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Tāme Iti
Artist, Political Activist, Actor, Iwi Leader
Opening keynote · Day 1 · Special guest, MLS Dinner
He aha kei tua o te oranga? · About the summit
What comes after survival?
3rdYear in Tāmaki Makaurau
Aotearoa’s leading summit for Māori leaders committed to collective thriving, lasting impact, and sustained prosperity.
Most Māori leaders in mainstream organisations are doing it on their own. One of a few, often the only one, in a room that was not built with us in mind. For a long time the measure of success has been survival: hold your ground, get through the restructure, keep the kaupapa alive another year.
The Māori Leadership Summit 2027 asks what comes after survival. Not just lasting in these spaces, but prospering in them, and building that prosperity so it holds beyond any one of us.
Kaikōrero matua · Keynotes, speakers and facilitators
Leaders who have walked this road
Cliff Curtis
Actor and Producer, Co-founder of Whenua Films
Closing keynote · Day 1
Wiremu Moffitt DSD
Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui. Warrant Officer of the Defence Force, New Zealand Defence Force
Fireside kōrero · Day 1
Ria Apiata
Ngāpuhi. Managing Director, Whakaaro
Summit Chair and Emcee
Lawrence Maxwell
General Manager Credit Risk, Kiwibank
Keynote · Day 2
Logan Kahui
Pou Whakahaere, Executive GM Māori Relations, KiwiRail
Panellist · Day 2
Jack Bourke
Head of Strategic Engagement, RCP
Panellist · Day 1
Reuben Araroa
Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāpuhi. Founding Director, Whakaaro
Pre-conference workshop facilitator
John Kingi
Ngā iwi o te hiku o te ika, Muriwhenua puta noa, Ngāi Tūhoe. Senior Consultant, Soften Up Bro
Post-conference workshop facilitator
Hui taumata · The programme
Four days, from kōrero to action
Pick a day, then tap any session for the details. He kaikōrero anō kei te haere mai · More speakers will be announced soon.
Awheawhe o mua · Pre-conference workshop: Tue 16 Mar
A one-day workshop with Ria Apiata and Reuben Araroa
9:00 AM – 5:00 PMAwheawhe · WorkshopMāori Leadership JourneyRia Apiata and Reuben Araroa, Whakaaro
Awheawhe · WorkshopMāori Leadership JourneyRia Apiata and Reuben Araroa, WhakaaroBefore the summit asks what comes after survival, this workshop asks a more personal question: what kind of leader are you when you are not just getting through?
Led by Ria Apiata and Reuben Araroa of Whakaaro, this one-day workshop is a space for honest self-reflection, guided by Māori philosophies, values and practices alongside contemporary leadership thinking. You will look at your own patterns as a leader, the relationships that shape how you lead, and the strength you can draw from your identity, whānau, hapū and iwi.
It is a small room by design. You will work closely with the facilitators and with each other, and you will walk into the summit the next morning already knowing people.
Hui taumata rā 1 · Conference day 1: Wed 17 Mar
9:00 AM pōwhiri, closing keynote with Cliff Curtis, then the MLS Dinner at 7:00 PM
9:00 AMOpening Pōwhiri
Delegates are welcomed into the summit. The pōwhiri sets the tikanga for the two days that follow.
9:45 AMWhakatakingaOpening remarks from the Summit ChairRia Apiata, Ngāpuhi, Managing Director, Whakaaro
WhakatakingaOpening remarks from the Summit ChairRia Apiata, Ngāpuhi, Managing Director, Whakaaro10:00 AMKōrero piriahi · Opening keynote firesideA fireside kōrero with Tāme ItiTāme Iti, Artist, Political Activist, Actor, Iwi Leader
Kōrero piriahi · Opening keynote firesideA fireside kōrero with Tāme ItiTāme Iti, Artist, Political Activist, Actor, Iwi LeaderTāme Iti has spent fifty years refusing to disappear. In this fireside kōrero he looks at what that holding on was for, what prosperity means to someone whose life’s work has been mana motuhake, and what he wants the leaders in this room to stop settling for.
11:00 AMWhakawhanaungatanga & paramanawa · Morning tea and networking
11:30 AMKaikōrero · KeynoteHolding the Line: Leading Through Pressure, Policy Change and Public ScrutinySpeaker to be announced
Budgets tighten, policy shifts and every decision is watched. A candid keynote on how Māori leaders stay grounded in their values, keep their people with them, and keep moving when the ground is moving beneath them.
