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Gil Sewell CFHRINZ

How did your career in HR begin, and what was the journey like to get to where you are now?  

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 and was delighted to take up the Chief People & Culture role in 2023. 

What do you love about having a career in HR?

The amazing range of opportunities – you’re not tied to one sector or one place in the way other disciplines might require.

What are some of the defining moments from your career journey so far?

  • Focusing on “management training” in Milan in the late 80s really gave a strong grounding in OD/L&D
  • Being at the start of the coaching revolution, which together with neuroscience, has re-shaped the way leaders and HR professionals operate.
  • Setting up and leading a business working with senior leaders on coaching approaches, capability and team development.

The above three things really shaped my approach to people, culture and leadership which I have put into play over the last ten years where my remits have 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 advice would you give to someone early on in their HR career?

I would advise people not to get hung up on having a degree in HR. Some of the best practitioners I know come from backgrounds in IT, law or the arts. Learn on the job and get the relevant learning when you need it. I often get asked about how to get into OD in particular – there is no one career pathway into OD. I always tell people to specialise in something they are passionate about, whether that is culture and employee experience/engagement, leadership development, L&D, coaching, psychometrics or anything else. That deep expertise and passion will take you along the path.

Why is HRNZ important for the HR community?

I doubt people would ask a Chartered Accountant why CAANZ is important for the accounting community, because it is an accepted and widely understood hallmark of ability and quality. I was GM P&C at 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. HRNZ has a significant role to play in describing and educating practitioners in that rigorous standard of excellence.

What was your path to Chartered Fellowship like? What did you enjoy about the process?

It was a good opportunity to look back at my career and reflect on what I have done and achieved. I’m not the most regular journaller in the world, so it was enjoyable to think through and write about my ‘contribution and influence’, which up until that point I hadn’t recognised as such – I was just doing the mahi! I found it quite a humbling process as I looked back and thought about the amazing support I have had throughout my career.

What is next for you in this chapter of your career?

I still love my work, relish making a contribution to an organisation which is at an exciting stage of development, and getting involved in things that are new to me (like M&A). I am on a couple of boards and enjoy bringing a governance lens to the people and culture side of those organisations.