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.
 

Local knowledge with a global reach

 
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Featured Staff
Julie Black
Practice Lead – Assessments, South Island
Tania Macdonald
Head of Research, South Island
Ian Taylor
Managing Director, North Island
Emma Gifford
Research Consultant
Linda Lilley
Office Manager - Christchurch

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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From the outset, Sheffield invested the time to truly understand our organisation, our context, our culture, and what success looked like for this role. What really stood out was the team’s professionalism and depth of market insight. The quality of candidate information, combined with thoughtful analysis and guidance, enabled us to move forward with clarity and confidence. The result speaks for itself.

Nicki Brady, Group Manager Capability and Transformation

I was impressed with the quality of the candidates provided and how well Sheffield understood the brief of what we were after. The candidates were well briefed prior to our interviews, and I had a number of comments from them on the candidate care they received. Sheffield far exceeded our expectations and anyone choosing to partner with them would not be disappointed.

Cathy Hendry, Manaing Director, Strategic Pay

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

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Find out more about Sheffield and how we can help you or your organisation.