We're the HR specialists

Grow your people, grow your business. We’ll support you in supporting your people.

Call us on 0800 300 362
Join the EMA

Supporting your people from hire to retire

Supporting your people from hire to retire​

Attract

We help you stand out in a crowded market; so the right talent finds you first and chooses you fast.

Engage

Engaged teams deliver better outcomes; we help you create the conditions where people do their best work.

Grow

Growth isn’t just for individuals; we help you scale learning to fuel business momentum.

Retain

We help you keep your best; by building environments where purpose, progress, and belonging thrive.

Attract

We help you stand out in a crowded market; so the right talent finds you first and chooses you fast.

Engage

Engaged teams deliver better outcomes; we help you create the conditions where people do their best work.

Grow

Growth isn’t just for individuals; we help you scale learning to fuel business momentum.

Retain

We help you keep your best; by building environments where purpose, progress, and belonging thrive.

Get in touch to book a consultation

AdviceLine is the gateway to your solutions

Call our Member-only AdviceLine as often as you need. Our in-house team are available to answer your employment relations questions, connect you with lawyers or consultants, and direct you towards relevant services and resources.

0800 300 362

Professional human resources learning and development

Human Resource Management – An Introduction (HR101)

Performance Management (HR 204)

Intro to Supporting People Strengths (PX101)

Intro to Mitigating People Problems (PX102)

View all upcoming HR courses

Outsource your HR to the experts

We’ll manage your HR so you can focus on growing your business – backed by the full suite of EMA services, connections, and expertise.

With subscription plans made to fit your business and flexible, predictable costs, this service comes highly recommended by our clients. Watch the video to learn how Flo and Frankie scaled their business and people with our support.

Request a no-obligation consultation today

Meet the team that helps you excel

The EMA’s Fractional HR team is your ecosystem of support to attract, engage, grow and retain your people. 

Nick Sheppard

Head of Professional Services

Kathy McCombe

Fractional HR Service Manager

Rachel Larsen

HR Service Delivery Partner

Drew Prescott

HR Business Partner

Monette Gildenhuys

HR Business Partner

Aimee McCullagh

HR Business Partner

Summer Zhang

HR Business Partner

Carol Abernathy

HR Consultant and Business Partner

Kirsty Thomas

Culture Organisation and People Development Consultant

Elizabeth Fahey

Change and Transformation Consultant

Ann Lake

HR Business Partner

Jo Calder

HR Business Partner

Yvette James

HR Consultant and Business Partner

Karen Stent

Transformation, Culture & People Consultant

Suzie Marsden

HR Consultant

Sharon Spence

HR Consultant

Carmel White

HR Consultant

Get in touch to book a consultation

Check out our useful resources

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FREE RESOURCE

Performance versus Potential Matrix

Download
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Framework

Performance and Development Framework

Purchase
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ARTICLE

The harm of neglecting mental health

Read more
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FREE resource

Managing under-performance at work

Download

Not an EMA Member? That's ok, we can still help.
Enquire today about your options.

Not an EMA Member? That's ok, we can still help.
Enquire today about your options.

Enquire today about EMA Membership
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Mauro Barsi

Head of Legal and General Counsel

Mauro is an experienced advocate for businesses and employers and a trusted advisor when you need it most. He brings a powerful mix of practical knowledge in Employment Relations and Human Resources, litigation experience; and time spent as a senior leader in both the public and private sectors, all to help resolve your issues quickly and effectively. 

Having worked in-house with organisations to manage growth and transformation projects, his broad business management knowledge means he brings an overarching approach to issues. Mauro helps businesses shape their organisations through strategy, bargaining, restructuring and the implementation of new people structures, through to managing personal grievances, investigations, and employment disputes.

Kathy McCombe

Kathy has over 30 years of experience in client relationship management.
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Her strong interpersonal and communications skills enable her to build and maintain relationships with clients. Along with her ability to lead and her passion for providing outstanding service the outcome is providing continual exceptional customer service.

Rachel Larsen

Throughout her professional journey—whether in operational roles, as an HR partner, or in a self-employed capacity—Rachel’s passion for fostering people-centric cultures has kept people at the heart of everything she does.

