Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) – the commercial entity of Waikato-Tainui – has appointed professional director Rukumoana Schaafhausen (Ngaati Hauaa, Waikato-Tainui) to its board of directors.
Schaafhausen brings extensive governance experience, including current directorships with Contact Energy, Kiwi Group Capital, Pathfinder Asset Management, Alvarium Investments, and Te Waharoa Investment. She previously held director roles with Te Arataura, Miro Ltd, Genesis Energy, AgResearch, and also Tainui Group Holdings itself.
She will replace outgoing director Tania Simpson who will step down in November after serving on the TGH board for the maximum permitted tenure of nine years.
TGH chair Hinerangi Raumati welcomed the return of Schaafhausen to the board after she had previously served as a director over the period 2009 to 2012, and thanked Simpson for her nine years of service during one of the busiest development periods ever for TGH.
“We are very pleased to welcome Rukumoana back on the board, bringing a strong iwi perspective and director experience with resource-intensive companies and successful financial services businesses. We also thank Tania Simpson for the dedication she has shown to growing intergenerational wealth for our iwi over the past nine years,” said Raumati.
TGH has also appointed Warwick Tauwhare-George (Waikato Tainui, Ngaati Hikairo, Ngaai Tahu – Ngaati Waewae, Ngaati Wheke) as an adviser to the board. Tauwhare-George has extensive international experience as a leader of commercial entities and has operated in complex stakeholder environments across a number of sectors.
The appointments were welcomed by Tukoroirangi Morgan, chair of Te Arataura (executive committee of Waikato-Tainui).
“As we approach 30 years since the settlement agreement between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown in 1995, it is gratifying to see the quality and experience of Maaori directors coming through, and another step in the evolution and strengthening of our self-governance over time,” said Morgan.
This is supplied content and not commissioned or paid for by NBR.
