The Sheffield Legacy

Founded in 1961 by Malcolm Sheffield, we began as Aotearoa New Zealand’s first organisational psychology and executive recruitment practice. Today, Sheffield is a trusted adviser to a wide range of organisations across the private, public, local government and not-for-profit sectors. 

For over six decades, we have helped shape leadership across Aotearoa, placing many of the country’s top executives and directors, supporting organisations to get the best out of their talent. Our consultants bring deep expertise, sound judgment and proven methodologies to every engagement. 

With offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, we provide a seamless national service to clients and candidates. Our integrated services in executive search and selection, assessment and board advisory uniquely position us to help organisations attract and retain exceptional leadership capability. 

We combine experience and insight to ensure you get the best talent and the best out of your talent. 

The Greek psi symbol in our brand reflects our enduring commitment to understanding human behaviour. This legacy continues to shape both the theoretical and applied development of our business. 

We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Our service reflects these values and fosters long-lasting partnerships built on trust and impact.
 


Emeritus Partners 

We honour and acknowledge the lasting contributions of our Emeritus Partners,
whose leadership and dedication have shaped our firm’s legacy: 

Norman Godden 

Tony Forsyth 

Simon Hart 

John Martins 

John Sinton

Christien Winter

Mike Stenhouse

 

Local knowledge with a global reach

 
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AESC 10 year membership logo

Featured Staff
Julie Black
Practice Lead – Assessments, South Island
Jane Cotter
Project Coordinator
Linda Lilley
Office Manager - Christchurch
Mike Stenhouse
Principal
Emma Gifford
Research Consultant

Sheffield is proud to support our community

We offer sponsorships and pro-bono contributions to New Zealand enterprises that are making a positive impact.

 

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I cannot recommend the Sheffield team highly enough. What impressed me most was their thoroughness at every stage of the process. They invested significant time upfront to understand not just the requirements, but the nuances of our business, our growth objectives, and the leadership qualities that would drive success in this position. Their focus on achieving the best outcome for Southern Cross Healthcare was evident throughout. They were relentless in their commitment, proactively sourcing exceptional candidates, providing thoughtful insights, and maintaining momentum even when the search became challenging. It wasn’t just about filling a position; they were genuinely invested in finding the right fit.

David Simpson, Chief of Strategy & Partnerships, Southern Cross Healthcare Group

We partnered with Sheffield for this important role as we have had previous great experience with Ian Taylor and the team. Sheffield always provide us with great communication and regular updates. To others considering partnering with Sheffield, you will find they provide consistently good service and are very confidential/professional.

Jan Pederen, Head of People, Performance and Culture

Sheffield is known as one of New Zealand’s top level recruitment businesses and so it was a pleasure engaging with them and together creating the pathway to appoint a new CEO for a new organisation. Value was added every step of the way, from drafting documents to Sheffield’s expertise in assessing candidates in relation to the position and level of maturity of the organisation. In many ways Sheffield shared our vision. As a high-trust, high-calibre business partner I would certainly recommend Sheffield. Katy, Patrick and Shona and the organisation that sits behind them are a great team.

Alastair Bell, Chair, MIT and Unitec Council

YNZ requested proposals from 3 consultancies. Above all, Sheffield stood out as the consultancy with the right experience and a strong market reputation to match. Sheffield invested the time necessary to learn about YNZ, our culture and our requirements. Ian Taylor, from Sheffield, is widely respected and undertook to be fully immersed in leading our project (which he delivered on). My recommendation would be, get Ian Taylor on the team!

Greg Knowles, Chair, Yachting NZ

We have used Sheffield previously and they have done a wonderful job for us. Kate quickly grasped what we were looking for and gave us confidence she understood our business and needs. Kate gave sound, practical advice around the placement and timing for advertising, as well as excellent support and updates throughout the process. We were really happy with the outcome and Sheffield South Island did a fantastic job.

Jo Yusaf, Manager, People, Brand and Administration, Corcoran French

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