British American Tobacco (BAT) Fiji’s recent head of human resources and inclusion, Diana Fong is taking on a role as area head of talent, organisational effectiveness and inclusion for BAT South East Asia.
Ms Fong who is a local Fiji talent has more than 18 years of human resources experience.
She will move to Sydney to be based out of BAT Australia’s office next month. “This is a super exciting opportunity to be taking on such a role for BAT South East Asia. I consider myself privileged to be given this challenge.
BAT truly invests in its employees and provides opportunities through career and development programs that identify talented individuals and progresses them to other BAT end markets. I can proudly say that BAT Fiji continues to export talented individuals to our BAT global offices, and I am humbled and fortunate to be one of them,” Ms Fong said.
Di (as she is more fondly known) has extensive experience across FMCG, Airline and Telco sectors with more than 18 years of HR Leadership and Top Team experience.
She joined BAT Fiji in 2008 as human resources manager before taking on the Fiji Airways general manager human resources position in 2015. Ms Fong re-joined the company in August 2016 and in 2019 she was transferred to BAT Australia where she was part of the Area HR and marketing leadership team as the area HR business partner for the marketing division.
She returned to BAT Fiji in August 2020 to take on the role of head of HR and inclusion for BAT Fiji and Samoa. “BAT Group places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion and talent development.
I am proud of the work we as an organisation have been able to achieve, particularly around providing world-class training initiatives for our people leaders. Our focus is on growing talent in our business as well as offering excellent and progressive work practices in areas of flexibility and diversity,” she said.
“HR has evolved and is now vastly different from what it was 20 years ago. To be an effective leader, one must stop to actively listen – this helps immensely with the development of practical solutions and effective business partnering.
“I have had an extremely fulfilling career with the business thus far and continue to be excited about what the future holds. If you choose to, there is never a dull moment. BAT has taught me so much, in fact, the experiences and the journey, have played a huge part in my personal development and growth.”
Ms Fong studied Marketing at RMIT University in Melbourne and later graduated with a Masters in Commerce, majoring in Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations from the University of Western Sydney.
She completed her Associate Coaching Program with the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town’s Centre of Coaching and is a certified APMG Change Management Practitioner.
One of her most recent achievements has been the global certification of BAT Fiji as a Great Place To Work. “BAT Fiji is excited and humbled to have achieved the Great Place To Work certification.
This is a phenomenal achievement for our business which has a proud 68-year history in Fiji. “This certification means that our team at BAT Fiji have a lot of pride in what they do, enjoy the people they work with and trust the people they work for,” Ms Fong said.
“We at BAT Fiji feel that we have a strong workplace culture. Our team is constantly energized and focused on driving high performance and solid outcomes. Providing a safe place to work, protecting our employees’ wellbeing and listening to their views are fundamental to continuous excellence.
“Globally, BAT has been recognised as a Global Top Employer for five consecutive years by the Top Employers Institute.”
Ms Fong is a proud member of the Fiji Human Resources Institute and is a Professional Certified Member of the Australian HR Institute (CAHRI). She strongly believes that humility, empathy and actively listening to people goes a long way in developing great leaders.
This week BAT Fiji welcomed Ms Fong’s replacement, Moureen Chand who is the new BAT Fiji head of human resources. Moureen joins the BAT Fiji family after serving as chief human resources officer at Vodafone Fiji.
