Bella Takiari-Brame
Finance Committee
Bella is a chartered accountant with over 16 years' global experience in strategic financial roles, primarily in the oil and gas industries.
She returned to New Zealand in 2013 after 10 years in London and was the General Manager of Finance for WEL Network from 2015 until September 2018.
She has also held a number of governance positions including with Te Ohu Kai Moana (Maaori Fisheries Trust), as a Trustee of Maniapoto Maaori Trust Board, and as a founding member of EY Tahi (a specialist Maaori advisory firm under the umbrella of EY Global Professional Services).
She has extensive banking networks and in 2016 was involved in funding one of the largest acquisitions in New Zealand.
During her tenure at WEL Network, the company became the third largest electricity and fibre group in New Zealand doubling its asset base to $1.2b. During her term as a Trustee for Maniapoto Maaori Trust Board, the Board has gained mandate to progress Treaty settlement including securing quantum under agreement in principle of $165M and is now on the eve of their Deed of Settlement.
James Whetu
Regulatory and Hearings Committee
James is a Director and Principal Planner of the Whetu Group and has particular expertise working with local authorities and central government agencies to help them incorporate Maaori perspectives in their planning, in keeping with post-treaty settlement requirements.
In his earlier career he was a planner, working for both public and private agencies and has a particularly strong understanding of the complexities around the use of land and water, and activities within coastal and marine environments.
James has been the Chairperson for the Ngaaruawaahia Community Board since 2013 and is also Chairperson for a newly established Charitable Trust called the Waikato Housing Hub. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and has held a number of governance roles in the past, including the Statutory Māori Advisory Committee for the Environmental Protection Authority and the Māori Special Interest Group Committee for the New Zealand Planning Institute. He has gained additional governance experience as a Trustee on a School Board and as a Sports Club Chairperson.
Norm Hill
Growth and Infrastructure Committee
Norm has over 19 years' experience in environmental management, strategy and research, river and biodiversity restoration, environmental compliance, law enforcement and corporate-cultural relationships.He currently works as an environmental consultant where he is responsible for integrating cultural values into large-scale infrastructure and residential projects within Hamilton City and further afield. This has included both the Te Awa Lakes and the Peacocke developments.
Norm has also held many governance roles with a range of iwi and community organisations. He has been a member of the Waikato Tainui Tribal Parliament (Te Whakakitenga O Waikato) a previous chairman of Kaitumutumu Marae, and a trustee of the Graeme Dingle Foundation (a not-for-profit organisation delivering leadership programmes to schools). Norm also previously chaired Waikato Rivercare (a not-for-profit trust undertaking riparian restoration along the Waikato River).
Norm is presently on the board of Tainui Waka Tourism Inc and Te Humeka Maaori Business Network.
He is currently involved with conducting Cultural Impact Assessments of wastewater infrastructure developments and dairy manufacturing plants around the Waikato.
Olly Te Ua
Community, Services and Environment Committee
Oliver has worked in senior leadership roles within a number of government, commercial and not-for-profit organisations, both in New Zealand and abroad over the course of his career.
He is currently the Owner and Managing Director of OT Milk Distributors Ltd. He is also the Commanding Officer for the 3/6 Battalion of the New Zealand Army which involves leadership of 280 Regular Force and Army Reserve soldiers and officers.
He has led and been involved in a number of Defence Force overseas deployments and projects, and earlier this year, was the Commander of the New Zealand Defence Force contingent to Gallipoli.
From 2012-2015 he was General Manager of Organisational Development for Hamilton City Council. Prior to this he was the Community Development Manager for around five years.
This followed around seven years working with Ministry for Social Development in Auckland, and prior to this, for Te Puni Kokiri.
He has been involved in a number of other local boards, including approximately nine years as the Chairperson of the Aberdeen School Board of Trustees.
Te Pora Thompson-Evans
Community, Services and Environment Committee
Te Pora is a Public Health specialist and research consultant who has extensive experience advocating for the interests of whanau and iwi, working alongside a range of authorities and institutions both within the Waikato and Auckland.
She has postgraduate qualifications in Public Health and has previously worked with Auckland Council to review their long-term plan through a Maaori public health lens.
She is currently a board member of Te Whakakitenga o Waikato (the Ngati Haua Iwi Trust Board). She is also director of Whai Manawa, an organisation dedicated to the socio-economic development of Maaori across 12 marae (4 hapuu) of the Waikato-Tainui Iwi. She was also the Chairperson of this organisation until recently.
Te Pora is the Waikato-Tainui representative to the Waikato District Health Board Iwi Maaori Council and, in April 2018, was elected as its Chairperson (on a three-year term). She is also the Interim Chair for the Midlands Iwi Relationship Board (Midlands is a collective of five DHBs).
Through her myriad roles, Te Pora has acquired considerable experience making high-level financial decisions and providing advice, ultimately, to improve outcomes for Maaori.