Meet the team
Career decisions deserve experienced support. Our coaches bring backgrounds in career development, recruitment, people and capability, leadership and organisational psychology. Together, they support students entering work, people changing direction and employees navigating redundancy or their next leadership role.
We combine practical knowledge of the world of work with the care and emotional intelligence at the heart of CareerEQ. Get to know our specialists below, or talk with us about who best fits your needs.
Our coaches
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Hilary Tomkins
Career Coach, Trainer & Practitioner Liaison · PMCDANZ
Career transitions, outplacement, leadership development and practitioner support, informed by experience in recruitment and people and capability.
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Kirsten Earnshaw
Career & Job Search Coach · PMCDANZ
Career direction, CVs and interviews, drawing on corporate recruitment experience and support for people facing redundancy.
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Nirmala Solanki
Career Coach
More than 20 years in organisational psychology, supporting career transitions, resilience and wellbeing at work.
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Jenny Bean
Career Coach, Trainer & Practitioner Liaison · PMCDANZ
Career transitions, leadership development and practitioner support, with experience across public service, defence and private practice.
Leadership & Advisors
Jon Avery
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Leads CareerEQ’s direction, partnerships and contracts keeping the practice Kaye built on solid ground.
Jessica Collier
CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS MANAGER
Coordinates enquiries and connects individuals, employers and referring lawyers with the right CareerEQ specialist.
Kristy Avery
SHAREHOLDER & STRATEGIC ADVISOR
Provides strategic input and marketing advice to CareerEQ.
Kathryn Avery
SHAREHOLDER & STRATEGIC ADVISOR
Provides strategic input and marketing advice to CareerEQ.
Our story
CareerEQ began with Kaye Avery in 2000. Her belief that every person has a contribution to make still guides our work. Today, her family and a team of experienced career specialists continue the practice she built.
OUR FOUNDER, KAYE AVERY
“Every person has a valuable contribution they were born to make.”
Kaye Avery founded CareerEQ in 2000. She believed good career guidance begins with understanding the person: their strengths, values, experiences and the contribution they want to make.
As the practice grew, Kaye brought together other career specialists and developed CareerEQ’s career discovery tools. Her work also supported practitioners across Australasia through training and professional development.
Kaye was our founder, mentor and mum. We said goodbye to her on 19 December 2025. Today, her family supports the business alongside the experienced coaches who deliver its services.
Her approach continues through our coaching, our practitioner community and the Kaye Avery Memorial Scholarship, which helps young people access career guidance.
Our values
Kaye set these down in Te Reo Māori, because that’s how she understood the work as a relationship with people,
with community, and with the world. They still guide how the team shows up for clients.
Whakawhanaungatanga
RELATIONSHIP
Respect, understanding and trust come first.
Ako
LEARNING
We keep learning, always.
Manaakitanga
CARE
We care, genuinely, about who we work with.
Whakahoahoae
PARTNERSHIP
We honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi as equal partners.
Hanga rerekētanga
DIFFERENCE
We aim to leave things better than we found them.
PROUD TO WORK ALONGSIDE
