Growing capability of our people

Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa has taken succession planning kōrero to the next level by appointing an associate director to its commercial subsidiaries.

Lewis England (Te Atiawa, Taranaki and Ngāti Mutunga) was appointed in February for an initial term of one year to Te Atiawa Holdings Limited Partnership and Te Atiawa (Taranaki) Holdings Ltd.

This role doesn’t have voting rights but is a full board member in every other way.

Joshua Hitchcock, Te Kotahitanga Pou Amotake/General Manager Operations said succession planning has been a big conversation internally and on Te Atiawa boards for some years.

“It’s a big part of why we wanted to bring the associate director role in,” Joshua said.

“For our commercial entities we have directors who are appointed and retire by rotation. We wanted to build the depth of capability of Te Atiawa directors who can, in time, serve on our commercial boards.

“We’d be failing in our duty as an iwi if we weren’t looking to grow the capability of our own people to fill these roles.”

Lewis, Kaiurungi/Director of Pupuke Property Consultancy, is a registered property valuer for the commercial real estate industry. He was heavily involved in pre- and post-settlement property valuation advice to iwi in the lower North Island and top of the south. His previous role was General Manager, Property Acquisition and Operations for Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Incorporated.

He’s excited about the associate director rolehis first taste of governance.

“It’s an opportunity to contribute the pūkenga and experience I’ve developed in my property career back to the iwi, and to learn off the rangatira, the experienced board directors,” he said.

“It’s very exciting. As an iwi member, stepping into this role and getting a wider view of what our iwi are working on, it’s great to see the breadth of ongoing work. The way that the board and management are approaching this is something to be proud of.”

Succession planning was also a factor in Te Kotahitanga’s recent appointment of uri Emma Park (Te Atiawa) as an observer on the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

“It’s about setting us up for the future. It’s really cool to be able to bring two mid-career professionals who have a lot to contribute to Te Atiawa into these sorts of spaces,” Joshua said.

“The aim is to do annual appointments so we can provide opportunities to as many people as possible.”