Where’s your career headed? (Tips and Tricks from Industry Professionals)

Presenter Details

Claire Bourne

Claire (she/her) is a Senior People Practitioner, passionate about empowering people and communities. She is co-founder of two community initiatives: one focused on the transition into retirement (Hono Mai) and the other on connecting rural communities (Whenua Whānau) and since 2015, has been a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Claire is the Head of People for Citycare Property, overseeing a team of 11. Her role involves supporting 900 employees across 10 locations in their mission to enhance community wellbeing through the construction, maintenance, and renewal of social infrastructure. Additionally, Claire serves as a board member for the Graeme Dingle Foundation Canterbury and chairperson of St Mark's School, as well as holding a Governance New Zealand position on the Executive Committee for Women on Boards. Claire’s achievements include being awarded the HRNZ Volunteer of the Year award, selected as a Committee for Canterbury future leader, is a Global Women breakthrough leader alumni, a 2022 Women in Governance Rising Star finalist and previously was the Chairperson of The Period Place, New Zealand’s largest menstrual justice charity.

Joy Kuhns

As a leader with a rich history, she has managed small companies in Silicon Valley, including during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and has also worked extensively in education in New Zealand. Joy’s work includes ten years at NASA Ames Research Center where she was Vice President of HR at ELORET. She was responsible for a diverse team of research scientists, managers, IT professionals and administrative staff performing development, modeling and testing of tiles and coatings for the Space Shuttle and other outer-planetary vehicles. Part of her role included working on Division strategy with Charlie Pellerin, who was responsible for the Hubble Telescope. Upon her return to NZ in 2009, Joy retrained as a tertiary teacher, leading the development and teaching of a number of Management and HR courses at Ara. She also developed a significant number of courses online at SIT. She was also thrilled to work at a thriving logistics company in Christchurch as an HR Manager, where she continues to do some leadership development work. Joy’s absolute passion is to enable individuals and businesses to be successful, through sound, contemporary, very practical and applied work grounded in Herrmann Whole Brain® Thinking (HBDI®) and Genos Emotional Intelligence tools. She has a Masters’ degree in Organisational Development and a Bachelors’ degree in Applied Economics, both from the University of San Francisco, and a Diploma in Teaching from Ara.

Leeanne Carson-Hughes

Leeanne Carson-Hughes is a seasoned Executive having led People and Corporate Services teams over the past 20 years for a range of New Zealand businesses including Plant and Food Research, ANZCO Foods, Christchurch Airport and Citycare. In her Executive roles, Leeanne is known as an expert in P&C, for her ability to be pragmatic, a decision maker and authentically lead and develop people. In 2023, Leeanne launched her Executive Coaching practice where now provides coaching and consulting services to a wide range of senior leaders and organisations. She also regularly shares her thoughts on LinkedIn, in her newsletter The Savvy Leader and through a range of speaking gigs. Over the years she has been widely involved with HRNZ serving as Canterbury Branch President, a Board member, on various committees and was awarded Chartered Fellow.

Jo Domigan

Jo is a seasoned Executive Leader and Human Resources professional and HRNZ Leadership Award 2024 Finalist with a passion for fostering positive workplace environments and values-based leadership. She is an experienced People & Capability Director and Strategic and Operational Manager and is dedicated to aligning company goals with the needs and aspirations of its workforce. Jo has been described as an enthusiastic and passionate about educating and encouraging people around her, she navigates the complexities of HR with finesse, ensuring compliance while championing fairness and inclusivity. Her approach combines empathy and strategic thinking, with key roles that have included Chief People Officer and Head Equity, OD and Partnering at Te Whatu Ora Canterbury, Operations Manager at Emerge Aotearoa and Programme Manager of the P&C team at Te Rūnanga o Ngai Tahu, to name a few.

Sponsor Details

Lane Neave

With thanks to Lane Neave

Bishop Associates Recruitment

With thanks to Bishop Associates Recruitment