ABOUT
We are a husband-and-wife small business consultancy agency established in 2013.
We bring domain experience from our respective career journeys. Phil's successful Business Analyst career was the core foundation of the original business initially, with Rachael bringing her recruitment and career transition background later - and hence our consulting firm was born.
We came up with the name Next Chapter because of the synergies between our respective domains of experience which share characteristics of maximising potential and moving forward towards the future.
Whether it’s a transformational IT project, career transition or navigating a life change we are committed to working with organisations and individuals to help them bridge the gap from where they are now to where they want to be.
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OUR TEAM
Find out more about us.
Phil Kupenga
Founder, Co-Director and Principal
My early career was with the New Zealand Police, before embarking into the field of Business Analysis. Over the past 13 years I've worked for a range of government departments in Wellington. This has seen me work on a range of both Information Technology (IT) and complex business projects – whether its been writing a business case, doing service design, or implementation of a customised software product.
Proudly Gisborne born and bred with strong Ngati Porou and Te-Whanau-a- Apanui connections I'm also a champion for building regional tech workforce capability and getting more Maori into careers in technology that are future-ready. I actively contribute to, and drive these initiatives in my community, and also a Director on a number of boards.
Rachael Isaac-Kupenga
Co-Director, Career Consultant and Coach
I started my career in the Sports and Recreation sector, where I worked for 10 years before experiencing redundancy and my own career ‘pivot’. Completely unplanned I ‘fell’ into a recruitment role, and worked as an IT recruiter in Wellington for the next 6 years.
Returning to work after parental break I pivoted again into Outplacement, Career Transition and coaching, joining Phil is our own consulting firm.
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I just love using my real-world personal and professional experiences to help others navigate their own career journey. I'm also a certified Transformational Coach with a keen interest in helping people improve other areas of their lives including lifestyle, relationships and business.