Ngahiwi Tomoana

Biography

Ngahiwi Tomoana – Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi

Ngahiwi Tomoana is of Ngāti Kahungunu (Ngāti Hawea, Ngāti Hori) and Samoan descent and has been involved in hapū and iwi development most of his life.

Ngahiwi was the longest serving Chair of any iwi serving the Board of Ngāti Kahungunu for 26 years. He was also the Chair of Te Pou Tahua, an Iwi Chairs Group focused on International Trade and Economic
Development that sits within the wider National Iwi Chairs Forum. While no longer a Chairman of an Iwi, Ngahiwi is mandated by the National Iwi Chairs Forum to continue as the lead on behalf of Pou Tahua for Trade & Economic Development and is the visionary behind Te Aratini, which is built on the knowledge and experience that culture counts in commerce community and conservation.

Ngahiwi holds a number of key strategic positions that include: Kaihautū of Te Aratini; Co-Chair of Te Hurumanu, a partnership group that works alongside the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade; Forum Member of the NZ Police Commissioner’s Maori Focus Forum; Chief Ombudsman Board; Taumata Whakapumau – Wai 262; Chair of Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu, Trustee member on the Heretaunga Tamatea Settlement Trust and Co-Chair of the Māori Extreme Weather Science Response Panel.

Previous positions held include the role of Chair of the Māori Economic Development Advisory Board; Board Member for the Pacific Cooperation Foundation and Executive Board Member for the New Zealand China Council; Deputy Chair of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and Chair of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board Maori Relationship Board to name a few.

Ngahiwi has a strong background in the seafood industry. He has previously been a Director and the Chair of Te Ohu Kaimoana Trust and Deputy Chair of the Wai Māori Trust, a division of Te Ohu Kaimoana.

Ngahiwi is passionately involved in the rights of Māori and other indigenous peoples to their estates and represents indigenous peoples’ views on the global stage.

More importantly, Ngahiwi is a loving husband to Mere Tomoana, a father of six tamariki and grandfather to twenty one grandchildren and it is with his whānau in mind, that through all of these positions, responsibilities and vast experiences, he demonstrates his local, regional, national and international knowledge, passion and commitment to all things Māori, for the betterment of Māori katoa.