Kristy Araipu

Many people rejoin our business after gaining new perspectives and expanding their skills through external opportunities. We consider this beneficial to our team members and our business, allowing us to bringing external experience in.

As someone who returned to our business after an almost two-year hiatus, Kristy Araipu is perfectly positioned to talk to people about what makes people want come to Scentre Group and why they end up staying in her role as an HR Talent Business Partner.

Picking up her tenure where she left off, Kristy celebrated her 15-year career milestone with our business in 2025. We asked Kristy about her career journey with us and what she has learnt along the way.

What was your first role with our business?

I joined Westfield as one of the first recruits when the Internal Recruitment team was just being established. I was incredibly fortunate to partner closely with my leader at the time to help set up and embed the function within the business.

You had three children and got married all while working with Scentre Group, what was your experience of parental leave and juggling family and work life?

I'm still trying to perfect the juggle! With 10-year-old twins and a 4-year-old who all play a lot of sport and have a better social life than I ever had, it can be challenging. I’m grateful to work for an organisation that offers the flexibility I need to make it all work.

I took a 10-month break for both pregnancies. The first experience was interesting – everything was unfamiliar, and it was such a huge change from my normal day-to-day, so it took time to learn and adjust. However, the second time around, I felt more prepared and really spent time enjoying it. I am grateful to have had that time with my children when they were so young, as time really does go to quickly.

In 2019, you made the move from the HR team in Sydney, to a Retail Experience Manager role in Queensland. How did that move come about and what did you learn about our customers and business through working in operations?

We decided to relocate to Brisbane for family and lifestyle reasons, and after 10 years in HR I was ready for a new challenge. The business supported me to move into operations in our centres, and it was a great experience. I learned so much about the day-to-day of running a Westfield destination, the importance of building strong relationships with our retail partners, and the incredible impact our teams have delivering for our customers and the community.

Just a few years after leaving, you decided to return to Scentre Group – which everyone was very pleased about! – what was it that made you want to come back?

After a few years away, I realised how much I missed the people, culture, the breadth of the role we have here in Talent, and the purpose at Scentre Group. I was also excited to bring new experiences and lessons back, and make a positive impact.