.png)
Ngati Porou Hold Co Board members, from left; Teepa Wawatai, Tiwana Tibble (Deputy Chair), Whaimutu Dewes, Matanuku Mahuika (Chairperson) and Kristen Kohere-Soutar
The realisation of a long held aspiration has finally come about with the establishment of the Ngati Porou Holding Company. And now the commercial arm of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou is poised to soon begin growing the collective assets owned by nga uri o Porourangi.
The company was registered on June 29th 2012, along with the names of the five directors who are charged with the responsibility of managing over $171 million of resources made up of cash, land, properties, and investment interests.
Matanuku Mahuika is at helm of the Ngati Porou Hold Co. Board as its Chairperson, and he is joined by Tiwana Tibble (Deputy Chair), Whaimutu Dewes, Teepa Wawatai and Kristen Kohere-Soutar. Between them the five directors have a wealth of governance experience in the commercial and primary industry sectors, at both a regional and national level.
The roopu were initially selected by the trustees of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou to initially act as Establishment directors over the first 6 months of the company’s required Establishment period. At the end of this foundation building stage the Runanganui board choose to formally appoint the same roopu as Permanent directors to begin the first official three year term which finishes December 2015.
Among the tasks carried out by the directors was the transfer of 171, 324, 142 shares to Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou Trustee Limited, in return for the transfer of $171, 324, 142 worth of pre- and post-settlement assets owned by the Runanganui. This transfer was completed 9 November and a list of these assets can be seen on page 21.
A current priority for the directors is the completion of the Statement of Investment Priorities and Objectives (SIPO) by 31 May 2013. This document will set out the strategy in which Ngati Porou Hold Co. will manage, protect and grow the assets which have been entrusted to the company on behalf of Ngati Porou. The SIPO will also include identifying suitable investment types, target rates of returns, and overall growth and revenue targets.
Chairperson Matanuku Mahuika is well aware of the level of interest and scrutiny that Ngati Porou tribal members will have on the performance of the company and its board. He says, “As directors we have to act prudently and be conscious of risk. But also at the same time be quite calculating. We also want to ensure we are providing a return on our investments, but also balancing that with investment in the rohe. Our aim is to ensure the value of the asset is grown over time and we are committed to providing a distribution each year to the iwi.”
