KPMG builds Māori leadership team

"He ao ka tui, he ao ka whatu, ka renarena"

"A world is weaved, a world is sowed, and both are fastened as one".

KPMG has promoted National Māori Industry Lead Riria (Missy) Te Kanawa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua Tainui-o-Tainui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Koata) to Partner as the firm continues its journey to build its Māori leadership capability.

As the firm’s National Industry Lead for Māori, Riria leads KPMG’s engagement with Māori organisations and businesses. Having worked with many Māori organisations, she has built a strong reputation in the sector and has been critical in supporting KPMG to grow its internal knowledge, capability, and relationships.

Over the past year, the firm has appointed four more specialists to its national Māori leadership team who join Riria in helping to weave together solutions that fuel prosperity for all whānau in Aotearoa.

“It’s a new dawn for KPMG New Zealand. We have been preparing the soil within KPMG over the last few years to ensure we continue to deliver impact and value for our country on an ongoing and sustainable basis. Our team are passionate about improving Māori prosperity, and growing success for our whānau.” says Riria.

“We need to think differently to craft alternative solutions. We each bring our unique specialities and perspectives but are united by our passion to contribute to a better future for our people – if it's good for our people, it's great for the nation.” 

KPMG New Zealand Chief Executive Godfrey Boyce says the strengthened leadership will also ensure the firm is better equipped to guide KPMG rangatahi (young leaders) that have been entrusted to their care.

"When people feel they have a sense of purpose and belonging and have leaders they can identify with, then their belief in what is possible grows. As an intergenerational firm, not only is it important to have these voices at the table today, but also to enable our young leaders to create meaningful, positive outcomes for future generations."

KPMG’s Māori specialists partner directly with Iwi organisations, Māori businesses, Corporates, as well as the government - to ensure they can tackle issues and opportunities from all angles, including bringing digital capability to the forefront for the advancement of Māori.

Riria leads KPMG’s service and contribution to the Māori sector since starting at the firm in 2015. She is the lead author of KPMG’s Maui Rau report series that looks at how Māori might take advantage of the shifts in the world to advance prosperity for their people. Her clients appreciate her ability to help them structure their thinking to bring clarity, craft smart solutions with them rather than for them, and to quickly get to the heart of the issue. Riria’s clients trust that she understands context and dynamics and she is known for providing appropriate challenges that provoke the thought needed to bring about innovative approaches. With over 25 years’ experience, her background and experience as a business owner, and governor on multiple entities including her hapū incorporation, iwi trust board and large research and commercialisation entity enables Riria to bring alternative but pragmatic viewpoints.

Kaapua joined the Firm in October 2021 as a Government Consulting Partner. With a career spanning more than 20 years across government, Māori and corporate sectors, Kaapua has held influential roles such as Head of Sustainability at Contact Energy, Political Advisor and Press Secretary for the Minister of Māori Affairs and Press Secretary for the Minister for Whānau Ora, as well as roles at Te Puni Kokiri and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. As a graduate of Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori she is a staunch advocate of kaupapa Māori solutions. Kaapua believes that Māori knowledge, systems and tikanga can contribute to the wellbeing of our wider communities and environment. 

Joining KPMG in November 2021 in this newly created role as the firm’s Pou Ahurea (Māori Cultural Advisor), Vinnie guides the firm in embedding principles and experiences of te ao Māori within its heart and fabric. While enhancing KPMG’s relevance in our community and markets, Vinnie also supports the organisation to find, attract, grow, and retain Māori talent at all levels and nurture an environment where they can bring their authentic selves to the workplace. Vinnie’s experience as business relationship manager enables him to share unique insights into what works (and what doesn’t) in terms of developing, implementing, and guiding cultural capability and organisational change based firmly on the principles and spirit o Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Tiare joined KPMG as a Director of KPMG’s Management Consulting team in November 2021. She is responsible for leading the co-design and implementation of major social reforms and investments by bringing systems-thinking approaches, embedding Kaupapa Māori, and demonstrating the impact of initiatives. She specialises in partnering with Māori, public and private sector organisations, and communities to support major social reforms and investments that reduce inequities, increase inclusion, and improve lives. Tiare has over 15 years’ experience in leadership and development of social and economic innovation throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. With a career across the public sector including government, Iwi and community, she has successfully developed solutions to overcome inequity and create long term intergenerational change. Tiare is driven by the intentions of her Tupuna who raised her to weave together two worlds (mātauranga Māori and the changing world) to contribute to the betterment of the world for mokopuna (generations) to come.

Rachael joined KPMG in June 2021 as Technology Consulting Partner. She is a globally accomplished technology architect and digital strategist and her experience spans over 20 years and numerous markets across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Rachael has led numerous assurance and assessment engagements while gaining extensive experience developing digital strategies and roadmaps. She has also performed lead roles on sizable digital transformation programmes, including enterprise cloud, analytics, and mobility solutions. Rachael is deeply committed to inclusion, diversity and equity, particularly with gender balance and the representation of minority groups. While in Asia-Pacific and Europe, she applied her experience working across cultures to generate better results for clients and is excited to use the same philosophies to support and drive better outcomes for Māori.