Hana Grant

Hana Grant runs her own business, Accomplished Vocational Services, which provides services to injury rehabilitation providers in Sydney, Australia.

Over the last 30 years, she has gained significant management experience in the area of workplace health and safety.

Among other roles, Hana has been an employment consultant for people returning to work after an injury, a case manager at the Ministry of Social Development, an occupational health advisor at Fonterra, a service development manager at the Poutiri Trust, and an HR business partner at the City of Parramatta.

"Great satisfaction comes from building relationships - from the cleaner to the CEO - where there is trust and respect to produce great outcomes," she says. "Driving the best in people brings rewards not only to the individuals but to their families and the wider community."

Since graduating from her Waikato MBA in 2011, Hana believes it has given her “the right tools for what I need to deliver at a higher level."

A highlight from her Waikato MBA studies was the 10-day study tour to China and Singapore. “We met some amazing business people from some very diverse organisations - both large and small," she says.

"What I found most exciting was that they all expressed a business ethic that recognised the importance of relationships and family, similar to how Māori view the world.”

Hana was selected to represent Waikato Management School at the 2012 Global AMBAssador Conference. This was in recognition of her connections and mentorship to participants on the Waikato MBA programme in Tauranga and Hopuhopu.

She flew to London for the conference and sat at a table with ambassadors from 20 other universities to discuss their MBA programmes.

“As potential leaders we need to embrace leadership entirely - to function from that position so that the contributions we make are longstanding, sustainable and greatly beneficial to those we seek to serve.”