From Regulation to Real Life:

SHIFT compliance consultant Christine Woods shares her career journey and why compliance works best when it’s practical, flexible and people-focused.

Give us a snapshot of your career so far?
The common thread through my career is that my roles have always centred around regulatory compliance.

I started out in the public sector, working at the Ministry of Economic Development in a legal role. It was a really interesting time to be there — I was part of the Companies Office legal team when the various types of registers were moving from paper-based to electronic. That gave me a taste for projects and how technology can support legislative and regulatory requirements. Around the same time as the PPSR was being introduced, I got to work on a new register (and supporting draft legislation) that was launched as fully electronic from inception; that gave me my first experience of implementing technology to meet regulatory expectations.

What led you to London, and what kind of work did you do there?
I moved to London simply because I was ready to see a bit of the world. I joined a law firm advising on risk and compliance matters within the firm’s risk management function. It was a fascinating role with everything from client onboarding and conflict management to complex anti–money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption, sanctions and fraud based issues which were particularly interesting in that part of the world.

I also supported the firm’s professional negligence management, including the firm’s insurance programme, liaising with brokers and managing claims. I ended up staying there for 10 years, which sounds like a long time, but the role kept evolving throughout.

What kind of role did you move into on your return to NZ?

When I came back to New Zealand, dedicated risk management functions of that nature didn’t really exist in local law firms yet, so I moved into financial services. I joined Westpac, where I spent another 10 years working across various legislative change and compliance programmes – in a mixture of legal, regulatory engagement and compliance roles.

But the roles always came back to the same thing: new or changing legislation, figuring out what it means in practice for a business, and working to implement fit-for-purpose, pragmatic solutions that meet requirements.

How did you make the move working with SHIFT?
I first crossed paths with Prue at Westpac, so I knew about SHIFT when she started the business. After 10 years at Westpac, I was at a point where I wanted to see inside different organisations. SHIFT allows you to do that — you can go in for a specific purpose, see how things operate, and get stuck into solving issues in a compliant and commercially sensible way.

It’s also been great for using my people management and stakeholder engagement skills. When you’ve been in one place for 10 years, you don’t always get the chance to test those, so going into new environments and getting up to speed quickly has been a great challenge.

What kinds of projects have you been involved in through SHIFT?
At SHIFT, I’ve had three  engagements over the past two years. The first was with a wealth management company, supporting a product compliance project, ahead of a new product launch. The second has been with a local insurer, working on a governance programme with a focus on related-party governance. I’d just come off a five year BS11 compliance programme at Westpac, so I was familiar with Reserve Bank expectations in that space.

The third engagement is with another insurance company, supporting a governance project in the context of evolving legislative requirements and regulatory expectations.

What do you enjoy most about working with SHIFT, and how does it fit with life outside of work?
I love project-based work but for me, working with SHIFT has been great for balance. I tend to just keep working until something’s done, so being able to set how many days I work between each secondment has been really good. Over the last year I’ve been working four days a week, which fits well around my kids’ sports and activities. It’s given me a better work–life balance while still letting me do interesting, purpose-driven work.

Outside of work, I’m very family-focused. I’ve had a few knee and ankle surgeries in recent years, and from a rehab perspective it is important to exercise when I can —the flexibility of SHIFT helps me fit that in around life’s other demands. It means I can get things done during the week and not let work eat into family time.

I’ve just come back from a holiday in Europe -I love that SHIFTs flexibility allows for that balance and even some remote work when needed (even on the ski field!).

What I really enjoy is turning up to work, collaborating with great people, figuring out what’s happening in a business, interpreting requirements and helping my stakeholders to implement pragmatic solutions. It’s not just about “compliance” — there’s so much more benefit in helping a business operate in a way that’s both practical and compliant.