The SME Stream

The economy's on the mend but households are still feeling a squeeze.
Westpac's August overview points to an uplift in activity after a subdued June quarter.
It forecasts 2% growth over the year, jumping to 3% in 2027.
Chief economist Kelly Eckhold told Mike Hosking that the growth the country's achieved in the last few quarters is coming from good sources such as exports and tourism.
But he says there is a concern it will put pressure on margins and prices and push inflation up as we go through recovery next year.
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What can international HR experience teach us about leadership in an increasingly connected world?
In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Wendy Baker, Chief People Officer at Brosnan, to explore global HR, commercial leadership, organisational culture, and the leadership capabilities needed to thrive in today's rapidly changing workplace.
Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore, Wendy shares practical insights into leading across cultures, developing commercial acumen, building trust, and helping organisations navigate complexity.
From international career opportunities and cultural intelligence to leadership, psychological safety, AI, governance, and high-performing teams, this conversation explores how curiosity, adaptability, and continuous learning enable HR professionals to become trusted business partners.
Wendy also shares lessons from competitive yacht racing and the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, drawing fascinating parallels between teamwork, communication, resilience, safety, and leadership in the workplace.
What You'll Learn
How international experience shapes stronger HR and leadership capability

Why curiosity is one of the most important leadership skills

The value of cultural intelligence in diverse workplaces

How HR professionals can strengthen their commercial and financial acumen

Why understanding the business is essential for becoming a trusted advisor

Practical advice for building an international HR career

Lessons on teamwork, trust, and communication from competitive yacht racing

How leaders can create psychologically safe, high-performing teams

Why lifelong learning and adaptability are critical for future leaders

How AI can enhance HR by creating more time for meaningful conversations

Key Takeaways
Great HR starts with understanding the business, not just the people.

Curiosity, listening, and adaptability are essential leadership capabilities.

Cultural intelligence helps leaders build stronger relationships across diverse teams.

Commercial understanding allows HR to become a genuine strategic partner.

High-performing teams are built on trust, communication, and psychological safety.

Leadership development is a lifelong journey of learning and reflection.

Technology should enable better conversations, not replace human judgement.

Supporting new employees well creates stronger teams and better long-term outcomes.

About Wendy Baker
Wendy Baker is Chief People Officer at Brosnan, bringing more than 20 years of Human Resources leadership experience across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore.
Her career includes senior HR leadership roles with organisations including American Express, JLL, CBRE, and Carter Holt Harvey, with expertise spanning organisational transformation, strategic HR, governance, commercial partnering, and leadership development.
A Chartered Member of HRNZ and Fellow of the UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Wendy is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing future leaders, and helping organisations create workplaces where people and performance thrive together.
Why This Episode Matters
As organisations become increasingly global, diverse, and technology-enabled, HR leaders are expected to contribute far beyond traditional people practices.
This episode provides practical insights into building commercial capability, leading across cultures, creating psychologically safe teams, and developing the curiosity and adaptability needed to thrive in the future of work. Whether you're an HR professional, business leader, or people manager, Wendy's international experience offers valuable lessons that apply across every organisation.
Resources
Connect with Wendy Baker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendybaker1/
Brosnan: https://brosnan.co.nz/
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What if space was not simply a place to launch satellites – but a factory floor for making things that cannot be produced on Earth?
That is the bet being made by Auckland startup Outlier Space, which has raised around US$7.35 million (NZ$12.3 million) in pre-seed funding to build reusable spacecraft that carry customer payloads into microgravity, operate them in orbit, then return them safely to Earth. Its first mission is booked for 2028.
The premise is straightforward, if technically formidable. In orbit, a spacecraft is in continuous freefall, creating a microgravity environment in which the familiar force of gravity no longer dominates. Molecules, crystals, cells and materials can therefore behave in ways that are not possible in an Earth-bound laboratory.
That holds incredible appeal to pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and advanced-materials manufacturers. Microgravity can allow purer crystals to form, produce novel structures and open paths to materials and medicines that simply cannot be created – or cannot be created as effectively – on the ground.
Bringing the results home
In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Outlier founder and chief executive Jamie France describes the company as an “anti-gravity chamber” for customers. They provide the proprietary manufacturing equipment and process. Outlier supplies the capsule-cum-satellite that allows access to the extraordinary environment of orbit, then brings the results home.
The opportunity is becoming more urgent as the International Space Station – the world’s most important microgravity research laboratory – approaches retirement. Commercial replacements are on the way, but France believes there is a major role for autonomous, uncrewed spacecraft designed for manufacturing and research missions where astronauts are not required.
France has the background to take on that challenge. He spent 15 years working with Emirates Team New Zealand, helped create Air New Zealand’s Skycouch, and spent almost a decade at Rocket Lab – from senior vehicle engineer on Electron to global director of the launch vehicle programme. Most recently, he sat on the board of FTN Motion, advising the founders as they scaled up production of their electric motorbikes (see episode 160 of The Business of Tech).
France’s career has been defined by teams willing to tackle difficult problems from first principles. At Rocket Lab, he says, the high-stakes peak-performance mindset of an America’s Cup campaign was not an occasional event. It was simply “a Tuesday”.
Outlier is now assembling its own team in Auckland, already numbering more than 20, to build a spacecraft capable not only of operating in orbit but also surviving re-entry and getting valuable payloads back into customers’ hands.
In this episode, France explains why space manufacturing is really about gravity, how a new form of a cancer drug could change treatment delivery, and why New Zealand’s deep-tech future may depend as much on audacity as engineering skill.
Listen to The Business of Tech for the full conversation with Jamie France, available wherever you get your podcasts.
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Senior macro strategist at RaboResearch says New Zealand’s economic recovery remains on track despite a dip in retail spending and ongoing global supply chain risks.
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Lightspeed's Nicole Buisson on NZ retailers seeing more transactions but smaller baskets as Kiwis spend more often but more cautiously
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