Graeme Hastilow joins the Raukawa ki te Tonga AHC Board

Graeme Hastilow - Ngāti Raukawa ki Te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Tūwharetoa- has been appointed to the Raukawa ki te Tonga AHC Limited (AHC) Board as a non-executive Director.

The AHC is a wholly-owned subsidiary and the commercial and investment arm of the Raukawa ki te Tonga Trust (Trust). It is responsible for managing and growing the Trust’s fisheries settlement assets and investment portfolio. The Trust, established in 2010 as a Mandated Iwi Organisation under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004, is the entity that appoints Directors to the AHC Board.

This appointment follows the restructuring of the AHC’s governance model late last year from a Board with Executive Directors to a non-Executive Board and a Chief Executive.

Graeme joins existing AHC Directors: Debra Birch, Board Chair, Guy Royal and Shelley MacRae. He is a member of Te Ohu Kaimoana’s leadership team and Manager of Te Wai Māori Trust and has a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington with a double major in commercial law and Māori resource management.

Graeme began his career with Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, the mandated iwi authority for Ngāti Toa Rangatira and the administrative body of iwi estates and assets, where he was responsible for resource management projects on behalf of the Rūnanga, customary fishing activities and developing and managing iwi environmental projects including marine research.

While in London, between 2011 and 2012, he worked for Immigration New Zealand before joining Te Ohu Kaimoana (TOKM) in early 2013.

At TOKM his career has encompassed a 10-month placement with Nippon Suisan in Tokyo, Japan, on a scholarship where he gained experience in the global fisheries business with a particular focus on finfish aquaculture and provenance/traceability. On his return to New Zealand, he worked at TOKM as a Policy Analyst facilitating aquaculture settlements between Iwi Aquaculture Organisations and the Crown, advising on Marine Protected Areas, fisheries sustainability rounds and representing TOKM and Iwi on the National Rock Lobster Management Group.

Graeme’s current role involves engaging with Iwi, hapū and Crown agencies on freshwater fisheries matters and providing technical advice and assistance to Iwi and hapū to enhance Māori interests in freshwater fisheries and habitat.

Debra Birch said, “Graeme brings a wealth of experience in the fisheries and resource management to the Board. This is particularly relevant given that fisheries quota represents almost a third of the AHC’s total investment portfolio. We look forward to working with him as we further develop and grow our asset base and revenues so that the AHC can best serve the Trust and enable it to advance and benefit Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga.”

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