Kiriwaitingi is a qualified solicitor who has held leadership roles within Māori commercial entities and Māori corporate roles. She has led teams through transformation and systems change that is grounded in Māori principles, with a focus on sustainable growth that will deliver intergenerational benefits for present and future shareholders. She currently works with Māori entities supporting them in strategy, leadership development, and governance.
She is an experienced governor in agriculture and forestry, in addition to post settlement governance entities. Kiriwaitingi currently holds directorships with Pūtauaki Trust, Māori Investments Limited, Te Kīwai Māori (commercial arm of Ngāruahine) and Māhutonga Investment Board (Whānau Ora Area 2). She was also a future Director to the Board of Auckland International Airport from 2016 – 2018, graduate of the Global Women Breakthrough Program and Te Hono Stanford Bootcamp 2019.
Kiriwaitingi believes that Aotearoa is entering into a new era where good governance will require the intersection with Māori wisdom, that goes beyond short term investor returns to long-term meaningful change that is grounded in values and kaitiakitanga. Kiriwaitingi states "Māori approaches to governance upholds long-term inter-generational value over short-term pressures and gain. Māori entities can withstand changes in governmental ideology, we are guided by values that care for our people and our environment, we believe in food, energy, and data sovereignty, and investing in strategic assets that deliver long term benefits. Our long-term view is guided by the number of generations that will be impacted by our decisions, not the standard western perspective of 10-20 years. The Māori economy is thriving and an understanding of our perspective on governance is essential for governance practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand".
