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In this exclusive, Haleon's HR head for South East Asia and Taiwan (SEAT) speaks with HRO’s Tracy Chan, encouraging leaders to shed some of the corporate expectations that are holding them back.
As an accredited yoga teacher passionate about holistic and sustainable wellbeing, Tricia Duran has found a natural fit in her role as Head of HR at Haleon – a global consumer health company dedicated to delivering better everyday health with humanity.
Striving to “ignite the light” in everyone, Duran brings over 20 years of experience to her role to build a workplace where employees can “shine bright and be their best selves”.
In this exclusive, she speaks with HRO’s Tracy Chan about leading Haleon through change, while ensuring that employees stay motivated, keep growing, and are well-supported throughout the journey.
Q: Can you describe the core values that define the workplace culture at Haleon, and how these values support the company’s mission?
At Haleon, our core values are deeply rooted in our mission to deliver better everyday health with humanity. Wellbeing, integrity, innovation, and collaboration are the essence of who we are and what we do.
Our commitment to wellbeing ensures that we prioritise the health and happiness of our employees, which in turn supports our mission to make better everyday health more accessible to millions of people.
Integrity guides our actions and decisions, ensuring that we operate ethically and transparently.
Innovation is our lifeblood, pushing us to continuously improve and adapt, staying ahead of market trends and meeting the evolving needs of our consumers.
Collaboration fosters a supportive and inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are celebrated, enabling us to work together effectively to achieve our goals.
Q: With such a diverse portfolio, how do you ensure Haleon’s core values are consistently communicated and embodied across all levels, and across all the businesses of the organisation?
Our ‘Win as One’ framework is a powerful framework that clearly articulates our global business strategy and emphasises the importance of working together towards common goals. I believe consistency is key. We have implemented several dynamic initiatives to ensure the key must-win priorities and behaviours are lived and breathed at every level.
In the Southeast Asia and Taiwan (SEAT) cluster, we also invest heavily in professional growth and continuous learning through programmes such as ‘Grow@Haleon’ and the ‘SEAT iPath’ careers framework, which provide employees with opportunities to develop their skills and advance their careers.
Regular internal communications, leadership training, and employee engagement activities help reinforce our values and ensure they are integrated into our daily operations. It’s all about creating a cohesive and inspiring environment where everyone feels connected to our mission.
Q: With a remit covering SEAT, can you share an example of how local traditions or values in a specific market influence your HR strategies, and how you balance that with the company’s broader identity?
Leading SEAT requires our ‘Winning as One’ framework whilst honouring each markets culture, norms and traditions.
Most importantly, it’s around putting the local consumer first, always, creating a SEAT inclusive category/brand portfolio to serve our diverse consumers.
Our business strategy is founded on serving the local consumer, building on the strengths of our global brands, and making them accessible for the local needs of the consumers we serve.
Q: A workplace culture can feel intangible. How do you measure its impact on tangible outcomes?
We conduct annual employee surveys to gauge engagement levels and gather feedback on our cultural initiatives. Metrics such as employee retention rates, participation in professional development programmes, and innovation outputs are closely monitored.
We do have an ‘iLead’ community in each local operation/manufacturing site. It is composed of cross-functional team members driving priorities around workplace culture, building capabilities needed by the organisation, and creating local communities that work together collaboratively to create business impact.
They have led multiple initiatives – from business process simplification to agile ways of working methodologies to building digital capabilities, and team engagement activities such as family days and multiple cultural celebrations.
It’s about turning the intangible into the tangible and celebrating the results. Ultimately a culture is felt – and it feels good to work at Haleon as confirmed in our latest employee engagement scores!
Q: Haleon was established in 2022 following its demerger from GSK’s consumer healthcare business. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during and after the demerger and how did you address them?
Spinning off from GSK into Haleon was a significant milestone for us. We carefully navigated towards a smooth transition ensuring business continuity. We had a clear change management plan, founded on care – for our people, our organisation, and our consumers.
One of our greatest challenges was blending organisational cultures. As a newly formed company, we were tasked with building a shared culture that reflected the best of both GSK and Haleon. Our aim was to foster a sense of belonging, ensuring employees felt aligned with our values and inspired by our mission.
