Waikato-Tainui executive Glenda Taituha-Toka, originally from Piopio is a finalist in the Young Executive of the Year category of the Deloitte Top 200 Awards.
Glenda Taituha-Toka
The winners will be announced on December 5.
The Rahui-Pōkeka (Huntly) based Taituha, also a PhD candidate and mother to Arnika (19) Hikoi (7) and Niwha (4) has been recognised for her work as general manager of Heritage and Identity at the Waikato-Tainui post governance settlement entity (PGSE) a position with responsibility for “tribal narratives, tribal archives and the taonga and carving collections of the Kīngitanga”.
She’s known for practical support of whānau – such as her work towards a 2022 partnership with Southern Cross enabling 14000 kaumātua to get access to health insurance.
“We want to protect our valuable kaumātua and help them to stay with their tamariki and mokopuna for longer,” she said.
“Our kaumātua guide us, and without them we would be lost, so we have huge aspirations to care for and protect them by increasing access to preventative healthcare.”
Taituha-Toka said when growing up “the aunties” were her biggest inspiration– such as when they ran the show at Ōparure and Napinapi Pā, Piopio and Te Kotahitanga, Ōtorohanga.
“Those aunties could run rings around most business leaders.”
She says an upbringing as a pā child at Ōparure provided her with plenty of examples of how to “get in there and do things together… just get stuff done.
“These days, I don’t get home as much as I’d like, but I keep in touch with cousins and am able to contribute to things like funding applications.”
She’s no fan of being interviewed about herself: “I’ll avoid that if I possibly can,” but agreed to chat with The News’ sister paper the King Country News, because she had had “so many messages of support” from whānau back home.
“It’s always difficult to be pulled out of your team – it’s never one individual [doing the work].”
Taituha-Toka hesitates to describe herself as a “leader” instead saying her life’s motto is to find a kaupapa, a purpose to support and then “be the first follower.”
She’s always enjoyed working for Māori organisations – and worked for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in the past before coming to Waikato-Tainui.
She wanted to reach out to young people who like her, are also drawn to the same pathway: iwi governance in post-settlement times, and put the word out there that she was there to offer her support.
Taituha-Toka is the daughter of weaver Dr Gloria Taituha, who for 25 years has been a kaiako at Te Wananga o Aotearoa and is a kaiarahi, a leader, of its (weaving) programme at Apakura campus, Te Awamutu.
She is the youngest daughter of Perry Taituha, and she’s found much inspiration in his four-decade stretch on the committee of Ōparure Pā: “he taught me how to work hard.”
Her grandfather, Kīngitanga orator Pumi Taituha, was one of the speakers of the late Māori queen, Te Atairangikaahu.
Glenda Taituha-Toka
