The leading network of Health, Human Service and Public Sector Leaders.
Our Executive Search & Recruitment network is unrivalled, and by engaging HG we connect our clients to the best talent from around the world. As the competition for talent intensifies, domestically and globally, our clients trust in our ability to secure a successful and timely appointment, the first time, every time.
Executive Search & Recruitment Services
Board Chair and Director Appointments
As Boards navigate an increasingly complex operating and regulatory environment so too is the need to elevate and refresh boardroom capabilities. HG’s extensive track record in governance appointments includes the formation of inaugural Boards in response to major government reforms at scale at a whole of system level and at a multi-district level. We are also expert in supporting the timely refresh of existing Boards.
Chief Executive and C-Suite Appointments
With our extensive and current networks, built up over decades, and team of Principal Search Consultants from the sectors we serve, HG is the leading trans-Tasman agency for Chief Executive and C-Suite appointments. This also includes all key enabling services such as IT, Digital, Finance, Legal, People & Culture and more. Our tailored approach ensure a successful and sustained appointment every time.
Management Appointments
Our networks are not only extensive, they are also very deep and this gives great confidence to our clients we can know who tomorrow’s future executives are today. By engaging HG for management level appointments, we deliver a field of candidates already proven at a team leader, management or director level and who exhibit the capabilities to also aide your organisation in future succession planning.
Clinical and Medical Appointments
Sourcing and attracting top talent for leadership positions within clinical and medical specialties requires deep expertise and never more so then now given global workforces shortages in healthcare. To ensure your success HG adopts a team approach that includes specialist Principal Consultants and Senior Researchers who will work tirelessly and creatively on your behalf to achieve the result you need.
Public Sector Leadership Appointments
Public sector appointments at a Chief Executive and C-Suite level can and do attract significant political, stakeholder and media scrutiny and navigating that requires Search agencies to have a unique set of capabilities. HG is a trusted and proven partner to government for the most senior leadership appointments including Environment, Revenue, Ethnic Communities, Disability, Health, Internal Affairs and to Royal Commissions of Inquiry.
Diagnostics
HG is invested in the long term success of your organisation and has built a suite of diagnostic capabilities to support the ambition of executive leadership that is practical and grounded in real time, real world environments. These diagnostic options and tools mean you are working with evidence and reflective practice.
HG’s Panel Partnerships
HG is a trusted advisor and provider of permanent and interim recruitment solutions for clients across Australia and New Zealand. In circumstances which require it, HG can also be your partner of choice by engaging us through the following government panels.
WA Country Health Service Panel
SA Recruitment Agency Services Panel
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Panel
Executive Recruitment Panel
Central Australia Health Service Panel
All of Government Talent Acquisition Services (TAS) contract.
NSW Government Talent Acquisition Scheme
LGA Procurement – Labor hire and recruitment Services
Recruitment and Immigration Agency Panel Primary Agency – Canberra Health Services
Local Buy Pre-qualified Supplier
The Management Advisory Services (MAS) Panel
Industries we serve
Public Health
Private Health
Primary & Community Care
Aged Care
Disability Services
Public Sector
Meet our Principal Consultants
HG’s Principal Search Consultants have held Chief and Senior Executive roles within the industries we serve. Their extensive leadership profiles enable them to swiftly establish trust and rapport with both clients and candidates, clearly understand the roles they have been asked to recruit to and importantly, the organisational and environmental context in which they exist.
Our evidenced based search methodology, extensive networks and talented team have led to the successful placement of 4,000+ executives.
Lynette Taylor
Executive Director, Search & Recruitment
A senior executive leader with experience in private and public sectors across health, logistics and human resource sectors. With nearly two decades of experience as a senior executive in a multinational company, Lynette brings a comprehensive global and commercial perspective to her role, focusing on the attraction, retention, and development of executive-level candidates.
