Wakatu leaders explain business success
How do you grow a business by nearly $300 million over four decades?
It was a question modestly addressed by the chief executive of Wakatu Incorporation, Kerensa Johnston, at a meeting hosted by the Nelson Tasman Chambers of Commerce and the Cawthron Institute this week.
Rachel Taulelei, CEO of the Maori entity’s food and beverage brand, Kono, also spoke at the Nelson Boathouse luncheon, designed to showcase influential Maori business women in the Nelson region.
Johnston and Taulelei can certainly claim to be that.
Nine months ago, Johnston took over at the helm of Wakatu Incorporation, one of the largest private landowners in the region, and one of the biggest employers across Nelson and Marlborough.
It has seen its asset base burgeon from $11m in 1977, to over $300m today.
Among its estate are vineyards, orchards, residential properties and marine farms, which belong to about 4000 shareholders, descended from original Maori landowners of the Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay regions.
Johnston said she would continue to foster the focus of the incorporation on the Manaaki aspect of its business; its people and culture, into which the entity invests almost $1m every year.
‘‘We’ve grown to an organisation ... representing about about 80,000 people, we’re bound together by that story of our values and history,’’ she told the meeting.
The entity’s core land assets stem from almost 2000 acres of land retained by Wakatu descendants as part of the Nelson Tenths’ Estate.
In March, the Supreme Court ruled that the Crown had failed in its duty to preserve 15,100 acres for Maori landowners under the Crown Grant 1845, and the Govern- ment must now honour the deal.
Wakatu Incorporation hadn’t yet had a formal response from the Crown to that decision, Johnston told the meeting.
‘‘It’s likely that we’ll end up in the High Court talking about where that property is, and how it’s going to be returned.’’
The focus of the incorporation had been on growth and building the capability of its people, she said.
‘‘When the families took back the management of the estate from the Crown in 1977, the land was in a shocking state.
‘‘All of our land across the region was subject to perpetual leases,’’ Johnston said.
‘‘We couldn’t access it, we couldn’t walk on the land and we certainly couldn’t develop wineries or vineyards.’’
Land now makes up 70 per cent of the organisation’s assets, and its food and beverage brand, Kono, 30 per cent.
Kono alone has a turnover of about $70m.
Taulelei said the culture of the business was one of kindness and excellence.
‘‘We want to show the best care that we can for our people and our place, for our environment.
‘‘Our land and water are indivisible, they have to be well for our people to be well.
‘‘We’ve thought about how we celebrate the legacy... and how we do that is through horticulture.
‘‘We grow apples and pears and kiwifuit and hops, we fish for crayfish and mussels, we create wine and cider and fruit bars,’’ Taulelei said.
Kono’s ‘‘lofty’’ goal was to be the best indigenous food and beverage company in the world.
The company was going through a ‘‘period of introspection’’ about how to grow while respecting its environmental values. ‘‘There’s a cost to being green...[but] we want to live up to the promise we make about having love for the land and respect for the sea.’’