Jorge Quirarte

Jorge’s career spans continents, cultures, and industries, from large-scale manufacturing in Mexico to complex humanitarian programs in New Zealand. Trained in Industrial Relations (HR with a strong ER/union focus), he’s led people functions in organisations as diverse as chemical plants, multinational call centres, automotive groups, finance companies, dental supply corporates, and refugee services. His roles have ranged from HR Manager to national Program Manager, delivering impact in environments with workforces from 100 to over 7,000 people. Along the way, he’s built capability in HRIS implementation, L&D strategy, leadership development, and change management, always in the thick of high-stakes, high-complexity challenges.

A trainer at heart, Jorge brings a learning lens to everything he does, whether facilitating a room of 40 salespeople, reimagining a leadership program, or coaching a manager through a tough conversation. He blends operational rigour with human insight, helping leaders solve problems in a way that builds their own capability. Adaptable and calm in complexity, he thrives in environments with multiple moving parts, from matrix structures to distributed, multicultural teams.

Jorge’s proudest work includes redesigning a leadership development program at WellingtonNZ to integrate real-world projects, people-leader alignment, and practical experimentation, achieving full enrolment for the first time. In Mexico, he cut onboarding for a national salesforce from six months to three, improving time-to-revenue without sacrificing quality. At the New Zealand Red Cross, he navigated complex people issues across a multicultural, high-pressure refugee services team, building trust and stability through significant change.

Humanistic at heart, Jorge is fascinated by the human experience, the complexity, creativity, and even the chaos people bring to work. He believes well-managed friction creates value, and that developing leaders has a ripple effect far beyond the workplace. For him, every interaction is a learning opportunity.

Approachable, reflective, and grounded, Jorge combines the practical with the philosophical. He plans for the reality that “nothing ever goes exactly to plan,” bringing flexibility, scenario thinking, and creative problem-solving to every challenge. Leaders value him for making them look good in front of their teams, enhancing their capability while delivering results.