The Person Behind The Thinking

Insightful, Innovative, Impactful


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Justine Whitaker

I'm a Chief People Officer and strategic advisor who helps leaders see possibilities they didn't know existed. Over 30 years, I've spotted patterns others miss and created alternative pathways forward, from Māori tribes to private equity, each unexpected opportunity emerged because someone recognized my ability to imagine what others couldn't.


I build frameworks that turn organizational culture into measurable business results. From global expansion to post-acquisition integration, I've designed and delivered people strategies that unlock commercial growth and drive significant business performance. I've consistently been the first CPO hired into newly created roles, trusted to shape strategy from scratch and build foundations that last.


My 27+ LinkedIn recommendations from CEOs and Board members reflect the trust I've earned with leaders who value fresh thinking over conventional solutions. I've guided organizations through transformations that had no established playbook, operating in that rare space where contradictions become competitive advantages.


What drives me is balancing strategic vision with genuine human connection, quickly identifying potential in both people and opportunities to transform strong foundations into exceptional results.




The Moves That Mattered


Every major role in my career has felt "beyond my comprehension" initially, yet that's precisely where breakthrough transformation happens. When others see limitations, I see untapped potential and fresh possibilities.  Each move demanded a fresh perspective and the courage to do things differently. 

Recent Chapters

From 2019 to 2024, I led transformation across three distinct contexts: catalyzing digital transformation for a global engineering consultancy, building unified culture for tec focused scale-up during international expansion, and creating an entirely new people function for a PE-backed legal platform during a period of rapid acquisition.


Each role was either greenfield or inaugural, requiring me to build something meaningful from complexity while delivering measurable results from 96% headcount growth with zero redundancies during a pandemic, to contributing to revenue targets increasing from £100M to £150M based on investor confidence in the executive team.

Foundation Chapters

My foundation was built across diverse leadership contexts that shaped my approach to transformation: centralizing global organizational development for a $11+ billion insurance group while managing 40 specialists and a $2.3M budget, pioneering culture frameworks during major restructuring.


I was the first non-indigenous executive developing intergenerational talent for a New Zealand a large iwi organization (Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu).  This appointment that taught me to bridge vastly different cultural paradigms while honoring my own authentic identity. My early experience as an organisational development consultant  and executive search researcher, developed my expertise in seeing potential others miss and creating pathways that didn't previously exist.

The Best Is Yet To Come


The pattern is clear: every time I've stepped into something that felt beyond my comprehension, it's led to my most meaningful work and most significant impact. The organizations I've worked with don't just perform better, they discover possibilities they didn't know existed.


Start with progress not perfection

When your instincts are telling you there's more to the story, there usually is.

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