In April Te Mana Whakahaere
concluded a robust and thorough
process to seek out the very
best chief executive to lead the
next phase of our organisation’s
development. As a result of this
process, Jim Mather was appointed
as Te Taiurungi (chief executive)
of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in
late October. I have been very
impressed with the dynamism
and enthusiasm he has shown
in becoming fully abreast of the
various aspects of our wānanga.
He has invested the appropriate
level of time and energy to ensure
he understands our nationwide
operation that provides education
to almost 32,000 tauira and which
employs 1,429 kaimahi across
Aotearoa.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is a
complex, diverse and essential
part of the New Zealand tertiary
education landscape, and in order
to ensure he was fully conversant
with the key facets and priorities of
the business, Jim engaged a 90 day
plan and has set a clear pathway
for moving forward. I welcome Jim
to the team and look forward to his
role in leading the next stage of our
organisational development.
I would like to take this time to
acknowledge the performance
and achievement of former chief
executive, Te Pouhere, Bentham
Ohia who concluded more than 20
years of service with Te Wānanga o
Aotearoa, including seven years as
chief executive, in June of this year.
Bentham navigated a particularly
difficult period for our organisation.
The introduction of a ‘capped
environment’ necessitated internal
restructuring and a period of
consolidation. Bentham achieved
very good outcomes in respect of
both these matters. We wish him
and his whānau all the best as they
embark on new endeavours.
The organisation now faces fresh
challenges and the need for further
improvement, rationalisation,
innovation and refinement are
areas that our governing body have
identified as priorities.
In 2013, Te Mana Whakahaere
reaffirmed another priority in
respect of its own structure. We
recognised that our organisation
has to have an effective and
efficient streamlined governing
body that possesses the
appropriate skills to govern a
large complex organisation such
as Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. During
the year the second phase of the
governance review was completed.
Our review provided a pre-emptive
approach to develop a governance
model that is reduced in size and
aims to make our council more
responsive, more effective, more
robust, and more agile. These
elements are essential for our
organisation to thrive in a very
competitive environment. We
completed a comprehensive
consultation with kaimahi and
tauira in 2013 and this consultation
will continue with our external
stakeholders in 2014. Our review
paralleled the Government-led
review of governance structures
across the university and wānanga
sectors and we hope to begin
implementation of our new model
in 2014/2015.
There were a number of changes
in the membership of Te Mana
Whakahaere during 2013 and I
would like to thank those who
concluded their terms and welcome
our new members.
Thank you to government
appointees Deirdre Dale and June
McCabe, academic elected member
Raukura Ropiha and tauira elected
member Nicholas Manukau whose
terms ended during the year.
The knowledge, experience and
commitment they brought was
valuable and contributed towards
the success of our organisation.
Welcome to our new government
appointees Rea Wikaira and Karl
Wixon, academic elected member
Tony Iwikau and tauira elected
member Angelina Matekohi.
The year also saw the Kīngitanga
take up the opportunity to
nominate a representative to
Te Mana Whakahaere, and as a
result Tukoroirangi Morgan was
appointed.
Finally, I would like to take this
opportunity to acknowledge
Te Mana Whakahaere member,
Lloyd Anderson who concluded
more than 20 years of service
this year. Lloyd has always been
a passionate advocate for our
organisation and his community.
His length of service, commitment
and performance deserves
special recognition.
Richard Batley
Te Heamana
TE PŪRONGO 2013
7
