The Changing Face of Business Employment
Panel:
Carrie Hobson, Partner, Hobson Leavy Executive Search
Carrie Hobson is a founding partner of Hobson Leavy Limited, a retained executive search firm based in Auckland. She co-founded Hobson Leavy over 14 years ago, with a focus on executive level appointments at the highest level across all sectors in New Zealand, ranging from start-ups to mature multinationals in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. Hobson Leavy believes that “Leaders Matter” and since 2008 Carrie and the team have worked with hundreds of boards and leadership teams to find the best talent and help lift the bar for the companies they work for. Carrie is very proud of Hobson Leavy and the significant work that it does in the New Zealand market, assisting organisations in finding the best leaders.
Carrie has over 25 year’s corporate experience, initially in banking and finance and latterly in executive search. She has held senior positions in corporate banking with major banks in both New Zealand and the United States and has worked with top level executives, optimising financial performance and implementing company strategy. She has held directorships in both private and public sectors with particular experience in finance, health and human resources. Carrie has an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Otago, is an approved Certified Finance and Investment Professional and a Member of the Institute of Directors and Global Women. Carrie has also completed the Advanced Course in Executive Search from Cornell University in New York.
Carrie is a true Kiwi and is proud of her heritage, in particular her iwi Ngāi Tahu. But most importantly she is a devoted mother to George, Harry and Emelia and husband to Malcolm.
Professor Susan Watson, Dean, University of Auckland Business School
Professor Susan Watson researches and teaches corporate law and corporate governance. She has a particular interest in the corporate form and in her research seeks to understand how the form developed, why it is so successful, and the economic and societal impact of corporations. Her research has been published widely in New Zealand and internationally; she has edited and co-authored treatises and textbooks, five edited collections and numerous articles. Her work has been cited and discussed by other scholars in the field and by courts at all levels including the UK Supreme Court. From 2007 until 2014, Susan was joint editor of the New Zealand Business Law Quarterly, and is currently the New Zealand editor for the Journal of Business Law. In 2016 she won the 2015 Legal Research Foundation Sir Ian Barker Published Article Award for How the Company Became an Entity - A New Understanding of Corporate Law. This award was given for the best article, essay or discrete book chapter published by a New Zealand-based author in 2015. Her most recent book is Corporate Law in New Zealand (Thomson Reuters) jointly edited with Professor Lynne Taylor of Canterbury University in 2018. She is a Research Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) the only New Zealander to be appointed to date.
Professor Watson has been a visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University (2008, 2012,2018) Tilburg University and in 2018 a visiting academic in the Oxford Law Faculty. She was elected president of the Corporate Law Teachers Association at the beginning of 2020; the first President for the Association elected from outside Australia where it is primarily based.
Before joining the University, Susan worked as a staff solicitor and associate in two city law firms, and taught part of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies law professionals course. Before joining the Law School she was Professor of Commercial Law in the Business School where she was Head of Department from 2008 to the end of 2010 and Associate Dean Academic Faculty in 2011. She was Deputy Dean of the Law School from 2014 until the end of 2017, Deputy Dean of the Business School for the second half of 2019 and has been Acting\Interim Dean of the Business School since the beginning of 2020.
Nikki Dines, Chief People Officer, Air New Zealand
Nikki Dines has been with Air New Zealand for over 7 years working across a range of leadership and legal counsel roles. Nikki has been involved in supporting or leading many of Air New Zealand's large-scale change projects affecting employees. In her current role as Chief People Officer, Nikki is responsible for developing and executing the airline's people and culture strategy.
Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Nikki worked as an employment lawyer in the United Kingdom and New Zealand for more than 15 years, becoming a Partner at boutique labor law firm, LangtonHudsonButcher.
Nikki has a BA/LLB (Hons) degree from the University of Auckland.
Date: 15 June
Time: 7.30am to 9.00am standup networking breakfast followed by panel
Venue: The University of Auckland Business School, Sir Owen G Glenn Building, Level 3, room 310, 12 Grafton Road, Auckland, 1010
Cost: Members $60.00 inc GST, Non-Members $75.00 inc GST
AmCham Women in Business series