12:20 PMKōrero piriahi · Fireside kōreroThe Personal Cost of LeadershipWiremu Moffitt DSD, Warrant Officer of the Defence Force, New Zealand Defence Force
Kōrero piriahi · Fireside kōreroThe Personal Cost of LeadershipWiremu Moffitt DSD, Warrant Officer of the Defence Force, New Zealand Defence ForceFrom a 16-year-old cadet to the most senior enlisted member of the New Zealand Defence Force, the senior soldier advising the Chief of Defence Force. Wiremu Moffitt (Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui) spent more than twenty years in the NZSAS and holds the Distinguished Service Decoration for his leadership on operations in Afghanistan.
In conversation with Ria: identity, expectations and belonging across 34 years inside one of Aotearoa’s most hierarchical institutions, and what it costs to carry your people with you.
1:10 PMTina · Lunch
2:10 PMPae kōrero · Panel discussionFrom Individual Success to Collective ProsperityJack Bourke, Head of Strategic Engagement, RCP · More panellists to be announced
Pae kōrero · Panel discussionFrom Individual Success to Collective ProsperityJack Bourke, Head of Strategic Engagement, RCP · More panellists to be announcedWhat responsibility comes with being a Māori leader in a position of influence? How do we bring others with us rather than succeed alone? Our panellists on redefining success beyond personal achievement, titles and positions.
Jack Bourke leads strategic engagement at RCP, working on complex infrastructure, environment and community projects in Aotearoa and with Indigenous-led partners in Canada. More panellists will be announced.
3:10 PMParamanawa · Afternoon tea
3:40 PMKaikōrero · KeynoteFrom Kōrero to ActionSpeaker to be announced
Turning leadership conversations into tangible, measurable change, and moving beyond cultural commitments and Māori strategies to meaningful outcomes.
4:30 PMKaikōrero · Closing keynoteNot the Backdrop to Someone Else’s StoryCliff Curtis, Actor and Producer, Co-founder of Whenua Films
Kaikōrero · Closing keynoteNot the Backdrop to Someone Else’s StoryCliff Curtis, Actor and Producer, Co-founder of Whenua FilmsOne of the most recognisable Māori actors in the world, Cliff Curtis has built a career across Aotearoa and Hollywood, from Once Were Warriors and Whale Rider to Fear the Walking Dead and Avatar: The Way of Water. Behind the camera he co-founded Whenua Films to back Māori and Pasifika storytellers to tell their own stories.
Cliff closes Day 1 on who holds the pen, and what it takes for our leaders to write the next chapter themselves.
5:10 PMMutunga o te rā 1 & inu ā-whanaungatanga · Close of day one and networking drinks
7:00 PMHākari · Separately ticketedMLS Dinner: An Evening with Tāme ItiTāme Iti
Hākari · Separately ticketedMLS Dinner: An Evening with Tāme ItiTāme ItiNew for 2027. Sit down to a hākari with Tāme Iti, Whakaaro and Māori leaders from across Aotearoa. Tāme speaks after the meal, away from the conference stage and off the conference agenda.
The MLS Dinner is separately ticketed and open to everyone: delegates, colleagues, whānau and Whakaaro alumni. $280 per person, or a table of 10 for $2,500. Add it at checkout, or book it on its own.
Hui taumata rā 2 · Conference day 2: Thu 18 Mar
9:00 AM start, closing karakia at 3:55 PM
9:00 AMWhakatakingaOpening remarks from the Summit ChairRia Apiata, Ngāpuhi, Managing Director, Whakaaro
WhakatakingaOpening remarks from the Summit ChairRia Apiata, Ngāpuhi, Managing Director, Whakaaro9:10 AMKaikōrero · KeynoteTransforming Organisations and SystemsSpeaker to be announced
Shifting organisational cultures, structures and practices to enable Māori to thrive, and challenging the status quo while maintaining influence and momentum.
10:00 AMParamanawa · Morning tea
10:30 AMKaikōrero · KeynoteCapital That Reaches Our People: Redesigning Risk So Māori Businesses Can GrowLawrence Maxwell, General Manager Credit Risk, Kiwibank
Kaikōrero · KeynoteCapital That Reaches Our People: Redesigning Risk So Māori Businesses Can GrowLawrence Maxwell, General Manager Credit Risk, KiwibankMāori businesses are too often judged by risk models built around someone else’s balance sheet. Lawrence Maxwell, who leads credit risk at Kiwibank, explains how lending decisions are actually made, where good Māori businesses get lost in the process, and what it takes to redesign risk so capital reaches the people who will grow with it.
11:20 AMPae kōrero · Panel discussionCollective Māori LeadershipLogan Kahui, Pou Whakahaere, Executive GM Māori Relations, KiwiRail · More panellists to be announced
Pae kōrero · Panel discussionCollective Māori LeadershipLogan Kahui, Pou Whakahaere, Executive GM Māori Relations, KiwiRail · More panellists to be announcedWhat becomes possible when Māori leaders work across organisational, sectoral and iwi boundaries? How do we ensure the tide rises for our people, not just those who have already reached positions of privilege?
