HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley

What happens when someone with deep operational experience steps into the Chief People Officer role?⁣ ⁣ In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Nicki Mackay, Chief People Officer at FMG, to explore leadership, trust, resilience, culture, and the future of People & Culture.⁣ ⁣ After 17 years at FMG across operational and leadership roles, Nicki brings a practical understandin...

What happens to the future of work if half your workforce gets left behind? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Rose Powell, General Manager People & Capability at Vitaco Health Group , to explore what future-focused People & Culture looks like inside a complex, vertically integrated organisation. Rose's leadership philosophy was shaped early in her career when she...

How do you become the kind of leader people genuinely want to follow? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Laurent Sylvestre to explore leadership, trust, human dynamics, executive development, and what it really takes to lead well.  Laurent challenges the traditional view of HR and People & Culture, emphasising that leaders ultimately own people and culture, while P...

Is there really such a thing as HR best practice? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Ronel Jacobs, Chief People and Safety Officer at Access Partners and Property, for a wide-ranging conversation about what effective People & Culture leadership looks like in the real world. With more than 20 years of experience spanning HR, recruitment, health and safety, environment, q...

Why do organisations invest in leadership development only to see people return to work and carry on exactly as before? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Jocelyn Visser, founder of Compass Consultancy and consultant at People Associates, to explore what makes leadership development genuinely effective. For Jocelyn, the starting point isn't choosing a course or training pro...

What makes a mediation effective, and how do you know when to fight, negotiate, or settle? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Emma Butcher and Angela Evans, partners at BE Employment Law , for a practical conversation about employment law, mediation, negotiation, and resolving workplace disputes. Emma and Angela describe themselves as self-confessed law nerds, and their ap...

What if becoming a better leader isn't about adding more to your toolkit, but knowing what to let go of? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Heather Langton, Chief People Officer at Spark , to explore what leadership, HR, and human capability need to look like in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across human resources, transformation, ta...

How can HR professionals stay relevant as AI changes the way work gets done? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Alex Howieson , a senior People & Culture leader with experience across aviation, banking, media, healthcare, consulting, governance, and complex workforce environments. Alex shares a clear view: HR should not simply be part of the AI conversation. It should...

What separates change that leaves people exhausted from change that actually energises an organisation? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Roz Urbahn, Chief Corporate Services Officer at Pāmu , for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, transformation, mindset, resilience, and the changing role of HR. Roz's career has spanned complex transformation and senior leader...

  What changes when we stop asking people to fit into the workplace and start asking how the workplace can help different people succeed? In this episode of  HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Sandy Hall , founder of Recognition, to explore neurodiversity, ADHD, leadership and the experiences that shaped Sandy's work. Sandy shares how her own ADHD diagnosis, alongside her son's dia...

How can leaders embrace AI and rapid change without losing the human connection that drives great workplaces? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Margo Thomas , Chief People Officer at Sime Motors, to explore leadership, trust, organisational culture, and the evolving role of HR in today's workplace. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across education, banking,...

What separates genuinely innovative organisations from those that simply talk about innovation? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Nicola Taylor , co-founder of Tax Traders and Taxi, to explore organisational culture, innovation, leadership, and the mindset required to build businesses that continually evolve. Drawing on her experience building successful fintech companies...

How do organisations successfully align people, strategy, and communication to create meaningful change? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Samantha Ford, Chief People Officer , and Heather Phillips, Chief Strategy Officer at Awanui to explore the unique partnership between People & Culture and Strategy, and why organisational success depends on both functions working...

How do organisations evolve without losing what already makes them successful? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Monica Ayers, Chief People Officer at New Zealand Post, to explore leadership, organisational transformation, workforce capability, and the realities of leading people strategy inside one of New Zealand’s most recognised organisations. With experience span...

What can international HR experience teach us about leadership in an increasingly connected world? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Wendy Baker , Chief People Officer at Brosnan, to explore global HR, commercial leadership, organisational culture, and the leadership capabilities needed to thrive in today's rapidly changing workplace. Drawing on more than 20 years of expe...

What separates truly high-performing organisations from everyone else? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Estelle Curd, Chief People Officer at Kami, to explore leadership, organisational culture, startup growth, and the role people leaders play in building exceptional workplaces. Drawing on experience across Rocket Lab, Armstrong's and Kami, Estelle shares practical lesson...

How do you build a people strategy that supports one of New Zealand's most recognised global brands while staying true to its purpose? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Faye Restall, Chief People Officer at Les Mills International, to explore leadership, organisational culture, global people strategy, and how HR can create real commercial value. Leading the People & Cu...

How do you build a workplace where people don't just stay, but grow, return, and recommend it to others? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Khush Sethi, Head of Talent & Culture at ClearPoint, to explore leadership, organisational culture, talent management, and the future of People & Culture. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience, Khush shares practical insi...

  How do organisations create workplaces where people can thrive while still delivering strong business outcomes? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Danielle Scott, Manager People & Sustainability at AoFrio, to explore leadership, resilience, employee wellbeing, and the changing role of People & Culture. Drawing on her experience across operations, customer ex...

What happens when organisations genuinely listen to their people and act on what they hear? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Maria Coupland, General Manager People & Culture at Finance Now, to explore employee experience, leadership, culture, and the commercial realities of building high-performing workplaces. Drawing on experience across multiple industries and count...

How do organisations successfully transform while bringing their people with them? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Bernadette Kelly, Chief People, Corporate & Operations Officer at TVNZ, to explore organisational transformation, leadership, change management, and the evolving role of People & Culture. Drawing on her experience leading large-scale transformation...

What happens when workplaces stop avoiding difficult conversations and start leaning into them? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with HR consultant, facilitator, workplace investigator, and founder of HR Butter, Kate Bacchus. Drawing on decades of experience across operational industries, leadership development, workplace investigations, and conflict resolution, Kate shares pr...

What does it take to build a workplace where people genuinely belong and can do their best work? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Evan Bateup, Partner and Chief People & Inclusion Officer at KPMG New Zealand. Drawing on a non-traditional career journey that spans operations, change, sales, marketing, and people leadership, Evan shares practical insights into leadershi...

How do organisations build talent when the skills they need take years to develop? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Kim Milne, Chief People Officer at Elf Group, including AB Equipment and Speirs Finance Group, to explore apprenticeships, leadership, workforce development, and the future of skilled trades in New Zealand. Drawing on her experience across operations, people...

What can HR and business leaders learn from paramedics who make life-and-death decisions every day? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Ross Aitken, Clinical Operations Manager at Northern Rescue, and Mark Quin, Secretary of the New Zealand Ambulance Association. Together they explore leadership under pressure, resilience, decision-making in high-stakes environments, and wha...