Paul Ingle
Chief Executive Officer
Paul Ingle is the Chief Executive Officer of HG. In addition to his leadership responsibilities, he conducts senior executive and board recruitment assignments and facilitates HG’s Executive Learning Sets. Paul has been a Chief Executive in both the public and private sector for over 20 years, having worked in New Zealand, the UK and Australia. He brings a wealth of experience in supporting organisational leadership, reform, employee wellbeing, and cultural transformation.
Christine Leahy
Executive Director Leadership and Learning
Christine Leahy is a seasoned executive Human Resources specialist with over 25 years of experience in prestigious national and international corporations. Armed with a Bachelor of Commerce, she has played pivotal roles in HR, aiding companies in recruiting and retaining top-tier talent, thereby enhancing organizational culture and business performance. In addition to her leadership responsibilities, Christine conducts senior executive recruitment assignments and facilitates HG’s Executive Learning Sets.
Sarah Buckler
State Manager, Queensland
Sarah Buckler has an extensive background and in-depth understanding of the public sector in Australia and New Zealand. She has over twenty-five years of experience in executive leadership roles and appointments to advisory and governing boards across public, private and quasi-government boards and authorities. Sarah is a recipient of the Australia Day Honours and was awarded the Public Service Medal for her contributions to regional development, investment attraction, public sector administration, leadership, and governance.
David Price
National Manager, New Zealand
David Price is the National Manager of HG New Zealand. He is an internationally experienced senior leader and healthcare innovator known for pioneering system design, co-design, and patient experience reform across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.
Liz Hlipala
Principal Search Consultant
Liz Hlipala has an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the healthcare sector in Australia today. She brings more than three decades of experience working in the healthcare sector at senior executive levels to any consultancy she undertakes. Liz has participated as an Executive Director of the governing boards and senior leadership teams of large health networks and the department of health in South Australia, given her an understanding of these complex organisations’ leadership and performance requirements.
Dr Karen Bridgewater
Senior Researcher
Karen is an academic researcher with experience investigating, designing, recruiting, conducting and reporting. Through her career, Karen has not only finely honed her academic and population-relevant research skills, but also forged relationships in the public and private health sectors, multiple universities, and non-government organisations. Consequently, Karen brings to HardyGroup a unique combination of established research excellence, and industry-relevant, highly valuable interpersonal relationship insights and skills.
Janine Hammat
Principal Search Consultant
Janine is a versatile senior human resources executive with many years’ experience at the executive level in both the public and private sectors. She is a proactive leader of people strategy and cultural alignment in diverse and complex organisations. Her knowledge across all facets of human resources and her ability to partner with other senior executives and staff, and to translate organisational strategy into pragmatic and operable outcomes, enables her to deliver quality results.
Pete Carter
Principal Search Consultant
Pete Carter has over 30 years of experience in health and social service leadership in New Zealand and Australia, much of that in senior roles within the public sector.
Pete has also spent many years on Boards of both Non-Government and Government organisations and has been actively involved consulting across the sector, particularly around leadership and governance.
Emma Hay
Principal Consultant Medical Specialist
An accomplished healthcare leader with extensive experience across clinical governance, quality and risk, organisational improvement and healthcare transformation. Emma combines clinical credibility with strong stakeholder engagement and a detailed understanding of complex healthcare environments. Her experience working with executives, clinicians and multidisciplinary teams provides valuable insight into the leadership capabilities required to deliver safe, effective and sustainable healthcare services.
Talk to a Consultant
Recruitment
Opportunities for You
Scroll through our jobs board below to find your next career defining opportunity.
H26_5584
Executive Director – Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group
Nedlands, Western Australia
H26_5582
Executive Director, Digital – Central Adelaide Local Health Network
Adelaide, South Australia
Recent Key Appointments
Organisations trust HardyGroup
to find great talent to deliver on their mission.
Jamie Spencer
Executive Director, Caboolture, Kilcoy and Woodford | Metro North Health.
Dr Lindy Washington
Executive Director, Medical Services & Clinical Governance | The Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
Dr Louise Poynton
Independent Director | HealthOne.
Katie Billing
Executive Director, Child and Family Support | Department of Human Services.
