Paul Horrell
Human Resource professional, archaeologist, and online gamer...
My earliest interests while studying at high school (secondary) was the sciences and I was really interested in physics, chemistry, and biology, however, as I got to the end of my studies I began to discover a passion for ancient (and prehistoric) cultures and civilizations.
So, off I went to study (BA Hons) Ancient History and Archaeology at Liverpool University. As I progressed through the curriculum and got to add elective modules in my second and third years I became more fascinated in human thought and behaviour and how this could be understood through both the material and philological records. My dissertation examined the proto-literate religious iconography of Iraq (the Halaf, Ubaid, and Uruk periods).
Upon completion of my undergraduate studies, I was fixed on a course to complete a Ph.D. examining how we can apply contemporary approaches of the study of religion to the archaeological record. I enrolled in a Ph.D. course at Bath Spa University College that involved also participating in the Study of Contemporary Religions MA. When I find time I will post sections of the thesis I wrote but never completed.
Life always throws up challenges and opportunities that may not follow "the plan". In 2006, before completing my Ph.D. I decided to move to France and take the opportunity to work for the computer game company Blizzard Entertainment. My original plan was to work for 6 months in Paris and to experience working in a foreign country. I am still working in Paris and I never did go back to finish that Ph.D.
I had the great opportunity to work in Learning & Development at Blizzard, first in the Customer Service department and then from 2015 in Human Resources.
In 2017 I decided to undertake a Master of Science in Applied Psychology with Robert Gordon University, and indeed, this was the catalyst to creating this site. I also decided to train for and complete an Olympic standard triathlon on 2018 at the Paris Triathlon.
I left Blizzard in 2019 and took a role in a blockchain startup called ULTRA. I joined as head of HR and spent 5 months setting up the HR function. In March 2020 I joined Microsoft to lead their talent development for France. I wanted to experience how talent and leadership development was done at such a Trillion dollar scale.
In January 2022 I joined Believe, a French-tech scale-up that had recently gone through IPO and was looking for someone to lead the People Success department.