Working across both SMEs and corporate environments as a HR Generalist, she is known for her supportive and empathetic approach, thriving on building strong relationships and empowering leaders to manage their teams with confidence. She embraces continuous improvement—both personally and within organizations—leveraging data and real-world insights to create meaningful impact. With a natural curiosity and problem-solving mindset, Rachel is a trusted, down-to-earth partner for businesses seeking generalist or project-based HR support.

Drew Prescott

Drew graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in psychology and criminology where she then joined the EMA as an HR Intern before moving into an Employer Advisor and People & Culture Advisor role.
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In 2022, Drew completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial and Organisational Psychology. Drew has since gained significant experience in partnering with EMA and businesses across all aspects of HR including restructuring, performance frameworks & wellbeing.
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Monette Gildenhuys

Monette is an experienced HR Business Partner providing practical, hands‑on people support to leaders and their teams. With a strong operational focus, she supports organisations across the full employee lifecycle, delivering clear, pragmatic HR advice that is commercially sound and easy to apply.


She brings deep expertise in employee relations, performance management, recruitment, and leadership support, with particular experience in complex and multi‑site environments. Monette manages employment matters end‑to‑end, including investigations, restructures, and disciplinary processes, ensuring compliance with New Zealand employment legislation. She is also familiar with EMA Services, including AdviceLine.


Known for her calm, approachable style, Monette is committed to fair, consistent processes and employee wellbeing, helping organisations manage people matters with confidence while building engaged, compliant, and productive workplaces.

Aimee Graham

Employer Advisor

Aimee joined the EMA in September 2022 as a part of the People & Capability Team, where she led the Talent Acquisition function and provided project-based work for our People Experience Team.

In May 2024, Aimee was seconded into an Employer Advisor role as part of the AdviceLine team to provide employment relations advice to Members.

Summer Zhang

Summer currently serves as HR Business Partner for EMA, with expertise in employee relations, recruitment, process implementation, payroll, and data analysis. She gained master’s degree in economics from University of Southern California, starting her career as a Financial Analyst but found her true passion lies in HR when working for Apple Inc (Retail).

Over the years, she has gained solid HR experience from diverse industries including retail, manufacturing, and education. She is committed to providing strategic insights to drive organizational success and fostering positive workplace relationships.

Carol Abernathy

Carol is an experienced recruiter, HR director, business consultant and small business owner with diverse skillsets and knowledge in HR, operations and finance.
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Tertiary qualified with a B.Sc (Psych), Grad Dip Bus (HR), Post Grad Dip Bus (Finance) from the University of Auckland. Currently carrying out a variety of HR and recruitment projects with selected clients across NZ and Australia.

Kirsty Thomas

Kirsty Thomas has both corporate and consulting experience in Human Resources roles for a range of organisations in the for-profit, not- for-profit, educare sector, government, and social enterprise sectors.


She has lived and worked in the UK, the Netherlands, Singapore, and New Zealand. She has a Masters degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from the University of Canterbury, alongside a range of qualifications in coaching, psychometric tools, and human-centred design.


She currently runs her own consulting practice; prior roles have included Chief People and Culture Officer at Toitū Envirocare and Head of Strategy – People and Organisation for ASB.

Elizabeth Fahey

Elizabeth is a change leader who has experience both in New Zealand and
internationally across diverse industries in organisations of varying sizes.


With a strong foundation in organisational development, training, HR and leadership, she has 20 years experience in organisational change and transformation, simplifying and guiding teams through complexity with a pragmatic, calm and collaborative approach combined with strategic insight. Committed to empowering individuals and unlocking their potential, Elizabeth also works as a retirement coach, helping individuals and organisations navigate transitions with purpose and confidence.

Ann Lake

With over 25 years experience, and Degree Qualified, through the University of Auckland Business School, Ann has transformed numerous organisations’ people programmes across a range of industries, including IT, health, trades, construction, health, social services, and transport.

Ann develops long-term relationships by sharing her knowledge and coaching leaders at all levels in large and medium businesses.

