Networking
no longer available
2
CPD
To bring aspiring, new and experienced Pacific governors together.
A workshop facilitated by Peter Fa’afiu and Venasio-Lorenzo (Vena) Crawley providing an opportunity to build a stronger network of Pacific Peoples in governance in Aotearoa New Zealand and to discuss the opportunities and issues being faced. This workshop will establish the foundations of a framework by discussing what actions can be taken to assist with building the pipeline for Pacific governors and how to educate the general governance community of the value of Pacific People on boards.
A Samoan childhood and adolescence in Auckland, bred a change agent by nature with a natural inclination towards redefining the future. Vena Crawley is a hybrid leader in both commercial delivery and creative leadership. His diverse background has given him a toolkit to navigate evolving challenges and stakeholder issues across a multitude of executive and governance platforms. He is a disruptive accelerant known for driving proven transformative change at pace, in a way that resonates with today’s businesses chasing market leadership with Customers at the heart and data technology and digital as his tools.
His business strategies and leadership have delivered more than NZ$4 billion in profits in his last three roles.
Vena was recently the divisional CEO and Chief Customer Officer at Contact Energy, leading its Customer business on a transformation to become New Zealand’s ‘customer-obsessed human energy company’. With areas of responsibility ranging from strategy, pricing and data analytics to people, digital, technology, culture and brand. His strength is in developing strategies that not only support sustainable business outcomes today, but chart future business horizons for tomorrow.
Vena has significant international leadership experience across multiple sectors and is a notable strategy and vision setter with a track record of delivering business turnaround, growth and embracing pragmatic disruption. A career of diverse challenges and opportunities has bred a hybrid leader with strength in both commercial delivery and creative leadership, plus a passion for developing and coaching others.
He speaks five languages and holds multiple governance roles and is currently a Non-Executive Director at Summerset Group, Independent board member on Te Whatu Ora sub-committee for People, Culture & Development, Chair and Advisory Board Member at Auckland University of Technology and recently completed an extended term as the Future Director at The Warehouse Group.
Vena has worked in New Zealand and internationally across seven different sectors and is fluent in five languages. He holds an MBA and BA from Steinbeis University in Germany and has studied at the Darden School of Business via Virginia State University.
Peter’s governance roles have covered a diverse range of sectors including property development, financial services, education, vocational training, multi-media, community / transitional housing, economic development, faith-based and human rights.
Currently, Peter is Global Vice Chair of global human rights organisation Amnesty International Limited. He is an Independent Director for Financial Advice NZ, Tatai Aho Rau/CORE Education, Urban Plus Limited, Counties-Manukau Rugby Union and Innovation Franklin. Given his Catholicism, Peter also uses his governance skills in faith-based entities - he is currently the Chair of Monte Cecilia Housing Trust (which provides community and transitional housing to over 600 families in Southern Auckland) and a Board Member of Sacred Heart College (Auckland).
His local (Pukekohe, Auckland) volunteer governance work includes chairing his Parish Council and local football / cricket sports centre and was a member of the Establishment Board for a new co-ed Catholic college that will open in 2024. Peter also provides advisory work for his home villages in Samoa of Faleapuna and Satuimalufilufi.
Peter also a co-founder and Partner in business consultancy, Navigator, which provides strategic and operational advice across a number of sectors. Previously a New Zealand diplomat and trade negotiator that saw him posted to Indonesia for four years, Peter was born in Samoa and raised in Glen Innes / Panmure areas.
Peter is married to Paige who is also a small business owner and have a blended family of six kids. Peter has law and history degrees from the University of Auckland and executive education from Mt Eliza Melbourne Business School.
Gemma Fellowes
Project Coordinator
+64 9 365 2736
Gemma.Fellowes@iod.org.nz
