Welcome to our new COO: Rachelle HardieNeil

We're delighted to welcome our new Chief Operating Officer Rachelle HardieNeil to the FSC team, and not just because she bakes an excellent carrot cake...

Rachelle got a taste for life at the FSC by attending our recent FSC Conference on 21-22 September at The Cordis in Auckland.

She dived right in meeting and greeting delegates, absorbing the rich content, and drew on her events management experience (one of her many skillsets) to help the team deliver yet another exceptional event.

Now she's had a chance to catch her breath after nearly a month with the FSC, we caught up with her to chat about how she's finding things.

How have your first couple of weeks at the FSC been going?

Organised chaos comes to mind.

Every day is an encyclopedia of learning, Zoom calls and reading minutes, project briefs, etc. It's impressive to see all the work the FSC is doing and the commitment from members. I go home every night with a full brain and homework.

I have spent more time than you would think figuring out your sector's acronyms. You certainly have your share.

You've worked in a variety of different roles for different organisations, including most recently the New Zealand College of Chiropractic. What do you most enjoy sinking your teeth into?

I love people, building teams, and supporting an organisation or industry to achieve bodacious goals.

Developing a solid foundation of systems, policies and people is my favourite work. There is nothing better than an evening glass of wine with a satisfied smile at a job well done by your team or the company you work for, knowing that it will be a better place tomorrow.

What appealed to you the most about working at the FSC? 

I like 'rolling up my sleeves' and the COO role offered both the strategy work and the ability to work in the business with members and the team.

The opportunities for both the sector and the FSC are enormous and the strongest appeal was the chance to jump in and create some positive change.

What are you most excited about doing in your new role?

Getting my head around the acronyms (kidding).

My focus will be looking at the FSC internally and putting some processes around us now that we are a bigger team.   

I’m also excited to put my public policy hat on and work with the FSC team and the sector creating positive change for both members and consumers. 

What’s something most people wouldn’t know about you?

Big laugh here because I am pretty much an open book.

I love my lab cross pups Hope and Gracey, I’m a bit of a garden warrior and I am on a lifelong search for the perfect carrot cake recipe. The FSC team will be eating a lot of carrot cake. 

We look forward to more of Rachelle's baking and what we can achieve together for the FSC, the wider industry and New Zealand consumers. If you see Rachelle on one of our upcoming Committee meetings, make sure to say hello!