Executive Team
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Riri Ellis was the longest serving trustee before taking on the role as the first CEO of Ngāi Tukairangi Trust in 2021. She is passionate about growing our people and striving for continuous growth of our whenua, our people and our culture. Previously she was the General Manager of Tukairangi Investments Ltd, the Director of Māori Business Programmes at Victoria University in Wellington, and before that, the Treaty Settlements Manager at Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Rūnanga. She holds a IOD Certificate in Corporate Governance, a PhD in management studies, and she has spent time in Jakarta and Washington DC honing her management skills and abilities from 2016 to 2018. She was also a member of the first Stanford University Māori bootcamp delegation in 2013.
Riri holds a number of governance roles which help ensure her networks are vibrant, she is currently the Mataatua Delegate for the Federation of Māori Authorities, and a director for Miro Ltd, the Tauranga Moana Miro LP, the Matakana Berry LP and Purpose Capital. She was a board member for Toi Kai Rawa Trust, the Bay Connections Leadership Group and she is a foundation member of the Australian-New Zealand Indigenous Women’s Business Network. She is a Māori land trustee, and marae trustee as well. She is fiercely supportive of proactive succession planning and sees our next generation as our future leaders, and she foresees a more integrative approach to management of our resources, with younger fresher thinkers amongst our whānau leading the way.
Financial Controller | Kaihautū Pūtea
Stacey has been the Financial Controller since 2022. Her role entails managing the financial activities of the Ngāi Tukairangi Group, made up of financial planning and forecasting, as well as reporting to the board, funding partners, senior managers, and our owners at our AGM. She has held various accounting roles within the primary sector over her thirty-year career, as both a chartered accountant and a member of the Chartered Accountants Institute of Australia and New Zealand. Stacey graduated with a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University, and is now on a mission to achieve a Level 5 Diploma in Te Reo Māori with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
She also comes with extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, in particular, preparing financials for various kura, her marae in Taranaki, and Swim Rotorua. Stacey is passionate about advancing Māori initiatives to ensure we are global leaders in providing innovative approaches to managing resources in preparation for the environmental and socio-political challenges of the future.
General Manager - Orchards
Andrew is the General Manager of Orchards. He joined our Trust in October 2017 as the Regional Orchard Manager for the Bay of Plenty operations, Andrew’s experience spans a career beginning in 1982, having moved to Te Moana-a-Toi from Taranaki. Since then, he has held various positions at all levels of the industry, including contracting and post-harvest facility management.
Andrew is particularly passionate about organics, and as a previous orchard owner and lessee of kiwifruit, avocado and tamarillo operations, his knowledge stretches across to wider parts of the horticultural industry. Over the few years, Andrew has focussed on lifting orchard gate returns, improving relationships with contractors, and developing strategies for securing reliable labour to drive the orchard forward. Andrew made a significant contribution to building the relationship with the Nuku Village in Fiji, which subsequently formed our first RSE delegation.
People & Culture Manager
Dorothy is the People and Culture Manager. She is an advocate for all things human within the world of business. She brings with her a unique blend of cultural insight and modern flair, ensuring that the heartbeat of our organisation pulses with diversity and inclusivity.
Dorothy is passionate about igniting sparks of potential and weaving together diverse talents into a cohesive tapestry of people success at the Trust. This work is being built from the ground up. She manages everything from overseeing recruitment and selection processes, to innovative programmes like the Recognised Seasonal Employer initiative. She committed to sculpting sustainable management practices that stand the test of time.