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Three new Trustees have been successfully appointed to the Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki Board of Trustees. New Plymouth District Council councillors approved the new Trustees in a council meeting on September 17, 2024, and they were officially adopted at the agency’s AGM late last week.
The incoming Trustees include a line-up of high-calibre executives and directors, including director of Hive Developments and Egmont Honey CEO James Annabell, Kennie Tsui, who holds a number of board roles, including board member Wellington Cable Car, deputy president Engineering NZ, and global board member USA Geothermal Resources Council, and Warwick Tauwhare-George (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Hikairo), previous CEO of Parininihi ki Waitotara, director of Centreport and deputy chair Riverlock Group.
At the agency’s AGM, current board member and Velocite director Grant McQuoid was also appointed as the new board chair, and Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa pou amotake/general manager operations Joshua Hitchcock was appointed deputy chair.
“On behalf of the Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki Board and the Venture Taranaki team, I would like to congratulate James, Kennie and Warwick on their successful appointments,” says Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki chair Grant McQuoid.
The cohort of talented trustees will officially join the governance team, replacing three outgoing trustees, including previous board chair Joanna Breare, deputy chair David Downs, and Gillian Cagney.
“I would like to thank and acknowledge the contributions of all our outgoing Trustees. Their diverse strengths across governance, energy, operational performance, finance, technology, and start-ups have helped sharpen our strategic direction and have positively impacted Venture Taranaki and the wider Taranaki region,” says Grant.
“As the newly appointed chair, I am pleased to welcome our new trustees as we build on the significant and impactful work achieved in recent years. Together, we will focus on what lies ahead to best serve our community and shareholder, continuing our efforts to make Taranaki a great place to live, work, and play for all,” he says.
New Plymouth District Mayor Neil Holdom also thanks the departing board members for their contributions and welcomes the new appointments.
“Venture Taranaki has a strong legacy of forward-thinking innovation as our region’s economic and tourism development agency, backing local businesses, attracting investment, and showcasing our unique destination to visitors. As a region, we’re facing some big challenges ahead as we work towards a low-emissions future. However, we can turn challenges into opportunities with a collective long-term vision. Having directors of this calibre gives us confidence that we’ll continue to move in the right direction,” says Mayor Holdom.
The new Trustees are looking forward to getting underway with the region’s Economic Development Agency and are excited about the future of the organisation and the region.
“Having previously engaged with Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki as a client, I was fortunate to experience firsthand the excellent mahi of the VT team in supporting enterprise development across Taranaki and driving regional GDP growth. For these reasons, I wanted to join the Board of Trustees, and I feel honoured to have the opportunity to contribute to this important mahi,” says Warwick.
I’m excited to have the opportunity to work alongside an experienced and highly capable Board of Trustees, who are committed to advancing food and fibre diversification, driving the decarbonisation of our regional economy and the transition towards a low-emissions future. Alongside, a focus on supporting the growth of the Māori economy and attracting the visitors of tomorrow.”
The incoming board members were officially adopted into the organisation at the Venture Taranaki AGM on Thursday, September 26. They were welcomed with a Mihi Whakatau, followed by their first official board meeting.
