Meet Claire Walker, SKYCITY's Group General Manager Human Resources. Claire leads each of the HR teams located across our five businesses in New Zealand and Australia, ensuring the capability, engagement and safety of our 6,500+ employees.
Claire first joined SKYCITY as Casino HR Manager in 2008, progressing to Auckland HR Manager in 2012 and then left us in 2014 to become Chief People Officer at Sanford. When the opportunity opened up to become SKYCITY's Group GM of Human Resources in 2016, she saw a great opportunity to develop people and their leadership skills. She's now a member of our Senior Leadership Team and has a lot of HR insight and experience to offer in developing the HR business strategy.
“We have such a diverse workforce in every sense which results in quite a unique experience as an employee.”
Born in Napier and raised in the Kapiti Coast, Claire's career began in education, teaching English for five years in London, Paraparaumu, Otaki and Kapiti. She then went on to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration, before gaining years of HR experience through Downer NZ and Carter Holt Harvey.
Like any job, being a senior HR leader comes with its challenges and rewards. Claire enjoys the challenge of making sense of people and their aspirations, and the depth and breadth of her role. She also enjoys the unique diversity of SKYCITY and working with talented people.
“There's such a great energy about this place and I love walking through the business when it's full of people having fun and enjoying all the experiences we offer.”
Even with such a busy work schedule, Claire still finds time outside of work to go for bike-rides and walks along the North Shore coastline with her young children.
For first-time job seekers, Claire offers the following advice: "Don't be put off if your first few job applications aren't successful. Be willing to take a role that mightn't be your 'dream' job, but gets you into a company or industry that you want to pursue.”
For someone who's continued to grow as a leader and taken up many career opportunities, Claire knows just how rewarding that can be.
