Te Arawa, Ngāti Rangitihi
Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency
Board Chair
Since our inception ten years ago, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency has had Merepeka at the helm as our Chair. Merepeka has an impressive resume including being a small business owner, former CEO of Hospice West Auckland and former CEO of the NZ Women’s Refuge. The latter two positions made Merepeka the ideal Chair as she had first-hand experience with whānau who were on the knife edge, one exiting this world and the other trying to rediscover the new world.
In a corporate world that is predominantly led by middle to upper class white men, Merepeka challenged the glass ceiling for decades, sitting at many boardroom tables refusing to back down when it came to Māori – especially women and children. And whilst this has been met with some unwarranted criticism and scepticism, Merepeka remained resolute.
Merepeka has been an observer of Leadership and Governance in New Zealand for the past 40 years. She believes we have been ill-served by what has passed for Leadership in the Public, Private and Not-for-Profit sectors.
We cannot champion Te Tiriti in non-Māori spaces unless we get to the governance table first. Outstanding Governance, in this time of challenging change, is what is needed more now than ever before.
You may not agree with Merepeka’s views but she will let you be the judge of that.
Te Arawa, Ngāti Rangitihi
