Samantha Gallagher is an experienced HR professional with a career spanning over 25 years. Her journey into HR began serendipitously after transitioning from hospitality into office-based roles, but it quickly became her passion. Samantha’s expertise is enriched by diverse industry experience, including retail, distribution, manufacturing, automotive, and professional services. This wide-ranging background equips her to understand the unique challenges businesses face, particularly small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Samantha excels in helping businesses overcome complex people challenges. From resolving immediate issues to building preventative strategies, she works closely with business owners to ensure their HR foundations—contracts, policies, and practices—are robust and tailored to support long-term success. Take a look at the variety of HR support she can offer SMEs.

What Samantha finds most rewarding is seeing the relief on business owners’ faces when an HR problem is solved. She is passionate about empowering SMEs to achieve business growth by fostering a productive and engaged workforce. Her approach is pragmatic and empathetic, adapting strategies to meet the distinct needs of each client.

Read Client Story #1: HR Compliance Support

Read Case Study #2: HR Support For A Challenging Restructure

Looking ahead, Samantha sees employee retention as a critical challenge for SMEs in 2025. She advises businesses to invest in their people and build HR infrastructure early to navigate an increasingly competitive talent market.

Outside of work, Samantha enjoys exploring the countryside with her dogs, discovering new walking trails, and unwinding with visits to local pubs.

My best experience at MPA so far…

There have been so many amazing experiences so far and there are not many jobs where you can help to improve people’s lives and futures through their work and development. I have the privilege to work with every single person in the business, with the purpose of helping them to realise their potential. which ensures the business fulfils its potential. I am also really proud of the commitment and empathy we demonstrate as an employer. We are a company of individuals and not just a group of people.

Samantha in 3 words:

Funny, focused, kind.

Favourite book / movie / play:

I can never choose just one thing….  It’s why I have 3 children and 3 dogs!!

Books – I love a good crime thriller – Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson; a trashy novel from time to time when by a pool or on a beach and also business books where I can learn something new and expand my mind.

Movies – I love action movies, being able to make all that mess and not have the clear any of it up!  I also love thrillers and really enjoy trying to figure out the plot and I am a sucker for a good period drama – Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility… I love the English language!!

Play – I am ashamed to admit that I do not have an appreciation for the theatre… not even panto, and I am not sure that’s natural!!

Hobbies and interests:

I have three dogs, so I love nothing more than being out in the countryside on a walk with my pack.  If not out walking with them, I like to just walk and explore new areas and footpaths.

I also love love love to travel… in the UK and abroad, just seeing and experiencing as much as I possibly can.  I particularly enjoy road trips and I am always thinking about where to go next.