Vanessa Clark

Vanessa Clark is of Waikato descent, part of the Tainui waka confederation of indigenous Māori peoples from Aotearoa New Zealand. She hails from Te Pūaha o Waikato (commonly referred to as Port Waikato), situated an hour south of Auckland. Her affiliations to hapū (sub-tribes) along this lower stretch of the Waikato River include Ngāti Tiipa, Ngāti Tahinga and Ngāti Āmaru.

Established in 2012, Vanessa Clark Consulting leverages Vanessa's 20+ years of global experience predominantly in the science, information and technology sector.

Vanessa, as Principal, has a rich and diverse background having worked in Local Government in New Zealand early in her career, launched a start-up in Hong Kong and London, England and 10+ years in the Corporate IT sector at a large US multinational based in Sydney, Australia and San Jose, USA.

Combining her passions for technology, education and Māori economic development, Vanessa is able to offer unique insights, experiences and learnings which together, bring an exciting dimension to assisting clientele. Some notable highlights since returning to Aotearoa include:

• Catalysing the Māori start-up community; initially through SODA Inc. a founder-led incubator, followed by Tū Ake delivered in collaboration with Tū Maia and Waikato-Tainui. She has been involved in Ahikōmako, the Centre of  Māori Innovation and Entrepreneurship launched by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in 2019. She is a supporter of early stage pakihi Māori.

• Opening of Te Kōpuku High in 2015, a STEM school catering to students of Māori descent with a mission to support students to realise their (inherited) greatness.

• A founding member of Te Mana Raraunga, the Māori Data Sovereignty Network. Vanessa was a part of Te Pokapu, the working group collective working with and alongside Māori communities and groups to build awareness and capability in relation to Māori data and Māori data sovereignty.

• Leading Kanapu, a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga initiative to ignite flaxroots Māori talent and leadership in rangahau, research, science, innovation and technology.
   

• Supporting Te Kāhui Raraunga and their advocacy efforts to enhance the wellbeing of whānau Māori, hapū and iwi to access, collect and use Māori data.
   

Across these aspects, working alongside her own people has been and continues to be one of the most rewarding experiences of Vanessa's career to date.

Vanessa's governance experience includes Ka Hao Māori ICT Fund Development Fund Expert Advisory Group (2015), Te Māngai Pāho (2015 - 2021), and the Kāhui Māori, Science for Technological Innovation (2016-2024). Vanessa also serves on Te Whakakitenga o Waikato (tribal authority) representing Te Te Kumi Paa and was elected to the tribal executive, Te Arataura for 2021-2023. She is currently the Chair of the Whenua Committee for 2024-2026. 

Clientele of Vanessa Clark Consulting include marae, hapū, iwi, start-ups, small to medium businesses, Māori organisations and public sector agencies.