Logan Kahui leads KiwiRail’s national Māori relations team, from the workshop floor to Pou Whakahaere, with kawenata and partnerships with iwi across the network. More panellists will be announced.
12:20 PMTina · Lunch
1:20 PMKaikōrero · KeynotePathways for the Next GenerationSpeaker to be announced
Creating pathways for the next generation of Māori leaders, and moving from individual champions of change to sustainable, embedded transformation.
2:10 PMAwheawhe · Working sessionFrom Kōrero to ActionFacilitated by Whakaaro
How does this become something real, instead of something we talk about once a year? Set out what you are taking back, who you will stay connected to, and what you will do first.
3:00 PMParamanawa · Afternoon tea
3:20 PMClosing kōreroLegacies That Outlast Our Own TenureRia Apiata, Ngāpuhi, Managing Director, Whakaaro
Closing kōreroLegacies That Outlast Our Own TenureRia Apiata, Ngāpuhi, Managing Director, WhakaaroRia draws together two days of kōrero and returns to the question the summit opened with: creating the conditions for future generations to thrive, not simply survive.
3:55 PMClosing karakia
4:10 PMMutunga o te hui taumata · Close of conference
Awheawhe o muri · Post-conference workshop: Fri 19 Mar
A practical day of cultural capability with John Kingi
9:00 AM – 5:00 PMAwheawhe · WorkshopAchieving Cultural Awareness, Capability and Competency Throughout Your OrganisationJohn Kingi, Senior Consultant, Soften Up Bro
Awheawhe · WorkshopAchieving Cultural Awareness, Capability and Competency Throughout Your OrganisationJohn Kingi, Senior Consultant, Soften Up BroCultural awareness only counts if it changes how your organisation works. This one-day workshop supports you and your teams to make systemic change, teaching people to work together in a culture of respect and solidarity. It is open to Māori and non-Māori colleagues alike, and a good day to bring your team to.
- Kaupapa Reo Māori: build confidence in the Māori language. Learn the correct terms, pronunciation and use of te reo in everyday life.
- Kaupapa Tikanga (Tikanga and Protocols): understand pepeha and identity, the significance of the pōwhiri process and how to bring these protocols into the workplace, and why mana whenua matters.
- Kaupapa Haka: understand the power of haka and how to use it as a vehicle to build cultural awareness and unity within a business.
John Kingi (Ngā iwi o te hiku o te ika, Muriwhenua puta noa, Ngāi Tūhoe) is a Māori leader, cultural facilitator and co-founder of Soften Up Bro. Through wānanga, talks and community work grounded in te ao Māori values, he brings empathy, cultural insight and lived experience to every room he facilitates.
Hākari · MLS Dinner · Wednesday 17 March · 7:00 PM
An evening with Tāme Iti
Kai, whanaungatanga and kōrero. One table, one kaupapa, and a conversation you won’t hear from the conference stage.
New for 2027. When Day 1 closes, stay on at the JW Marriott for a seated dinner with Tāme Iti, Whakaaro and Māori leaders from across Aotearoa. Tāme speaks after the meal, off the agenda and in his own time: about what fifty years of refusing to disappear has taught him, and what he wants the next generation to stop settling for.
Then the guitar comes out. Day 1 panellist Jack Bourke sings for the room, and waiata is the way the night ends.
It is the room where the real connections of the summit get made. Bring your team, bring your whānau, bring the colleague who couldn’t get to the conference. You don’t need a summit ticket to come.
- Āhea · WhenWednesday 17 March 2027, 7:00 PM
- Kei hea · WhereJW Marriott Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau
- Mā wai · WhoOpen to everyone, delegates and non-delegates
Register for the dinner now
$280 per person + GST · table of 10 $2,500 + GST
Add the dinner to your summit ticket at checkout, or book it on its own. Prices in NZD. Seats are limited to the room, so book early.
Summit partner
In partnership with Whakaaro
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Kaitiaki of the kaupapa
Whakaaro
About this partner
Whakaaro create leaders who inspire through story. They help organisations and individuals navigate change and connect people with purpose.
Traditional corporate leadership programmes were not built for Aotearoa. Whakaaro changes that by weaving leadership practice together with Te Ao Māori values, helping leaders grow in life, work and whānau. They are not theoreticians. They are leaders still operating in the fire.
Whakaaro return in 2027 as kaitiaki of the kaupapa: setting the theme, shaping the programme, hosting delegates from the moment they arrive, chairing both days and leading the pre-conference workshop.
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Moments from the room
Speaker spotlights, event updates and behind-the-scenes moments. Tap any photo to see more.
