HRNZ Member Profile: Marcus Waters

Marcus has recently been appointed HRNZ Board Director. We caught up with him and learnt a little more about the wonderful world of Antarctica and solving people problems!

1. What do you do in your current role to help your organisation be successful?

I have just started a new role as General Manager of Commercial and Partnerships at the Antarctic Heritage Trust. The role is about growing the Trust’s Inspiring Explorers development programme and sourcing funding streams. Inspiring Explorers is about using the inspiration of Antarctic explorers to encourage young people to explore – fostering the next Shackletons and Hillarys. I was drawn to the role because I firmly believe that our young leaders and influencers will be crucial, if we’re to address the challenges of today and the future, try different approaches and ask “what if…?”. Inspiring Explorers – what a fantastic vision to have!

2. What attracted you to pursue a career in HR?

I have always been interested in the ways people work together to get things done. After finishing an MBA at Waikato University, I was employed as an HR consultant on the strength of my training background. As I worked in different organisations over a 20-year career in HR management, I increasingly enjoyed the challenge of advising managers on how to solve their people problems. As my experience grew, I became more involved in designing initiatives to build organisational capability, and then leading people and HR teams. As careers develop, there’s always something new to learn. I think the accelerating change in workplaces over the next 10 years will create challenges and opportunities that are very different from the previous 10 years – it will be fascinating how we, as a profession, respond.

3. What motivated you to apply for the role of HRNZ Board Member and Branch President?

During 2018 I was a member of the HRNZ Southland Branch. I then had a brief spell as Branch President before moving back to Christchurch. Over this time, I could see the great work HRNZ was doing and the important role HRNZ plays in shaping the profession. I wanted to contribute and be involved in steering the future of our professional body. It’s certainly a privilege to represent members and ensure HRNZ not only helps members grow their skills and careers but also influences the way we think about people in the workplace. (By the way, I’ve never liked the term ‘human resources’, I think people are more than just resources.)

4. What has been a highlight in your career to date?

Leading a team of HR professionals to help achieve organisational aims and make the working environment better has been a highlight so far. I’ve also really enjoyed recruiting team members early in their careers, coaching and seeing them grow into great HR professionals.

5. What do you value about your membership with HRNZ?

The networks and branch events. You feel as if you’re part of a community with a great purpose. The contacts and connections you develop through membership are precious. If I have a people problem there’s usually an HRNZ member not too far away who’s got a solution.

6. What’s something that not many people know about you?

Taking on the role at the Antarctic Heritage Trust was not such a strange move for me (as an HR person). I have a background in outdoor education and adventure. I was a member of the first team to complete an extended sea kayak expedition in Antarctica, paddling over 800 kilometres down the length of the Antarctic Peninsula. With the same team, I completed the first circumnavigation of the Island of South Georgia by kayak and went on to complete the first all-Kiwi crossing of the Greenland Icecap. I like to think the fact I still have 10 fingers and 10 toes is a testament to good health and safety planning!

7. If you could have dinner with three people living or dead, who would they be and why?

Two would be Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir Ernest Shackleton. I’d love to ask them about their motivations, what kept them going, how they influenced others and some nitty-gritty details about their various adventures. The other would be my grandmother, who I didn’t get to say goodbye to properly.

8. What’s your happy place?

I’d like to say it’s working with an HR team to plan some strategic initiative… but, if the truth be told, it’s probably out back in a wilderness area, climbing a beautiful snow-capped peak or skiing an untracked basin, snow crystals glinting in the sunshine.