Jamie Spencer
Executive Director, Caboolture, Kilcoy and Woodford | Metro North Health.
HG is delighted to announce the appointment of Jamie Spencer as Executive Director, Caboolture, Kilcoy and Woodford with Metro North Health.
Jamie Spencer is an accomplished health service executive with extensive experience leading large and complex healthcare organisations across the public, aged care, digital health and consulting sectors. Throughout his career, he has provided executive leadership across major regional and metropolitan services, with responsibility for large multidisciplinary workforces, significant budgets, and system-wide reform initiatives focused on improving patient outcomes and service performance.
Most recently, as General Manager of Wagga Wagga Base Hospital within Murrumbidgee Local Health District, Jamie led a major regional referral hospital, delivering operational improvements, strengthened governance, enhanced patient flow, and significant financial efficiencies. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, overseeing operations across 12 hospitals and 16 facilities, where he drove improvements in emergency access, elective surgery performance, and system-wide capacity.
A registered nurse, Jamie holds a Master of Health Service Management and a Bachelor of Nursing. He is recognised for his collaborative leadership style, commitment to service excellence, and ability to deliver sustainable organisational improvement.
HG congratulates Jamie Spencer on his appointment with Metro North Health.
Dr Lindy Washington
Executive Director, Medical Services & Clinical Governance | The Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
HG is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Lindy Washington as Executive Director, Medical Services & Clinical Governance with the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
Lindy is a highly accomplished medical executive and clinician, with extensive experience across clinical governance, medical administration, and health service leadership. Her career spans executive medical leadership and management responsibilities, with accountability for clinical governance frameworks, medical workforce strategy, organisational performance, and the delivery of safe, high-quality care across complex health services.
Most recently, as Executive Director Medical Services with the Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network, Lindy led clinical governance and medical workforce functions across six sites. She successfully strengthened governance systems, expanded medical education capability, increased permanent senior medical staffing, and developed new clinical service partnerships to improve access to specialist care.
Lindy holds dual Masters qualifications in Health Management (Monash) and Clinical Service Operations (Harvard) and is a Fellow of both the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. Lindy has many years experience working in Emergency and Trauma Medicine in both metropolitan and regional health services in Australia and the USA.
HG congratulates Dr Lindy Washington on her appointment with the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
Dr Louise Poynton
Independent Director | HealthOne.
HG is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Louise Poynton as Independent Director at HealthOne.
Dr Poynton is an experienced clinical leader and general practitioner with extensive expertise in primary healthcare, clinical governance and health system integration. In her current role as Medical Director at Tū Ora Compass Health, she provides strategic clinical leadership across a large primary care network and has played a key role in advancing integrated models of care and digital health initiatives.
With a strong commitment to quality, collaboration and improved health outcomes, Dr Poynton brings significant governance and healthcare leadership experience to the HealthOne Board.
HG congratulates Dr Poynton on this appointment and looks forward to her contribution in the role.
Katie Billing
Executive Director, Child and Family Support | Department of Human Services.
HG is delighted to announce the appointment of Katie Billing as Executive Director, Child and Family Support with the Department of Human Services.
Katie Billing is an accomplished executive leader with extensive experience across health system leadership, service reform, and large-scale program delivery within South Australia’s public sector. She has built a strong reputation for leading complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives that integrate policy, strategy, and service delivery, with a particular focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable populations through evidence-informed and collaborative approaches.
Most recently, as Executive Director, Consumer and Clinical Partnerships with the Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health, Katie led statewide system improvement initiatives, secured $77 million in Commonwealth funding for the South Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network, and oversaw the development of governance frameworks, strategic direction, and workforce wellbeing reforms. She has also held senior operational leadership roles within SA Health, including Executive Officer Director of Nursing, where she led rural health service delivery and major digital transformation programs, including the statewide Electronic Medical Record implementation.
Katie holds an Executive Master of Public Administration, a Graduate Certificate in Health (Emergency Nursing), and a Bachelor of Nursing.
HG congratulates Katie on her appointment with the Department of Human Services.
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