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TE RUNANGANUI O NGATI POROU
Jade Doel is the latest of our Ngati Porou exports making a global impact in the commercial world. Jade (or Jadey Boy as he is affectionately known by the whanau he grew up with in Te Akau o Tokomaru) shares with Nati Link what it’s like working for a corporate conglomerate in the UAE. He also shares his dream of one day returning home and using his creative talents to give back to the community.
WHAKAPAPA
My connection to Ngati Porou flows through my mother, Kimihia Doel. It is through her line that I connect to the Paputene and Waiti whanau of Tokomaru Bay, the Crawford whanau of Uawa, and to the rest of the coast, from Uawa to Potaka; the Parker, Green, Collier and Akuhata-Brown whanau lines too. My grandmother was raised on the shores of Tokomaru Bay, immersed in the traditions of our hapu, Ruataupare and Te Aotawarirangi. There, she met my grandfather, whose Paputene and Waiti heritage tied him to the Bay. He rests today with our tipuna at Tuatini Marae.
LIVING THE COASTIE LIFE
Tuatini holds particular significance for me. As a kid, I would mihi to Tuatini every day on my walk to and from Hatea-a-rangi Primary School. I watched its wharekai take shape during renovations, which sparked my early curiosity about design and architecture. I recall us Toko kids participating in noho there every year for the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge, sharing stories, and running around the whenua. It’s a vibrant community hub and the heartbeat of our whanau life.
Growing up in Tokomaru Bay, my connection to Ngati Porou was rooted in community and the whenua. Like many Coastie kids of the time, I was raised by the village. Weekends were spent in the wharekai with my mum and the aunties, while the uncles debated the rugby match over the hangi pit. As a young weaver my mum was involved in many kinds of mahi toi wananga, such as collecting resources for the tukutuku panels for our wharenui Ruatepupuke II. I would follow her along to these hui as a young boy, and witness the staunch passion and dedication the nannies and papas of our community had for the revitalisation of our reo and culture. Looking back, I feel very fortunate to have attended the first Kohanga reo that Nanny Ngoi Pewhairangi set up in Tokomaru Bay.
But it was the outdoors that shaped me the most. After school, my mates and I would disappear into the hills, crafting huts from manuka branches or competing in downhill races on homemade go-karts and cardboard. The Mangahauini River was our playground, we’d spend hours constructing rock dams, or daring each other to leap from the bridge into the lagoon. We’d roam on our bikes from one end of the bay to the other with a pitstop at the Fish & Chip shop for a kai and a 20 cent handful of mixed lollies.
Those days taught me the value of kaitiakitanga, not as a concept, but as practice, which is something my mother ingrained in our upbringing. Ngati Porou wasn’t just my whakapapa; it was my first classroom.
LIVING AND WORKING IN DUBAI
For almost the past three years, I’ve worked in the United Arab Emirates with Majid Al Futtaim as a Senior Manager of Experience Design, leading initiatives within the Customer Experience (CX) and Innovation department. Majid Al Futtaim is a corporation owned by an Emirati whanau that operates its own brand of shopping malls, hotels and residential communities in the Middle East and North Africa.
My team and I develop frameworks, methodologies, and capabilities that empower CX teams across the organisation to deliver exceptional products, services and holistic experiences for our customers. We also work with the business to facilitate the shaping of conceptual customer experiences, for instance ‘What might a Gen Z shopping experience at a shopping mall look like in the future?’ or ‘What might parents shopping at the supermarket need to support better lunchbox choices for their kids?’.
Living and working in Dubai has been personally and professionally transformative. Some days I pinch myself, it’s such a significant contrast to the life I had growing up in Tokomaru Bay. Dubai is this incredible melting pot where East meets West, tradition coexists with futurism, and where innovation is part of the city’s DNA. Everyone is here to make something of themselves and you feel this ambition permeate throughout the city. While I remain deeply connected to my Ngati Porou roots, Dubai has expanded my worldview in ways that continue to shape both my work and life perspective. I feel very fortunate to be here.
TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH
The opportunity to work for Majid Al Futtaim came about when a recruiter reached out after finding my profile on LinkedIn. At the time, I was based in Auckland and settled in my role as a CX Practice Lead at Countdown supermarkets, managing a talented team of UX, UI, service and digital designers. Moving to the other side of the world at the age of 40 felt daunting; Dubai was a place I’d never visited, with a culture and language I knew little about. Initially, I dismissed the idea.
But something shifted when I gave myself permission to take the leap. I reminded myself that if it didn’t work out, home would still be there. I decided I’d rather try and fail than spend years wondering ‘what if?’. It turned out to be the experience of a lifetime, a chance to grow in ways I never imagined and to contribute to projects at a scale I might never have encountered otherwise. For someone in my industry, it’s been an unparalleled opportunity, and I’m grateful I took the risk.
