Specialised Team
Knowledge, linked to key relationships to provide a commercial edge
Wayne Mulligan
Chief Executive
Mmgt, Ex DipBus & Cert Maori
Wayne comes from a large family, he grew up in both rural and urban New Zealand, travelled extensively in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then settled into study, career and family.
As number 8 of 11children, Wayne learnt very quickly that making friendships with the seven older siblings was not easy. Wayne chose to collaborate with the biggest - they had more resources – size, cunning and muscles, equating in today’s terms to scale.
This made sense then, and it makes sense now!
Wayne has held many senior management and strategy positions in the public and private sectors. Wayne specialises in systems thinking and he has authored 30 business case studies on Maori organisations and a report on key Maori business characteristics.
Wayne holds a number of trusteeships and directorships.
In 2007 Wayne received the Dame Mira Szaszy Maori Business Alumni Award from the University of Auckland Business School.
Wayne’s Iwi affiliations are: Taranaki, Ngati Maniapoto, Te Atiawa - Taranaki Whanui ki te Whanganui a Tara.
Paul Morgan
Managing Director
(Dip Bus)
Paul’s Iwi affiliations are: Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Maui and Taranaki.
Paul is involved in numerous Maori commercial interests that encompass the areas of horticulture, agriculture, forestry, fishing, leased lands, equities and commercial properties.
Paul is a board member of the Federation of Maori Authorities.
His expertise lies also in his extensive network of business and political contacts, as well as his track record of negotiation, development and repositioning of Maori business in the domestic and global markets.
Paul is currently chair of both Wakatu Incorporation and Tohu Wines (Ltd), and is based in Wellington.
Kim Skelton
Project Manager
(BA/LLB)
Kim’s Iwi affiliations are: Te Atiawa, Ngati Raukawa ki Otaki.
Kim’s family comes from Waitara in North Taranaki and she was raised in Hamilton. Kim completed her BA/LLB at Auckland University in 1989 then spent 5 years travelling in Africa and Europe, teaching English in Gabon, Brussels and Ireland. Kim returned to NZ in 1995 with her Irish partner Brian O’Sullivan and has been working in Wellington for the past 12 years.
Kim has broad and practical experience in the Treaty claims process, working at the Waitangi Tribunal and the Office of Treaty Settlements. More recently, Kim has worked as a consultant providing project management services in the health and social services sector, to Crown agencies, and to iwi engaged in treaty settlement negotiations.
Kim is certified as a Conflict Partnership Facilitator and Trainer and is dedicated to working with organisations in a way that promotes relationship building and creates systems of accountability and integrity.
In 2007 Kim was elected as a Trustee for the Te Atiawa (Taranaki) Settlements Trust and was re-elected as a Trustee at Te Kura o Otari, where her two children are in the Immersion Māori strand.
Mere Takoko
Communications Director
Mere Takoko is a descendant of Ngati Porou and also has links to the waka of Te Arawa, Tainui and Takitimu.
She is the Communications Director at FOMANA Capital and also has her own media company called Hawaiiki Productions.
Mere has over ten years experience in the non-profit sector, a career which she began as a Macalester College student working in the offices of the International Indian Treaty Council in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Indigenous Women’s Network in Rapid City, South Dakota. Experiencing life with Native activists in both Aotearoa and the United States from an early age gave her the interest to pursue environmental and youth advocacy roles in Aotearoa.
She is a founding Board Member of national Maori organics authority, Te Waka Kai Ora, and coordinated the People Poisoned Daily campaign to promote awareness about communities affected by dioxin poisoning as Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace Aotearoa.
Mere is currently Managing Editor of Koha Magazine. She hopes to bring together commercial Maori entities with the NGO community to pursue opportunities to promote Native Trade.
Melissa Yiannoutsos
Melissa’s family comes from Greece and Cyprus and she was raised in the Manawatu and Wellington. Melissa completed her Bachelor of Commerce degree at Victoria University of Wellington then headed abroad to visit her extended family at the island of Kastos.
Returning to New Zealand, Melissa has now spent more than 10 years working with New Zealand’s leading scientists to help commercialise their innovations for use in industrial, medical and biotechnology applications.
Melissa has a practical experience in developing sound and realistic commercial strategies to gain a competitive edge through research and development. She was responsible for establishing New Zealand’s first angel investment network, which attracted significant start up capital and in her previous roles at Industrial Research Limited she managed the commercialisation team and investment funds.