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Kelsey Schwynn
Strategic Advisor, Ageing Well
Kelsey Schwynn is a strategic advisor to the national Ageing team at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, a role she began on April 9, 2024.2 With a diverse background in product strategy, business design, and customer-focused solutions, Schwynn brings a wealth of experience to her new position.
Professional Background
Prior to joining Health New Zealand, Schwynn served as the Chief Product Officer at Optimal Workshop, a platform specializing in information architecture for creating better human experiences.4 In this role, she demonstrated her ability to blend strategic foresight with empathy for customer needs.1
Expertise and Skills
Schwynn is known for her:
- Expertise in B2B SaaS product management
- Ability to find profitable and pragmatic solutions to customer challenges3
- Unique perspective combining business acumen, design expertise, and interest in social impact initiatives
Previous Roles
Kelsey's career has included various positions that have contributed to her diverse skill set:
- General Manager for Today's Sydney studio, where she applied her background in product strategy and business design5
- Consultant for organizations of various sizes, helping them address customer challenges effectively3
Schwynn's appointment as a Strategic Advisor to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora's national Ageing team reflects her capability to contribute to strategic initiatives in the healthcare sector, particularly focusing on aging-related challenges and solutions.
Highlights
I am beyond thrilled to share that today is my first day with Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora as a Strategic Advisor to the national Ageing Well commissioning team.
As I was exploring what the next chapter of my career could be, I reflected on the pivotal role of aged care in our communities. We are witnessing an unprecedented demographic shift towards an older population. The importance of delivering compassionate, high-quality care to our elders has never been more critical. Aged care is not just a service; it's a cornerstone of society, ensuring that our parents, grandparents, and future selves are treated with the dignity, respect, and love they deserve.
In New Zealand, our current scheme of supporting our elders is struggling to deliver on this promise. It needs a system reboot to make it more fit for purpose and equitable for our diverse communities, as well as financially sustainable and adaptable to the challenges to come.
For me, this challenge is not just an intellectual one, but also personal. This is a photo of me and my father, who is navigating the complexities of ageing well with the support of my mom. We have been lucky to have access to the best care around to let him age with dignity in a way that makes sense for him... I want to create a system where every Kiwi has that choice of support.
This transformation requires tenacity, empathy, collective effort, and a shift to systems thinking. Luckily, I'm joining a team of ambitious, passionate, and whip smart people that I'm humbled by and excited to learn from. And I can't wait to dive deeper and get to know the wider aged care community.
Thank you Andrew Inder (CMInstD) for bringing me on board. Let's do this 🏃💪
After 4 incredible years at Optimal Workshop, I'm moving on.
As a career consultant, I never thought I'd move in-house, but I'm so glad I did. Thank you, Andrew Mayfield, for giving me the opportunity to stretch my Product wings and explore the future of UX research with you. There has never been a more important time to ensure our businesses are conducted with empathy, and OW plays a critical role to ensuring that remains the case.
Reflecting on my time as a Product leader, one thing stands out: no matter how innovative your product, how necessary your solution, the team supporting it is what makes it a success (or not). And I was fortunate enough to have Meiken Bassant, Amberlie Denny, Zac Toy, Seth Strumph, and James Wood as SLT compatriots. I could not have dreamed of a better team. Then, there was Penny Goodwin, Kelsey Thomson, Andrew Millar, Shirin Bradfield, Gabe Young and Ella Fielding - my exceptional Product leadership team, who brought our visions to life for our customers. Your care for our customers, our Product and our discipline furthered the practice, globally. I hope to work with all of you again soon.
Speaking of which, the other amazing part of working at OW was its phenomenal commuity. Thank you, Abby Covert, Carl Collins, and Jorge Arango, for helping me deepen my understanding of IA and put it into practice, practically and pragmatically. And to Kristina Halvorson for welcoming me so warmly and enthusiastically into the Button community as well as the wider world of Content Design. I will take what I've learned forward in all that I do.
While officially, I'm now #opentowork... unofficially, I'm enjoying the beauty of the NZ Kāpiti coast and making the most of Raumati (summer) in Raumati.
Updates on my next adventure, coming soon. 👀
In the meantime, stay curious and keep exploring.
