Gil Sewell CMHRNZ

Please walk us through the journey that led you into your current role. 

I studied the least relevant degree possible (Medieval French!) and had no idea what to do after that. I had been working at Marks & Spencer (UK retail chain) in my university holidays, and the HR Manager in the Cardiff store where I worked approached me and asked if I had considered applying for their Graduate Training Programme in what was then called Staff Management. I hadn't, but took the form home, applied and got in. I found that the bit of the role I enjoyed most was the training side, so moved into training roles in Italy and Uk for a few years, ultimately setting up my own leadership and team development business. When we moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2006, I started work in the field of OD. That was my specialism for many years. My first generalist role apart from Marks &Spencer, was Executive Director at Waikato District Health Board. Since then, I have mainly done "head of" roles, aside from a contract in the establishment team of the new National Public Health Service, setting the roadmap for culture in the new division of Te Whatu Ora in 2022. I had known the team at Ember Korowai Takitini for over a decade, having served on the Advisory Board of one of the legacy companies that merged to become Ember in 2019, and had set up a network of coaches and facilitators to support their social enterprise in 2013, which is still going today (more OD!).    

What is the best part of your job? 

Working with extraordinary people who have their own lived experience of mental unwellness and/or addictions. They are inspiring in every possible way, not least the incredible work they do daily to support and breathe life back into our tangata whaiora (clients/service users). 

What is a career highlight that stands out for you? 

Being quite old, there are quite a few! The emphasis in the roles I have had since 2015 has been to transform traditional, often transactional, HR functions into contemporary people and culture teams - I think the range of triumphs in doing that has been wide and exciting, and has made a difference both to the teams themselves and to the way the businesses /organisations have progressed. 

What does becoming a Chartered Member mean to you personally? 

I doubt people would ask a Chartered Accountant what their Charter means to them or why they did it, because it is an accepted and widely understood hallmark of ability and quality. I was GM P&C one of the Big Four firms when I got my Chartered status, and in some ways, it wasn't a big deal to partners there - it was accepted as an important demonstration of a rigorous standard of excellence. 

What pushed you towards pursuing Chartered Membership?  

That proof of a rigorous standard of excellence. 

Now that you are a Chartered Member, what do you see as the next steps for your career? 

I am loving the stage of career I am at, able to give back to the profession, mentoring younger practitioners and flourishing in a meaningful role at an organisation with huge purpose. I am just starting to explore Chartered Fellow status now, always progressing.