Rachel Taulelei has been honoured for her work as the CEO of Māori-owned food and beverage producer, Kono. She's in charge of 450 employees and her organisation farms more than 1000ha of land and sea and exports to over 25 countries.
The Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga and Ngāti Rārua descendant says Māori values lie at the heart of the organisation.
“Kaitiakitanga, pono, whanaungatanga, rangatiratanga,” says Taulelei.
“We have whakapapa wānanga that connects people. We have ahikā which is about people getting to know their turangawaewae so we make a concerted effort amongst the community of our owners to bring them back into the fold.”
Over the weekend she received an award at the Kea World Class New Zealand Awards, an event which recognises world-leading Kiwis whose inspiring achievements are defining New Zealand's image internationally.
“To get this recognition was really fantastic and of course really humbling because there are so many doing such brilliant work around the world.”
Last year she was named as the Māori Woman Business Leader of the year. She also represents Māori as one of 13 members on the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council.
"It’s really interesting mahi. It’s really big and challenging kaupapa that were tackling together,” she says.
“All of the things initially make you feel a little uncomfortable but that’s probably the reason that you should do them. So if you’re comfortable in whatever you are doing you're probably not pushing hard enough.”
Taulelei believes Māori businesses are unique.
“We don't move as individuals, we move as a collective and we think about things with a degree of responsibility in mind, being that we're here for a moment in time and we have a responsibility to protect and enhance our taonga for future generations.”
She wants other Māori business owners to embrace their heritage.
“In years past our forebears might go into certain environments and have to leave their 'Māori' at the door. There are some environments where it’s hard to be your true self that we live in but you hope that generationally that gets easier and easier," she says.
"So I’d encourage them to be themselves all of the time with purpose and unapologetically but also think maybe about how they can use their superpowers for good, because I’m a pretty firm believer that just being is not enough, that if you have the ability to affect and influence the lives of others then you have a responsibility to do so. It’s not enough just to be, you have to bring others with you.”