Dr Riri Ellis

Riri Ellis (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Tahu) is the Associate Dean Māori in Te Raupapa - the Waikato Management School division at the University of Waikato.  

Riri was extensively involved Māori enterprise, through her association as a director or trustee on various Māori entities.  She is currently the Chairperson of Matakana Berry Limited Partnership, Matakana Land Trust, Hungahungatoroa 1B2B2 Trust and she is a director on the Miro Collective, Tauranga Moana Miro Ltd, Purpose Capital and she sits on the MPI Māori advisory board.  She was he previous Deputy Chairperson of the Ngai Tukairangi Trust, a large Māori owned horticulture operation located in Tauranga.  She was the Mataatua representative of the Federation of Māori Authorities, and a director on Tuhono Whenua Horticulture Ltd, the BOP Connections Leadership Group and Toi Kai Rawa, the BOP Māori Economic Development Advisory Committee.

She was also the part-time Director of Māori Business Programmes at the Wellington School of Business and Government, where her main responsibility was to provide strategic oversight of Māori business opportunities for the school whilst engaging with strategic partners in Māori business quarters.  She was the CEO of Ngai Tukairangi Trust for three years, the General Manager for Tukairangi Investments Ltd for over eight years, and the Treaty Settlements Manager for Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi for eight years as well. 

When she studied towards her PhD, she gained a Health Research Council PhD Grant, an HRC research grant, a Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga PhD Scholarship amongst other grants as well.  Riri is particularly interested in finding ways to improve Maori prosperity economically, socially, culturally and commercially.  She is passionate about our future young Maori leaders and their future, and wants nothing more than to ensure they gain as much support, guidance, learning and experience as they can muster in their formative years to guide us all in the future.