The second Speaker and Networking event of 2023 took place on Wednesday, May 10th, at KPMG Wellington, featuring Mayor Tory Whanau.
Tory is Wellington City Council’s first wāhine Māori mayor. Originally from Pātea in South Taranaki, Tory is of Pakakohe and Ngā Ruahine descent. Tory moved to Wellington as an adult for study, graduated from Victoria University of Wellington, and began working in the financial sector.
Throughout her career, Tory has worked as a film censor, held marketing roles with multinational insurance companies, and spent six years as the Chief of Staff for the Green Party. Last year, Tory was elected as Mayor of Wellington with a large majority of votes which “proved to [her] that it’s time for the next generation of leaders.”
Among many things, as a Mayor, Tory has helped reinvent expectations on what mayors look like and is working to make Wellington a thriving, safe, inclusive, accessible and climate-friendly city.
The fireside chat was moderated by Multiethnic Young Leaders Member, Marie Ysabel Landingin. Marie is a Filipina born in Manila, raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, and currently based in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. She has been a member of MYLN since 2021, sits on the MYLN Membership Committee, and serves as the project lead for the Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database (RLOD).
During the fireside chat, Tory spoke with passion about the importance of being honest and genuine, surrounding yourself with people who support and want you to succeed, having your heart in the right place, and ensuring that everything you do contributes to the betterment of people and the planet. For a recording of the fireside chat, please visit our Videos or Resources page.
The 2023 Speaker and Networking series is brought to you by Multiethnic Young Leaders NZ and made possible through the generous support of KPMG New Zealand. The series aims to inspire, educate and empower the next generation of ethnically diverse leaders in Aotearoa, normalise and increase the visibility of leaders from underrepresented communities in positions of influence, further the discourse on diversity, equity & inclusion in leadership and the workplace, and foster a more socially-cohesive Aotearoa.