Commercially astute with a robust understanding of best business modelling, Ann has a particular interest in high-growth organisations and specialises in developing robust people and culture frameworks, including talent management, onboarding, performance management, and training and development.

Ann has a love for employment relations and adding value to the leaders she works with in the trickiest of situations.

Jo Calder

HR Business Partner

Jo Calder is a senior HR leader with 20+ years driving impactful people strategies across diverse New Zealand industries. She specialises in organisational design, leadership development, and culture change that deliver measurable results.

Jo is known for being adaptive, outcome focussed and partnering with leaders to solve complex challenges, improve engagement, reduce turnover, and advance diversity and inclusion.

Her achievements include delivering lasting transformational change, building high performing teams, slashing operational costs, achieving gender pay equity, leading union negotiations, and sustaining high engagement through major events and crises.

Jo is a trusted advisor who is energetic, pragmatic, down-to-earth, connecting easily with people at all levels, always delivering with integrity and a sense of humour.

Yvette James

HR Consultant and Business Partner

With more than 25 years’ experience across corporate, health, technology, horticulture, FMCG, construction & trades, manufacturing, and small‑business environments, I bring deep expertise in HR consulting, employment relations, and organisational development. My background spans HR Generalist and Senior HR Business Partner roles through to specialist ER work and registered Private Investigator responsibilities.

I support organisations with practical, people‑centred solutions grounded in extensive knowledge of New Zealand employment law, industrial relations, MECA and SECA bargaining, investigations, mediations, change management, and leadership development. I’m known for my calm, steady approach in complex environments, strong stakeholder relationships, and an ability to partner effectively with leaders at all levels. My focus is always on building healthy workplace cultures, resolving issues early, and helping organisations achieve clarity, confidence, and sustainable performance.

Karen Stent

Karen brings over 20 years of experience in recruitment, HR, and coaching across diverse industries. As both an HR Business Partner and a leadership and culture coach,
she supports organisations to build capability, strengthen culture, and align people strategies with business goals, bringing a strategic and solutions-focused approach.

A career highlight includes leading the creation of an award-winning workplace, recognised as one of New Zealand’s Top 10 Best Workplaces and the recipient of multiple awards for excellence in learning, development, and culture initiatives.

Karen’s collaborative style, calm presence, ability to build trust, and commitment to excellence make her a valued partner in driving meaningful workplace transformation.

Suzie Marsden

HR Consultant

Suzie has worked for Toyota, Fisher & Paykel, NatWest in the UK, Westpac and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, mainly specialising in marketing, and has also led sustainability, sales and product development teams, and served on executive teams in General Management roles.

Supporting development and growth has always been very important to Suzie, and 14 years ago she learned to be a leadership coach and has been coaching ever since, both inside and outside the organisations she has been in. Suzie jumped at the opportunity to join Sharon because she had a strong drive to do something more personally meaningful and to follow her purpose of helping New Zealanders thrive by creating amazing experiences that help people with their lives.

Sharon Spence

HR Consultant

Most of Sharon’s career has been in Human Resources, with side trips into operations, IT and systems implementation, project management, and consulting. She started out at Ford Motor Company, and Credit Suisse, and has held senior and General Manager level roles in great companies like Fletcher Building, Mercer, & Carter Holt Harvey, Gen-i (now Spark), GHD and Public Trust.

What she saw along the way were two flawed assumptions that were holding back great career development. First, the assumption that people mostly know where they want to take their careers, and secondly that managers mostly know how to have meaningful performance and growth conversations. Wanting to do something to solve that, she stepped out of corporate life to start a new enterprise aimed at breathing life into career development.

Carmel White

HR Consultant

I am an experienced People and Culture executive and commercial coach who provides a fractional HR practice to help organisations bridge the gap between strategic intent and daily operational delivery. I partner with client organisations to design and implement bespoke people frameworks and ways of working, ensuring that culture, performance, and talent systems are directly aligned with long-term business goals.

My approach is focused on pragmatic delivery and effective organisational performance; I work alongside leaders and their teams to turn complex strategic ambitions into actionable, self-sustaining people plans and roadmaps. Whether navigating performance and change alignment or talent planning, I ensure your organisational infrastructure supports a high-performance ecosystem in real-time.