Meet the Team

More than individuals. A team designed for the reality of running a business with people 

While you will have a consistent point of contact, our clients benefit from the depth and perspective of a wider senior HR team. Our structure is deliberate, ensuring continuity, shared thinking and consistent advice, rather than reliance on a single individual. 

This approach gives our clients confidence that support remains steady, even as their business, priorities or internal challenges change over time. 

Jackie Brooker - Managing Director

Jackie leads Dakota Blue and works with business owners and senior leaders to provide commercially grounded HR support, leadership development and business coaching. 

Jackie has over 25 years’ experience working alongside business owners and leadership teams as their organisations grow in complexity and the people and leadership demands of the role increase. 

Her work goes beyond HR advice alone. Jackie regularly supports leaders through business coaching and strategic conversations, helping them step back, gain clarity and make confident decisions about the direction of their business, their leadership approach and the structure around them. Jackie also designs and delivers many of Dakota Blue’s leadership and management development programmes, ensuring they are practical, relevant and grounded in real business experience. 

She is known for her calm, pragmatic style and her ability to ask the right questions, challenge thinking constructively and help leaders move from feeling stuck or overwhelmed to feeling focused and in control. 

Jackie’s background includes human psychology and international HR management, and over two decades of hands-on experience coaching and supporting senior leaders. 

Joanna Konstantinidou - Consultant HR Director

Joanna works with business owners and senior leaders to provide strategic, commercially grounded HR support across a range of people and organisational challenges.

She brings a thoughtful, pragmatic approach, helping clients navigate complex employee matters, plan for the future and put clear, workable people frameworks in place that support business goals. Joanna is valued for her ability to balance legal awareness with practical decision-making, ensuring advice is proportionate, considered and appropriate to the business context.

Joanna works as part of the wider Dakota Blue team, contributing to consistent, high-quality support that helps leaders feel confident in how people decisions are handled and communicated.

Joanna is a qualified employment lawyer with international HR experience across sectors including media, food manufacturing, hospitality and retail.

Roz Chown - Consultant HR Director

Roz works with business owners and senior leaders to provide experienced, pragmatic HR support, helping them manage people challenges confidently and sustainably.

She brings a steady, well-judged approach, supporting leaders through complex employee matters, organisational change and periods of transition. Roz is known for helping businesses put clear, compliant frameworks in place that protect the organisation while remaining practical and workable day to day.

Roz works as part of the wider Dakota Blue team, contributing to consistent, high-quality support that enables leaders to focus on running their business, confident that people matters are being handled properly and proportionately.

Roz has extensive HR experience across the travel, publishing and communications sectors, with a strong background in employee relations, organisational change and compliance.

Claire McIntosh- Consultant HR Director

Claire works with business owners and leadership teams to strengthen HR foundations, improve consistency and ensure people processes support the wider needs of the business.

She brings a strong process-led mindset, helping organisations streamline HR operations, improve efficiency and put clear, well-structured systems in place. Claire is known for her ability to balance detail with practicality, supporting businesses to adopt proportionate, compliant approaches that work in the real world.

Working as part of the wider Dakota Blue team, Claire contributes to high-quality, consistent delivery, particularly where structure, systems and process improvement are key to supporting growth or change.

Claire is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD with experience working across a wide range of sectors, and a background in quality management systems, HR technology and behavioural insight.

Sara Nash - Finance Manager

Sara supports the Dakota Blue leadership team by overseeing financial management and providing structured, reliable support across the business.

She brings extensive experience working at senior level, helping ensure financial processes, controls and reporting are handled accurately and consistently. Sara’s role supports the smooth running of the business, giving the team confidence that financial matters are well managed and allowing them to stay focused on client work.

Known for her calm, organised approach, Sara provides a steady presence behind the scenes, supporting quality, consistency and good governance across Dakota Blue.

Sara began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and has broad experience working with a range of established accounting and payroll systems.

Michael Dimalanta - Executive Assistant

Michael works closely with Jackie to support the smooth running of Dakota Blue and help ensure a consistent, professional experience for clients. 

His role covers executive diary management, client liaison and behind-the-scenes coordination, supporting both clients and the wider team to ensure communication is clear, priorities are managed and work is delivered efficiently and to a high standard. 

Michael brings a high level of organisation and attention to detail, helping to keep work flowing smoothly and ensuring that nothing is missed. His approach supports the whole team to focus on client delivery, confident that coordination and communication are being handled carefully and professionally. 

Michael has a legal and business background, which he applies through structured thinking, rigour and a strong sense of professionalism. 

Joy Benter - Academy and Content Manager 

Joy is responsible for managing and maintaining the Dakota Blue Academy and ensuring consistency and quality across the Dakota Blue brand. 

Her role covers the day-to-day management of the Academy, website and digital content, helping to ensure that resources remain current, accessible and aligned with how Dakota Blue supports its clients. Joy works closely with the wider team to translate expertise into clear, practical content that reflects the values and standards of the business. 

As brand guardian, Joy plays a key role in maintaining clarity, consistency and professionalism across all platforms. Her work ensures that the Academy and website remain well organised, easy to use and actively supported, giving clients confidence in the quality of what sits behind the service.