Charlotte Bates

Charlotte’s career began in law, spanning Clifford Chance in London through to leading employment law practices at Simpson Grierson and boutique firms in Wellington. After two decades in employment law, she shifted from “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” work to solving problems at their root. Today at Humankind, she blends deep ER expertise with organisation design and performance - partnering with hundreds of clients from high-growth SMEs through to major government agencies and global names like Unity.

Charlotte sets the bar high. She’s known for quality of delivery, pragmatic solutions, and her ability to zoom out and see the bigger organisational picture. Whether navigating complex ER matters, leading change with multiple unions, or coaching CEs through people strategy, she combines sharp legal grounding with clear, human-centred advice. Clients value her knack for turning complex issues into clear pathways forward.

Charlotte led one of Humankind’s largest change projects with the IRD, impacting hundreds of employees, where unions called it the best change process they had ever seen. She also steered Unity through the acquisition of Weta FX contractors under tight timelines. Inside Humankind, she’s proud of growing the capability of the team and mentoring emerging leaders.

Charlotte believes work shapes lives. If people feel valued, safe, and purposeful at work, the ripple effects are enormous. That’s why she’s passionate about building great workplaces and lifting leadership capability - knowing that high employee experience is the foundation of high organisational performance.

Pragmatic. High-quality. Not afraid to challenge. Charlotte asks the tough questions that surface the real issues, then gets things done with pace and clarity. She flexes her style to fit the context, from formal, process-driven government restructures to agile, strategic partnering with founders, always keeping people at the centre.