Te Wānanga o Aotearoa appoints Nepia Winiata as chief executive

New Te Wananga o Aotearoa chief executive Nepia Winiata (Ngati Raukawa). Photo / Supplied

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has appointed acting chief executive of almost a year, Nepia Winiata (Ngāti Raukawa), as chief executive.

Wānanga chairwoman Vanessa Eparaima said she was grateful to be able to appoint someone with Winiata's experience, knowledge and understanding of the organisation into the role.

Before becoming acting chief executive, Winiata was deputy chief executive for five years and has held several senior leadership roles across Te Wānanga o Aotearoa for more than 12 years.

Eparaima said that while Te Mana Whakahaere were impressed by the high calibre of the candidates who applied to lead the organisation, Nepia's experience, his considered and decisive leadership through the many challenges and disruptions due to Covid-19, and his deep understanding and passion for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and its purpose, ensured that he was the successful candidate.

"Nepia has shown outstanding leadership ... ensuring business continuity for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

"His strong commitment to our kaupapa (purpose) means ongoing stability for our organisation and consistency for our kaimahi (staff). Nepia remains focused on the quality of our offerings and all that we do, while also bringing fresh ideas and vision to seek out new opportunities."

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is among New Zealand's largest tertiary education providers with more than 20,000 full-time tauira (students) and more than 1500 kaimahi across 80 sites throughout the country.

Winiata brings more than 30 years of experience across the education, corporate, finance and processing sectors to his role.

"I'm very humbled and grateful to be appointed, and I'm excited to take this opportunity and continue to further advance the aspirations of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa," said Winiata.

"Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has made education accessible to all New Zealanders for many years and I'm focused on ensuring we continue to deliver on our promise of quality programmes and quality educational outcomes for our tauira."

Eparaima said Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, which provides education from certificate to master's level and delivers more than 60 per cent of all te reo Māori education in the tertiary sector, was excited by the skills and experience Winiata brings to the role.

"Te Wānanga o Aotearoa plays a key role in lifting Māori participation and qualifications in te reo Māori and we're enhancing all our programmes and educational delivery. We're focused on quality teaching, digital learning and are excited about new possibilities in the vocational education space.

"We have a major role to play in increasing vocational training opportunities to learners, and especially to Māori. Nepia is committed to ensuring we achieve our potential in this arena, and we look forward to continuing our momentum with this kaupapa under his leadership."