Hall of Fame - Mana Tangata Māori Award

Emerging Māori HR Award 2025, in association with Tribe Recruitment Group/ Tau Mai

As Leadership and Capability Manager at Powerco, Kacey Graham has created a psychologically safe space and community of emerging leaders to become kaitiaki of our Tikanga and te ao Māori capability across the organisation.

Kacey developed and implemented Powerco’s Leadership Development Programme, integrating te ao Māori principles anchored in te whare tapa whā. Collaborating with Māori leaders and organisational experts, she created a transformative leadership programme addressing emotional intelligence, self-leadership, and cultural competency. LDP has quickly become a respected and sought after development opportunity for leaders at Powerco and is changing the leadership landscape for them.

73% of participants secured new leadership roles or greater responsibility, and 100% reported enhanced cultural awareness and leadership capabilities. This program has initiated significant organisational policy reviews and contributed to Powerco’s recognition as a Deloitte Top 200 finalist for Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership.

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Emerging Māori HR Award 2024, in association with Tonkin+Taylor 

Tū Tangata Tū Rangatira is a Māori Leadership Development programme that employs research-based exemplars from both Māori and Pākehā leadership methods to grow our Māori workforce. The focus of this hōtaka is on living in two worlds and drives the mixture of methods employed to provide leadership tools to our teina.

At its core, Tū Tangata Tū Rangatira is not an education programme. How these tools are used is directed by our participants as they seek to establish what leadership means for them and how they will enact their definition of leadership in our organisation. Tino Rangatiratanga at its core.

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Emerging Māori HR Award 2023, in association with Robert Walters 

Te Whatu Ora, Waitaha me te Tai o Poutini know that one way we can better serve our patients is to improve the diversity of our kaimahi | staff. If our patients can see themselves, they are more likely to have a positive experience in our system. We want to have a positive impact on Māori and Pasifika health outcomes and reduce inequities. We have developed a tikanga, manaenhancing based recruitment process. A three staged process that is based on core values; whanaungatanga, arohatanga and manaakitanga. This includes an information day, rōpō | group interview and rōpū induction and ongoing support. 

Emerging Māori HR Award 2022

Alexis Cameron (Te Toka Tumai - Auckland District Health Board) took out the inaugural Emerging Māori HR Award. Alexis Cameron (Ngāti Porou, Ngati Hāmoa), a physiotherapist by profession, works tirelessly across the health and education sectors to dismantle institutional racism, eliminate inequities, and build culturally safe practice. Their Rangatahi Māori and Pacific workforce development programme was effectively designed and implemented to promote health careers to secondary school students, in a bid to increase the number of Māori and Pacific health professionals, to better reflect the communities they serve. 

Leadership Māori HR Award 2025, in association with Tribe Recruitment Group / Tau Mai

The most compelling feature of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s submission is its innovative Kaupapa Māori Employee Value

Proposition (EVP) strategy, which effectively integrates Māori cultural values into HR practices. This initiative has significantly improved employee engagement, with scores rising from 73% to 81%, and reduced turnover rates from 8.26% to 2.89%.

By prioritizing personal growth and cultural inclusivity, TWoA has created a supportive environment that attracts and retains skilled kaimahi. This holistic approach not only enhances employee satisfaction but also positions TWoA as a leader in fostering a culturally rich workplace.

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Leadership Māori HR Award 2023, in association with Tonkin+Taylor

Karli has whakapapa to iwi and hapū of Mātāatua (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe), Te Arawa (Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau), Tainui (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira) and the Aotea waka (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Raurū, Ngā Ruahine). Karli draws strength from her tūpuna to lead transformation and uphold the mana of people and organisations across Aotearoa. Karli’s comprehensive

contribution to HR centres on: inclusive leadership practice; collective aspirations for the Aotearoa HR profession; and organisations and their heartbeat/ ringa raupō – people.

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Leadership Māori HR Award 2023, in association with Robert Walters 

Working in close partnership with the Office of The Kaitohutohu (KTO), the People and Culture team has been on a journey of developing bicultural competency that has enabled a significant shift in their thinking and practice that is more culturally responsive and inclusive for Māori. It has become part of their everyday practice and the way they do their mahi, with additional positive benefits for all ‘our people’. This is a continuing journey for their team, that they are proudly sharing, to show the positive impacts and benefits, and to inspire others on their own journey. 

Leadership Māori HR Award 2022

Downer New Zealand took out the inaugural Leadership Māori HR Award on the back of their Te Ara Whanake leadership programme. In 2014, Downer recognised that while Māori made up 24% of their workforce, there was poor representation in leadership roles. So, they deliberately set out to change this by creating an environment where Māori culture is recognised and celebrated. Their Te Ara Whanake has resulted in nine out of the fifteen pilot participants being promoted within six months of completing the programme