By Samantha Paino, People and Culture Partner at Wisenet.

With experience across HR, Professional Services, and Digital Media, Wisenet’s new People and Culture Partner Samantha Paino is ready to support the team.

The heart of every organisation is always its people.

Being a People and Culture Partner means working at the intersection of people, purpose, and progress, where the impact is both tangible and deeply human.

For me, the role is about listening and understanding so I can then translate abstract goals into real experiences that help people feel supported and valued. It always comes back to the people. When I connect with people, that’s when we build workplaces where everyone can do their best work, all while having a bit of fun along the way.

Who is Samantha Paino?

I am what you might call a “Christmas enthusiast”.

What first started 11 years ago as a modest display my husband and I purchased from a neighbour has developed into a proper hobby that occupies about two months of our time every year.

In early November we start preparing our Christmas display at our home for a ‘go live’ date of December 1 each year. People come from all over to look at our decorations and we love the community aspect.

We like to chop and change the position of the decorations each year, particularly in the garden,  so the display feels different for returning visitors, and I like to mix it up with some new things too. This year I was at Bunnings at 6:30 in the morning to buy a Bluey inflatable, and I also managed to snag two talking, life-sized reindeer (even though these are technically indoor decorations!). We are always thinking about how to make the display better every year.

Christmas aside, I enjoy travelling, with my favourite destination being Italy, specifically the Dolomites. The hiking and general scenery there is gorgeous. I think this year or next I’d like to go to Canada for some more winter scenery.

I also enjoy a good book, particularly crime novels. One of my favourite authors is Karin Slaughter (yes, that’s her real name!), and I’m reading one of her older books I haven’t read called “Pretty girls”. Looking forward to finishing it!

I initially wanted to be a psychologist, and People and Culture was a way to combine business and psychology for a very rewarding career. I love working with people and hearing their stories, and I can’t wait to get to know everyone here at Wisenet.