We reviewed our organisation, with a view of ensuring it was fit-for-purpose towards our new aspirations as Haleon. Of course, even the best-designed plan depends on the engagement and motivation of employees. We prioritised transparent communication and shared regular updates across multiple channels to keep everyone informed and connected.
We also introduced a range of employee support and resources – including counselling, mentoring, and employee assistance programmes – a favourite of many is our ‘Hybrid @ Haleon’ policy allowing for a more flexible way of working – these continue to be part of our culture today.
Q: Nowadays consumers are more wellness-conscious. How does Haleon encourage innovation among the workforce that is in line with market trends?
We start by building a culture that normalises experimentation and openly celebrates learning. This approach fosters an environment where creativity can thrive and employees feel empowered to take risks and think outside the box.
Some of our most exciting ideas emerge when different minds come together. That’s why we champion cross-functional collaboration, bringing diverse teams together to solve complex challenges and unlock new possibilities.
And we don’t stop there. Through strategic partnerships, we expose our people to cutting-edge research and fresh perspectives from beyond our industry. A standout example is our UCL-accredited ‘Mini MBA in Deep Human Understanding’ offered to all 22,000 Haleon employees globally.
This immersive programme dives into storytelling, behavioural science, macro trends, culminates in a powerful capstone project that puts deep human insight into real-world action.
Of course, innovation also needs the right tools and support to succeed. That’s why we ensure our people have access to world-class infrastructure and resources – everything they need to stay ahead of the curve and develop meaningful solutions aligned with evolving consumer needs and market dynamics.
Q: With over 30 years of experience, you’ve played a significant role in shaping many HR strategies. What’s one initiative you spearheaded that you feel fundamentally transformed how the company approaches its people or culture?
I’m proud of many things, but if I were to give myself one KPI for success – that has to be ‘talent’.
I am proud of having the privilege to grow and develop talent in the organisations I have worked with – from creating early careers graduate programmes that have brought thousands into the workforce, to creating personal leadership programmes, purpose and wellbeing sessions and personally coaching and developing individuals or teams – I am proud to have had the privilege to empower so many people and organisations to grow.
Q: What’s a piece of advice you received early in your career that you initially dismissed but later realised was gold?
“Just be yourself.”
In an organisation, there are many expectations of how you need to behave to get ahead – but in the last decade or so I’ve started to shed and unbecome all those ‘corporate’ expectations of me and have come back home to ‘just do me'.
Q: Concluding our interview on a healthy note, being in the health industry, how do you ensure health and wellbeing for yourself and your team?
I am wellbeing – this fundamental belief is what drives me to live Haleon’s purpose everyday. I have defined what wellbeing means to me and I do lead by example, doing my best to adhere to my healthy lifestyle commitments daily.
I am an accredited yoga teacher as well and share my practice when I can – I recently led the global HR senior leadership team through a mindfulness practice at our global conference and led a wellbeing morning beginning with a yoga practice at the recently concluded APAC HR Leadership meeting in Sri Lanka.
I believe in work-life harmony. I embrace the vibrancy of living fully, and I try to lead by example – setting boundaries, taking time to recharge, and making choices that allow me to show up as my best self each day. And I encourage my team to do the same.
For Haleon as an organisation, wellbeing is deeply embedded in how we work. Through initiatives such as ‘Hybrid@Haleon’, we empower our employees to define what thriving looks like for them – whether that’s flexible work arrangements, no-meeting days once a month, or making space for personal growth and family commitments.
Globally, we’ve also implemented policies such as six months of parental leave and one month of caregiver leave, recognising the different life stages and needs of our people. These policies reflect our commitment to supporting our employees in every aspect of their lives.
Ultimately, wellbeing isn’t a programme, it is a way of life. It’s the everyday decisions we make to prioritise ourselves, our teams, and our shared purpose. My mission is to create a culture where people don’t just work well, but live well too.
The excerpt of this article first appeared in the H1 2025 edition of Human Resources Online's Hong Kong e-magazine. View the e-magazine here, where you'll find power-packed features and interviews with leaders across various sectors!
All photos / Provided (Lead image: Tricia Duran, Head of Human Resources, Haleon Southeast Asia and Taiwan)
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