Sam Ayles is currently People Advisory Lead at Adelaide University, providing strategic people leadership across academic and professional portfolios during a period of institutional transition. Previously, Sam held senior people partnering roles at the University of South Australia, supporting executives through workforce strategy, organisational change, and complex employee relations. Sam’s career also includes senior HR leadership roles across healthcare (SA Health, Disability SA, aged care) and engineering and construction, with extensive experience in enterprise bargaining, large-scale change, and workforce mobilisation. Earlier in their career, Sam led HR strategy for international media and events organisations in the UK, including workforce support for major global events.