Executive teamTe kei o te waka

The partnership between the Chief Executive and Kaihautū reflects the bicultural nature of the Museum.

Te Papa acknowledges the unique position of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand and the need to secure their participation in the governance, management, and operation of the Museum.

Kaihautū | Māori Co-leader and Acting Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive
– Arapata Hakiwai

Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou, and Ngāi Tahu

As Kaihautū, Arapata shares the strategic leadership of Te Papa. He provides bicultural leadership, guidance, and support, as well as further developing relationships with iwi.

His leadership encompasses the Iwi Relationship Programme, the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme, iwi in residence, and the Rongomaraeroa marae. His position and area of responsibility help to affirm the bicultural foundation of Te Papa and its significance within the museum sector and New Zealand.

Arapata brings more than 20 years of museum sector experience to this role. He was employed by the National Museum and Australian Museum in 1989 as a trainee exhibition curator for the Toi Māori exhibition. His responsibilities and roles progressed to Curator Māori Collections, Exhibition Concept Developer, and then Manager for Bicultural Operations in 2000.

During his time as Director Mātauranga Māori in 2003–8 (and Acting Kaihautū from 2007–8), he guided the direction of research into the Māori collections and the associated policies and practices surrounding Taonga Māori.

Arapata has been involved in the repatriation of Māori and Moriori kōiwi tangata over many years including from the Australian Museum, Sydney, Field Museum, Chicago, Glasgow University, Edinburgh University, the Royal Scottish Museums and many other museums in the United Kingdom.

He is currently leading a world-wide research project to identify and create a global digital database of Taonga Māori and Moriori in museums and galleries. The aim is to facilitate the ‘digital repatriation’ of these taonga.

His curatorial expertise, understanding of taonga, and ongoing contribution and commitment to Te Papa will be invaluable in leading the Museum towards achieving its vision.

Deputy Chief Executive Kaupapa Māori
– Carolyn Roberts-Thompson

The role of the Ngā Manu Atarau Directorate is to connect communities with their taonga, artefacts and other valuable heritage items.

It achieves this by:

• helping to build the capacities and capabilities of museums, art galleries and iwi to care for and exhibit their valuable heritage items

• securing the return and care of toi moko/mokomokai (Māori/Moriori human remains) from overseas collections to Aotearoa

• creating and maintaining quality relationships with iwi communities so that their contribution to the care and exhibition of relevant taonga, and the Te Papa contribution to Treaty of Waitangi settlements, is secured

• overseeing and, at times, leading the bicultural dimensions of Te Papa including during significant events (e.g. Matariki) and the management of the Te Papa marae.

Along with the Kaihautū, Ngā Manu Atarau provides strategic leadership for partnerships with tangata whenua and contributes to the ongoing life and day-to-day culture of the museum.

At the heart of its work is the concept of mana taonga, a philosophy and practice which seeks to meaningfully involve communities in the care and exhibition of their valuable heritage items, and shares the authority for the care and exhibition of taonga with their source communities.

Deputy Chief Executive Enabling Services
– Lisa Tipping

Lisa leads the team responsible for:

• people, safety, and culture

• property, facilities, and security

• information technology

• finance strategy

• finance operations and procurement.

Lisa’s experience is mainly in the commercial end of the public sector in executive management, consulting, and governance roles.

Her most recent role prior to Te Papa was as an independent consultant, leading significant projects including finance function improvement, cross-government procurement, strategy execution, and the development of shared services models. Lisa has also held executive roles at Housing New Zealand and Standards New Zealand, chaired the Audit and Risk committee at Te Wananga o Aotearoa, and held senior consulting roles at EY and Arthur Andersen.

Deputy Chief Executive Collections Knowledge and Communities
– Phil Edgar

Phil leads the Collections and Research Directorate which includes the Art, Mātauranga Māori, New Zealand Histories and Pacific Cultures and Natural History curatorial groups alongside teams responsible for the care of collections and collection access. Currently Acting Director Collections and Research, Phil has been the Head of Natural History at Te Papa since late 2019 and was previously the Head of Collection Access. Phil is the chair of Species Aotearoa, a collaborative consortium representing taxonomic collections throughout New Zealand and a former board member and chair of the National Digital Forum.

Deputy Chief Executive Audience and Experience
– Puawai Cairns

Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi

Puawai leads the Audience and Insight Directorate which develops and applies audience-centric strategy, standards, and solutions to the design and delivery of exceptional experiences for our visitors. Functions such as audience analysis and insight, programme management, evaluation, marketing, brand, content, experience design, learning, and public programmes are brought together to help our people create and operate visitor-facing activities that maximise the value, reach, and impact of our offering.

As well as the role of Te Papa’s Head of Mātauranga Māori which she has held most recently, Puawai has broad experience in the museum sector, including in concept development, exhibition development, curation, and working with communities. Her strength in supporting bicultural and Māori practices is highly valued at a time when Te Papa is reaffirming its commitment to mana taonga.