Presenter bios

Professor Karin Lasthuizen, PhD

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Website: http://www.wgtn.ac/ethical-leadership

Email: karin.lasthuizen@vuw.ac.nz

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karinlasthuizen/

Areas of expertise

  • Ethical Leadership and Ethics Management
  • Integrity Violations and Organisational Misbehaviour
  • Public and Political Leadership
  • Employee surveys

Profile

Professor Karin Lasthuizen is the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership—Aritahi at the Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand).

The Chair was established to provide evidence-based insights and international best practices that can improve ethical leadership practices in New Zealand business and government and help mitigate the ethical risks that can lead to organisational failures.

Professor Lasthuizen’s research and consultancy work focuses on ethical leadership and ethics management within public and private sector organisations and cultures, and she specialises in methodology for research into integrity violations and organisational misbehaviour, such as corruption, fraud, misuse of authority, and interpersonal deviance. She has numerous publications in the field of ethical leadership, ethics management, corruption, and policing in national and international journals and books, and is co-author of the recently published book ‘HUMANGOOD. A fieldguide to ethical leadership’ (2021)and the Routledge Masters in Public Management textbook ‘Ethics and Management in the Public Sector’ (2013). She has just signed a contract to produce the first Global Handbook of Ethical Leadership (De Gruyter Handbooks, Berlin) together with Professor Alan Lawton.

Professor Lasthuizen is New Zealand's National Partner for the Institute of Business Ethics (UK) global Ethics at Work Survey and co-founder of the international academic research network on Public and Political Leadership (PUPOL). She is a faculty member at ANZSOG and offers specialised training and consultancy, and a free online course ‘Ethical Leadership in a Changing World’ on the EdX platform for students and professionals worldwide.

Selected publications

Lasthuizen, K., Van Eeden Jones, I., & Vivier, E. (2025). The Value of Ethical Leadership (Is) in Its Context. Editorial to special issue ‘Improving Ethical Leadership in Its Cultural Context: New Challenges and Prospects’ Administrative Sciences, 15 (3), 112. Open access.

Jackson, B. & Lasthuizen, K. (2023-online, in print 2025). Ethical Leadership. In: Allison, S.T., Beggan, J.K. & Goethals, G.R. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies. Springer.

Lasthuizen, K., & Michelson, G. (2024). Employee attitudes towards workplace ethics during the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 48(1). Click here for the pdf.

Lasthuizen, K., & Badar, K., (2023). Ethical Reasoning at Work: A Cross-Country Comparison of Gender and Age Differences. Administrative Sciences, 13(5), 136. Open access.

Bushell, J., Cain, C., Duncan, L-A. & Lasthuizen, K. (2021). HUMANGOOD. A field guide to ethical leadership. New Zealand: Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership I Aritahi, Wellington School of Business and Government.

Lasthuizen, K. & Heres, L. & Webb, W. (2019) Ethical leadership within the public and political realm: A dance with wolves? Introduction to special issue ‘Ethical Leadership and the Integrity of Public Institutions’. Public Integrity. (6): 549-552.

Huberts, L.W.J.C. & Lasthuizen, K. (2019). Corruption in Context: What Goes Wrong in Governance. In M. Powell, Wafa, D. & Mau, T.A. (Eds.) Corruption in a Global Context: Restoring public trust, integrity, and accountability among public leaders and governing institutions. Chapter 2, pp 44-67. London/NY: Routledge.

Lasthuizen, K. (2018). Ethical Leadership: Opportunities and Challenges for Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand: Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership, Victoria University of Wellington. Click here for the pdf.

Lawton, A., Rayner, K. & Lasthuizen, K. (2013). Ethics and Management in the Public Sector. Masters in Public Management. London/NY: Routledge.

Heres, L. & Lasthuizen, K. (2012). What’s the difference? Ethical leadership in public, hybrid, and private organisations, Journal of Change Management, 12 (4):441-466.

Van der Wal, Z., De Graaf, G. & Lasthuizen, K. (2008). What’s Valued Most? A comparative empirical study on the differences and similarities between the organizational values of the public and private sector. Public Administration 86 (2): 465-482.

Jane Mitson, BFP FCA (ICAEW)

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Website: http://www.wgtn.ac/ethical-leadership

Email: jane.mitson@vuw.ac.nz

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jane-mitson-301a3686

Profile

Jane Mitson is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership—Aritahi at the Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having trained and qualified at the UK National Audit Office in London.

She is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, as she additionally has a degree in Geography from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Jane Mitson has held a number of roles in the Public Sector, focusing on audit, risk management and integrity. Over the last decade, these have included Chief Advisor Risk, Assurance and Integrity at New Zealand Customs Service; National Manager Risk at Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Principal Advisor Fraud & Integrity at Oranga Tamariki.

For many years, Jane volunteered with CA ANZ (and its predecessor NZICA), including being a member of the Professional Conduct Committee; Local Leadership Team and the inaugural Chair of the Forensic Accounting Special Interest Group.

Currently, Jane is the Independent Member of Transparency International New Zealand’s (TINZ) Ethics Committee and has acted as Returning Officer for the last 5 Elections for TINZ. She is also working as a freelance consultant and trying to finish writing a book on anecdotes from her career.

Karen Thomas, CMInstD (Retd)

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Website: http://www.wgtn.ac/ethical-leadership

Email: karen.thomas@vuw.ac.nz

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karenthomas

Profile

Karen Thomas is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership—Aritahi at the Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand).

Karen Thomas retired from her role as Chief Executive at Taituara—Local Government Professionals Aotearoa in 2023 having had responsibility for fulfilling the organisational vision to promote and support professional excellence in local government.

During her nearly 12 years there she introduced leadership development for the sector, grew membership and ensured that guidance and practice advice was regularly updated. Karen built extensive local government networks both in New Zealand and internationally, which combined with previous central government contacts, she used to benefit the local government sector and New Zealanders more generally.

Karen's previous roles included Chief Executive of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and Regional Assistant Commissioner at the (then) State Services Commission where she led the development of the proposal to establish the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), a world-leading educational institution.

Karen Thomas is a Chartered Member (Retired) of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, and is an external member of The Royal Commission for AlUla. She has been on several non-profit boards including the Advisory Board for the VUW Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership—Aritahi.

Jane Arnott, MNZM

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Website: https://www.ethicsconversation.co.nz/

Email: jane@ethicsconversation.co.nz

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/the-ethics-conversation/

Profile

Jane Arnott’s focus on professional and business ethics tracks back to 2007 when she completed her post grad in professional ethics at the University of Auckland. She undertook further study at the UK-based Institute of Business Ethics and became their first offshore Country Manager and Associate in 2009.

For over 11 years Jane was instrumental in bringing the work of the UK Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) to New Zealand by building business support, public speaking and running business ethics workshops. She co-authored the IBE publication ‘Setting the Tone: A New Zealand Perspective of Ethical Business leadership’.

In 2021, Jane founded her consultancy The Ethics Conversation and she provides ethics workshops across a range of professional membership bodies, private companies, Trusts and listed companies, researching and providing commentary. She recently completed an intensive masterclass on the ethics of AI at the London School of Economics and has developed an informative and contemporary seminar on this crucial topic.

Jane Arnott became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2021 and was made an Adjunct Research Fellow to the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership—Aritahi, Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in the same year.