BUILDING A CAREER IN DESIGN
My first passion was architecture. Growing up, I spent countless hours sketching, building, and observing the world around me, so pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture felt like a natural step. After four years of study in Auckland, though, I began to question if it was the right fit. A conversation with my studio lecturer opened my eyes to industrial design as an alternative, which ultimately led me to graduate with a Bachelor of Product and Furniture Design.
After university, I faced the reality of limited job opportunities in Aotearoa. While searching for roles overseas, I stumbled upon a job posting for a ‘User Experience (UX) Designer.’ It was a term I’d never heard before, but as I researched it, I realised it aligned perfectly with my design philosophy—just with a focus on digital experiences like apps and software. I updated my portfolio, applied, and landed my first role as a Junior UX Designer in Christchurch, working on fleet management software.
From there, I moved across industries, designing patient-facing healthcare software, air traffic controller rostering systems, and even leading the end-to-end design of The Warehouse’s self-checkout experience—a career highlight. But as I grew in my profession, I began to feel confined by the purely digital aspects of UX. Designing the self-checkout experience was a turning point; it made me realise I was thinking bigger than just screens. I wanted to design holistic experiences that considered every touchpoint a customer might have with a brand—spatial, physical, and digital.
That’s when I had my ‘ah-ha’ moment: what I was really passionate about was CX Design. It allowed me to bring together my architectural background (space), my product design training (tangible), and my UX expertise (digital) to craft seamless, customer-centric journeys. It’s the perfect intersection of my skills and passions, and it’s what I love doing today.
WHAT IS CX DESIGN?
Customer Experience (CX) Design is a relatively young field compared to disciplines like architecture or industrial design, so it’s no surprise that many people—myself included— don’t discover it until later in life. My journey to becoming an Experience Designer wasn’t planned; it evolved organically through a mix of curiosity, adaptability, and a bit of serendipity.
What excites me most about customer experience work is its human-centered nature - it’s about creating meaningful connections between people and the world around them. The beauty of CX lies in its name: understanding the ‘Customer’ (people’s needs, behaviours and emotions) and shaping their ‘Experience’ (every interaction with products, services or environments). I get to collaborate with brilliant, cross-functional teams to reimagine how people accomplish everything from daily tasks like grocery shopping to complex challenges like operations and logistics management.
No two days are the same in this field. CX’s application across disciplines means I might be analysing research insights in the morning then facilitating ideation workshops at midday then building digital and physical prototypes by the afternoon. This constant variety demands creative problem-solving, keeping the work fresh and engaging.
GIVING BACK TO NGATI POROU
If I returned home to Ngati Porou today, I’d dedicate my skills to designing physically, digitally, and spiritually spaces where rangatahi thrive. I’d like to work on projects that fuse community well-being with innovative design that empower all of Ngati Porou.
I imagine a hybrid community hub at the heart of Tokomaru Bay that combines environmental activities with arts and design spaces with holistic wellness. A place where rangatahi can experience digital design alongside traditional arts, blending modern and traditional approaches to solve local challenges, such as health education or housing.
It would be a dream to collaborate with local tradespeople, kaumatua, and rangatahi to co-design these spaces, because the best design doesn’t speak for the community, it lets community speak through it.
THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Even from the other side of the world, the pull of the Coast never fades. Dubai’s skyscrapers are impressive, but they’ll never compete with the beautiful East Coast sunrises. Right now, I make it a priority to return at least once a year, to reconnect with whanau, friends and whenua, this is usually around Christmas time. I’m already looking forward to my next drive up State Highway 35 to Tokomaru. I’m allergic to shellfish though so will unfortunately have to swap the paua pie for a mince and cheese.
I used to think making it in life meant leaving Tokomaru Bay behind. But now I know the secret: the deeper my roots grow, the further I can reach.So to every young Ngati Porou dreamer: don’t look at our Coast as the edge of your world, see it as a strong foundation. Where we come from is not a limitation, it’s a differentiator. The sooner you realise this the more success you will find.
The world is your oyster, or in my case, the world is my mince and cheese pie.
3 CAREER TIPS FOR RANGATAHI FROM JADE
EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE
As a strength, growing up Ngati Porou gave me something no design school could teach—a way of seeing the world through both te ao Maori and global lenses. Whether it’s understanding communal spaces from marae life or problem-solving through kaitiakitanga, these are superpowers in design.
OBSERVE EVERYTHING!
For those drawn to a career in CX/design, practice thinking small by simply observing everything. Notice how people interact with a space, or an app, even the dishwashing setup at the marae. Then ask yourself what works? What is causing frustration? Ask ‘why’ until you hit the human need beneath. After thinking small, think big. Redesign your kura’s newsletter or map your nan’s journey through the supermarket. Real-world problems make the best practice.
DON’T BOX YOURSELF IN!
I went from building rock dams in the Mangahauini river, to studying architecture and industrial design, to digital software and global CX because I trusted my intuition and stayed open to opportunities. Your path might not be straight—mine looked like a zigzag! But every twist is a learning opportunity. If a Tokomaru kid can end up designing for Dubai, imagine where you could go while staying rooted in who you are.
