Ākina Foundation adds Fulbright scholar to Board
The Ākina Foundation is welcoming new Board of Trustees member Te Puoho (TP) Katene to its governance team, bringing the total number of board members to seven.
Te Puoho is both a 2017 Fulbright scholar and Stanford Sloan Fellow, and he is currently an associate director for Wakatū Incorporation, a whānau organisation managing over $270 million worth of assets on behalf of 4,000 owners.
He will bring fresh thought to The Ākina Foundation's governance, and in particular its mission to nourish the growing social enterprise sector in New Zealand.
The Ākina Foundation's executive chair Sophie Haslem says Te Puoho is a welcome addition to the board. He will work with current trustees including Haslem, Gavin Fernandez, Ben Kepes, Tina Porou, Michelle Sharp, and Malcolm Shaw.
"We are really pleased that TP is joining our team. He will bring several new lenses to our conversations which will help us all to act more wisely as a governing group" says Haslem.
Te Puoho has a business degree from Stanford University. He has reinforced that with a focus on social innovation, impact investment, and maximising social impact of for-profit businesses.
His role as associate director for Wakatū Incorporation also involves serving on Wakatū's subsidiary boards. He is tasked with reinvesting profits into the cultural and social well-being of owners.
Prior to Stanford, Te Puoho spent 10 years working in government, advising on prominent policy issues such as fisheries management, regional economic development, and Treaty settlements.
In 2011 he received the Global Fisheries Scholarship to train in Japan with multinational seafood corporation NISSUI.
"Te Puoho's governance and management experience brings added potency to the Ākina Board, their guidance in the ongoing development of the Ākina Foundation, and the support of purpose-driven organisations that trade to deliver social and environmental impact," his biography states.
Te Puoho's governance and management experience brings added potency to the Ākina Board, their guidance in the ongoing development of the Ākina Foundation, and the support of purpose-driven organisations that trade to deliver social and environmental impact.
