Newmont (APAC Global Mobility Team)

Danae Bentley, Jose Clossi and Maria Oras – navigated a high-stakes post-acquisition environment by acting as a cross-functional hub—aligning Legal, Payroll & Tax, Talent Acquisition, HR and external advisers to keep people supported and the business moving. They introduced clear, values-aligned PR sponsorship criteria, daily case-escalation huddles, decision logs/playbooks, tax briefings for PR applicants, and tailored frameworks for complex PNG/Australia cases—turning ambiguity into consistent, human-centred operations. The approach delivered tangible outcomes: 100% immigration compliance, a 63% reduction in renewal/PR processing time (8 weeks → ~3 weeks), 94% retention of visa-holding employees in critical roles, a 320% rise in PR applications, and ~$320k in cost savings by transitioning staff from temporary visas to PR—while employee support scores lifted to 9.3/10.

This submission stood out for disciplined, compassionate execution—blending cross-functional teamwork with practical innovation to produce measurable, enterprise-level results.