One of the most rewarding aspects of Whai Rawa’s role is the Future Director programme. Our Future Director programme has gone from strength to strength, allowing the future of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to put themselves forward for the opportunity to sit alongside the Whai Rawa Board for a term of two years. Dane Grey finished his term as Whai Rawa’s inaugural future director in June 2017, after which we made two further appointments – Stacey Perillo and Te Arepa Morehu. The current Future Directors are Faiz Salim and Otene Hopa, read more about Faiz and Otene here.
Otene, Maori Advisor, an orator in both Te Reo Māori and English, and renowned kapa haka exponent, is thrilled to be given the opportunity to further his connection with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and share whakaaro (ideas) that explore a range of possibilities for the betterment of the hapū.
Raised in Whangārei, Otene believes this role allows him to reconnect to his Ōrākei taha. Otene looks forward to spending more time at the papakāinga while learning about the commercial interests of the hapū and its extensive property portfolio.
Faiz, a Project Manager in Civil Engineering, sees this role as a chance to sit alongside leaders in the industry and get a sense of how decisions are made that impact whānau.
Faiz looks forward to deepening his understanding of governance and how that differs from operations management.
We will regularly check in with Faiz and Otene so we can follow their two-year journey.
Stacey had little prior exposure to governance but after ten years in corporate roles she was familiar with formal commercial environments. With a degree in business and marketing, Stacey has forged a career in digital media and is currently Senior Commercial Product Manager at Fairfax Media.
For Stacey, whose father grew up on Kitemoana Street, the chance to gain valuable boardroom exposure at a young age is an honour.
As a senior business analyst for Spark, Te Arepa, who is 32, already had some previous exposure to governance but “on the other side of the fence” in his dealings with Spark’s executive team.
With his technical background and degree in software development, Te Arepa is already searching for where he can offer his input and contribute to the future growth of the hapū.
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