Chief Executive
BCOM, MMIL
Iwi affiliations: Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi

Raised in Tauranga Moana, Awhina is a māmā, strategist, Māori business owner and a servant to her people.

She is a product of Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori and a graduate of the University of Auckland with a Bachelors’ Degree in Commerce majoring in Management and Commercial Law.

With strengths in strategy, business development and economic development Awhina is passionate about drawing on these skills to disrupt systems that do not serve our people.

Awhina has over 9 years governance experience and sits on several boards and leadership advisory groups. She is the Chairperson of Ngāti Kuku Hapū PSGE and former trustees for Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Otepou and the Tauranga Māori Business Association.

Her Master’s degree in Māori and Indigenous leadership from the University of Canterbury explored the following key themes - Māori education critical success factors, Māori STEAM, unlocking the potential of Māori communities and her dissertation looked at the deep interconnected relationship of the waterways near her marae of Whareroa to her people of Ngāti Kuku.