New Board Member For NZTE, Matanuku Mahuika

A highly experienced Māori lawyer and businessman has been appointed to the Board of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) – Te Taurapa Tūhono, the Government’s trade and investment promotion agency.

Matanuku Mahuika has been appointed to the Board by the Minister for Trade and Export Growth, the Hon Damien O’Connor, and the Minister of Economic and Regional Development, the Hon Stuart Nash. This brings the total number of NZTE Board members to seven.

NZTE Board Chair Jennifer Kerr said Mr Mahuika brought a wealth of legal and business experience to the organisation and an in-depth understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Ms Kerr said: “Matanuku has more than 25 years’ experience as a lawyer advising on a wide range of corporate, commercial, Treaty of Waitangi, Māori land and administrative law issues. Prior to establishing Kāhui Legal, Matanuku was a partner at Walters Williams & Co and in-house counsel at the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.

“He has also acted as a Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiator and has worked directly on various items of law reform.

“This experience will be hugely valuable to NZTE, as we develop our understanding and practices to become a great Treaty partner.”

Mr Mahuika has also worked with early-stage and start-up businesses and has held a wide variety of directorships and governance roles. He currently chairs the Eastland Group, serves on the Board of Callaghan Innovation, and formerly held roles as Chair of the Ministerial Panel on the reform of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, Chair of the Ngāti Porou Holding Company, Chair of Sealord Group, and Deputy Chair of Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (now Moana New Zealand).

Mr Mahuika lives in Gisborne and is of Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Raukawa descent.

Ms Kerr said he would join current Board members Mike O’Donnell (Deputy Chair), Sarah Paterson, Deb Shepherd, Victoria Spackman and Carl Carrington, to collectively support NZTE as it delivers on its purpose, “to grow companies internationally, for the good of New Zealand”.

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