How Chief People Officer Davida Lindsay-Bell Anchors Business Success in Culture at Hanna Andersson
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli interviews Davida Lindsay-Bell, chief people officer at Hanna Andersson, a heritage children’s apparel brand known for its high-quality products, strong customer loyalty, and purpose-driven approach. After working in the people function across several organizations in her career, Lindsay-Bell was drawn to Hanna Andersson for its organizational values and her emotional connection to the brand (1:50). She shares why she believes presence is a leadership practice, not a personality trait (7:20); why culture is foundational to business strategy (10:30); and the changing expectations of the chief people role (14:15).
In addition, Lindsay-Bell discusses recent success measuring HR initiatives and operations at Hanna Andersson (16:30) and why executive succession planning should focus on developing tomorrow’s leader instead of filling today’s role (20:20). She addresses how Hanna Andersson’s HR team is leaning into artificial intelligence to influence across the business (24:00), her advice for women building culture in the complex world of retail (28:50), and what she’s most excited to be working on right now (30:50).
Davida Lindsay-Bell is a chief people officer and board director with deep expertise in leadership, governance, and enterprise transformation. She advises CEOs and boards on succession planning, organizational design, compensation strategy, and workforce risk, with a focus on long-term value creation and enterprise resilience. She is currently the chief people officer at Hanna Andersson. In this role, she focuses on aligning talent strategy, culture, and leadership development with the brand’s evolution and long-term growth. Her career spans consumer retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and CPG, where she has led organizations through major transformation, M&A integration, operating model redesign, and executive succession. She is known for bringing a value-creation lens to people strategy, ensuring leadership, structure, and culture are tightly aligned to business performance.
Date: July 7, 2026
Credits: Davida Lindsay-Bell
Duration: 35:06
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