UPDATED: Tainui's Mike Pohio resigns; tribe reconsiders inland port development

Mike Pohio, chief executive of Tainui Group Holdings, has resigned after eight years at the helm and as Waikato-Tainui reconsiders its capital commitment to a planned $3.3 billion transport hub north of Hamilton.

The time was right for a new chief executive to lead the Waikato-based company’s plans for the next decade, Pohio said in a statement. He is currently on the Transpower board and wants to pursue other governance opportunities after he leaves in mid-April.

Chairman Henry van der Heyden said Pohio has done a fantastic job creating value for the Waikato-Tainui iwi.

 “The assets of TGH have grown by $500 million to over $840 million. Mike has led signature projects such as the development of New Zealand’s largest shopping centre, The Base, the award winning Novotel Auckland Airport Hotel, and securing a zoning change for Waikato-Tainui land at Ruakura,” van der Heyden said.

Pohio also led the group’s strategy to diversify its investments beyond property, with the company taking shareholdings in Waikato Milking Systems, Go Bus and Genesis Energy.

Van der Heyden said TGH’s property holdings currently constituted around 70 percent of its assets and the plan is to reduce that to 15 to 20 percent over time by selling non-core land holdings and building up other types of investments in order to generate more cash for the tribe to fund its own social development.

The biggest project Pohio had been pushing for TGH was the planned $3.3 billion land on more than 600 hectares at Ruakura which avoided years of council red tape last September when an independent board of inquiry approved a crucial change to the Hamilton city plan to allow for commercial and industrial use.

TGH and its partner Chedworth Properties had planned a 30 to 50 year development project that would create an industrial park, new housing and an 80-hectare inland port and freight hub to handle growing freight volumes between Tauranga and Auckland. The inland port was the first phase, due for completion by 2021.

But van der Heyden said while it was “non-negotiable” that Ruakura remained an important land holding for Waikato-Tainui, the TGH board was considering other ways of developing the property and with what partners.

“That doesn’t have to be with Tainui money,” he said.

Maxine Moana-Tuwhangai, who chairs Te Kauhanganui, the Waikato-Tainui Iwi Authority overseeing TGH, said Pohio had positioned the group to grow returns for Waikato-Tainui and helped start the journey in diversifying their investments.

“He has built a highly capable team at TGH and brought the tribe’s values into the business,” she said.

Pohio's resignation comes as Waikato-Tainui celebrates 20 years since its $170 million settlement with the Crown.

(BusinessDesk)