Middlesex academics among the most influential people in HR

Two Middlesex University academics have featured on a prestigious list of the most influential people in Human Resources (HR)

Joy Warmington, a Visiting Professor at Middlesex, and Roger Kline, a Senior Research Fellow from Middlesex Business School, were among HR Magazine’s list of the top 30 influential thinkers.

The prestigious list, which began in 2006, ‘celebrates the most influential players in the field of people strategy’ and features three categories namely practitioners, thinkers and its hall of fame.

Ms Warmington, who was awarded an Honorary Degree from Middlesex in 2018, is the CEO of the Birmingham-based equality and human rights charity Brap which has become a leading voice on racial justice and equity. With expert skills in coaching, leadership, facilitation and change management, she has worked with the government regularly.  Ms Warmington also hosts the anti-racism podcast The Quiet Revolution and sits on the board of trustees of the international development charity Action Aid. 

Speaking about the HR Magazine accolade, Ms Warmington said: “I am genuinely delighted and honoured to be named number four in HR Most Influential’s 2026 Thinkers list. The list recognises people whose ideas and actions are shaping HR practice in the UK and globally, which makes this recognition particularly meaningful to me.

“Much of my thinking has been developed through my work as CEO of Brap, alongside colleagues, partners and organisations willing to explore difficult questions with us. We are increasingly interested not only in applying existing knowledge, but in generating new knowledge from practice – particularly at a time when many established HR and organisational development approaches can struggle to meet the complexity of the challenges organisations are facing.

“As a Visiting Professor at Middlesex University, I particularly value this relationship between ideas and action: how thinking informs practice, but also how practice can challenge established thinking and generate new possibilities. This recognition feels like wonderful encouragement to keep questioning, learning and contributing.”

Over the years Mr Kline has become one of the most prominent researchers and voices tackling workplace racism and related staffing issues in the NHS, authoring reports such as Snowy White Peaks in 2014 highlighting the barriers Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff face into becoming managers.

He also authored No More Tick Boxes in 2021 which looked at recruitment and career progression in the health service, and he has co-authored a number of similar reports including Fair to Refer (2019) and the Price of Fear (2018). 
Alongside his research, Roger designed the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard.

Commenting on the HR Magazine list, Roger said: “It has been a pleasant surprise to be nominated four times in the last six years as one of the most influential HR people in the country.   I hope this is in part because some of the work I have been involved in has significantly changed the ways in which HR colleagues try to work.

“I have been particularly critical of the primary reliance on policies, procedures and training in addressing workplace challenges where the emphasis is on how to respond to individual cases rather than being proactive and preventative.

“I’ve argued that a serious rethink is needed on issues such as recruitment, career progression, bullying, harassment, disciplinary action and whistleblowing.  
“I’ve been delighted to see widespread adoption of what I proposed on disciplinary action in a Middlesex blog nine years ago and that work is continuing.” Roger has been previously placed in the HR Magazine influential list in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Last year Ms Warmington and Mr Kline produced a report investigating workplace discrimination in the health service and lessons that could be learned following tribunal cases. Mr Kline described the report as a “significant contribution to better workplace culture in the NHS”.

Read the report: Too Hot to Handle: An Investigation into Racism in the NHS and visit the HR Magazine’s most influential list 2026.