Anake joined The Gift Trust board in mid 2016.
Anake is attracted to good people grappling with wicked problems. This is reflected in his varied career that includes serving as the Chief Executive Officer until 2011 of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, following a previous position as the Claims Manager, working through the iwi’s Treaty Settlement process. His earlier career included roles as a labour union delegate at the Makarewa freezing works, a founding director of the Makarewa Credit Union, and a nurseryman in Northern Southland.
Today, he undertakes mostly governance roles and currently chairs the Hillary Institute of International Leadership, Nutrient Rescue and the Ākina Foundation. Through his role at Ākina, which is focused on growing the New Zealand social enterprise sector – mission-driven businesses with environmental and/or social outcomes at their core and which earn the majority of their income from trading – he is heavily involved in this month’s Social Enterprise World Forum being held in Christchurch.
Along with his trustee role at The Gift Trust, Anake is on the boards of Meridian Energy and Te Pā o Rākaihautū, a special character school in Ōtautahi Christchurch. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Canterbury.
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“I’m really interested in governance as a vehicle for social change, and in contributing to increased resilience and self-determination at the community level,” he says. “I’m attracted to the role of support function for people who have bold ideas around meaningful change. And the Holy Grail I’m always attempting to identify is that combination of financial, human and other capitals in ventures that create collective good over the long run.”
Anake provides seed support, especially to early stage projects, by leveraging a combination of his time, talents and/or financial capital. His principal interests are in the areas of environmental regeneration, human rights and the arts.
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“I am attempting to contribute as I can to a world that is increasingly sustainable, equitable and joyous.”
Other interests include impact investing, and promoting philanthropy and the generosity economy.
Anake has an MBA, a Public Administration Masters from Harvard’s John F Kennedy School of Government, and is a New Zealand Harkness Fellow.
