or thinking about the future of work? Let's talk.
Prefer LinkedIn? Connect with me there, where you'll also find numerous recommendations from colleagues.