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Luxury Hertfordshire hotel and multi-award-winning spa, Sopwell House, has announced the appointment of Diane Packer as its new Director of Human Resources.

An accomplished professional with extensive experience in the leisure and hospitality sector, Diane joins from Valor Hospitality, where she held the position of Area People & Culture Manager. In this role, she successfully led the HR strategy across multiple properties, including luxury destinations Dunluce Lodge and Seaton House.
Her impressive career also includes six years at Center Parcs Woburn, where she held roles as Village HR Manager and Deputy Village Director. There, she managed large-scale operations, drove employee wellbeing programmes and successfully implemented comprehensive time, attendance and payroll systems for up to 1,800 colleagues. Diane has developed a strong reputation for commercial awareness, talent development and reducing employee turnover through tailored onboarding and leadership coaching.
As Director of Human Resources at Sopwell House, Diane will oversee all aspects of the property’s employee life cycle, including recruitment strategy, onboarding, performance management and retention. Her focus will be to further foster a high-performance team culture while maintaining the hotel’s heritage of warm, personalised service.
Diane Packer, Director of Human Resources at Sopwell House comments: “Sopwell House is one of the finest hotels in Hertfordshire with an outstanding reputation. The team are committed to delivering excellence and I look forward to working collaboratively with them to cultivate an engaging, supportive environment where people can thrive and continue to elevate the guest experience.”
Rafi Bejerano, Managing Director of Sopwell House adds: “Diane has an impressive background in both high level HR strategy and hands on hospitality operations. She brings a people-first leadership style alongside a proven track record of driving engagement and talent development. I am confident she will lead and support our teams in delivering best-in-class experiences for every guest.”
