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Leith has led Te Puni Kōkiri since 2001. Prior to his appointment, Leith was the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development.
Leith, with over 10 years standing as a senior public servant, has broad and comprehensive knowledge of the machinery of government, wide leadership experience in the military, the private and the community sectors. He also brings extensive leadership experience in local, national, and international environments.
Prior to his state sector appointments, Leith participated in numerous Māori economic and social initiatives. Leith’s Directorships included Chairperson for Lakeland Health Ltd, Te Ama Ltd Forestry Consortium, and Restaurant Brands Ltd.
Leith’s various community and voluntary governance positions included being a founding member of the Te Arawa Standing Committee on the Rotorua District Council and Chairperson of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rangitihi and Ruawāhia 2B Trust.
Leith is also a graduate from the uS Army General Staff College where he received the Eisenhower Award for academic excellence as top foreign Student, culminating in his retirement as the Commanding Officer of the Second First Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (2/1 RNZIR).
Leith’s iwi affiliations are Ngāti Rangitihi, Te Arawa, Ngāti Mamoe, Ngāi Tahu, and Ngāti Pahauwera.
Alison became the Deputy Secretary Relationships and Information in June 2004. Prior to that, she was the inaugural Chief Executive of Te Rūnanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi for nearly four years.
For a period of 12 years, from 1986, Alison worked for the Department of Social Welfare in many roles including front-line social work, trainer, expert practitioner, senior policy advi-sor and manager. During this time she gained a Diploma in Social Work and MBA. When she left Child, youth and Families (CYF) Alison worked on government committees that developed the Children’s Agenda and the Care and Protection Blue Print.
In 1999 while working as the Director of the SAFE Network, a community-based treatment programme for sex offenders, Alison received the Nuffield Scholarship to study sex offender legislation in England. When she returned she contributed recommendations to legislative reform which saw sex offenders in New Zealand managed more closely and for extended periods after release from prison.
Alison’s iwi affiliations are Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Wai.
Kim took up the position of Deputy Secretary Policy in March 2007. It marked a return to the Te Puni Kōkiri whānau as a full-time, permanent employee.
Following the completion of her university studies, Kim worked for Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou, gaining a solid grounding in Māori community dynamics and aspirations. Following this, she first joined Te Puni Kōkiri in 1992, and until 1999 worked in various senior management, policy management and regional roles. She left Te Puni Kōkiri in 1999 to take up a Sector Manager role at the Office of the Controller and Auditor General.
In the seven years before re-joining Te Puni Kōkiri, Kim continued to build her experience in policy, strategic management, business and governance, through her co-directorship of her management and public policy consulting company. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey university.
Her tribal affiliation is Te Aitanga ā Mate, Ngāti Porou.
Craig entered the public service in Christchurch as a cadet in 1978. His early public service career was in operational roles in the Māori Land Court and Māori Housing in Wanganui. He then moved into various finance and corporate roles in Māori Affairs, the Iwi Transition Agency, and Te Puni Kōkiri.
Craig held a number of finance and management positions before his appointment as Deputy Secretary Support Services. He has had several secondments during that period including a year managing Te Puni Kōkiri’s former State Sector Performance Group and stints in the Department of Building and Housing and Inland Revenue. He also represented Te Puni Kōkiri on the “Managing for Outcomes” and “Review of Race Based Policies” steering groups.
Craig is a Chartered Accountant and has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey university and a Masters in Public Policy from Victoria university.
John Paki is the General Manager of the Māori Trust Office and the Māori Trustee. The office administers and manages lands and assets on behalf of Māori owners. John has exposure in both the public and private sectors, covering policy, business, international engagements, and whānau, hapū and iwi dynamics and relationships. He holds directorships in the tourism and finance sectors as well as numerous trustee responsibilities.
