Making Connections Day Term 3 Thursday 14th August 2025

Who is Di Foster?

I have an accounting and commerce degree and started working for Tamahine Knitwear in Dunedin as soon as I graduated. That led to a career in management in a variety of companies in the knitwear and production industry. With major shifts in the industry and involvement in business closures, mergers, and start-ups, my coaching career began as a natural transition from working as a business consultant for 15 years.

I’ve had breast cancer twice. Last time they told me I was terminal and I had a year to live. That was 14 years ago. I’m alive and, without being too trite, I want to help people live their best life – both in business and in every other aspect of life. Let’s not delude ourselves, it’s all connected. Business is my true passion and I’m much, much more than a cancer story. It just so happens cancer gave me a ripping yarn and some good life lessons.

Coaching, for me, is about giving people a perspective shift and making them understand life’s too short to sweat the small stuff. We should be doing cool things with the time we have.

Andrea Twaddle

Director, Employment Law and Workplace Investigations.

Andrea is an experienced, highly effective, specialist employment lawyer and workplace investigator.

Andrea is well known for providing astute, commercially sound, and pragmatic advice. Her experience as a Director and prior career in human resources ensures a first-hand understanding that people are essential to an organisation’s success and that some rewards and challenges arise from managing staff.

Andrea is recognised as one of the few specialists in the greater Waikato region to conduct high-quality, independent workplace investigations into allegations of misconduct (including harassment and bullying). She is a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) and holds the AWI Institute Certificate in international best practice investigations.

Andrea has expertise in the health (in particular mental health) and education sectors, and also includes:  Employment law, Workplace investigations, Coronial Inquiries, Education Law, Health Law, Sports Law.