Our people
Meet the members of the Dame Mira Szászy Centre and read about their research interests.
Manutaki – Centre Co-Director
Professor Dr Maree Roche
Professor Dr Maree Roche, Ngāti Raukawa, began as the centre’s Manutaki in June 2023.
Dr Roche has an extensive career in research in areas such as leadership, employee wellbeing and engagement, and is particularly focused on indigenous, specifically Māori leadership and employee wellbeing, where she draws on a Māori/kaupapa perspective.
Through her research, Dr Roche continues to inform international and national audiences of the value of properly understanding and resourcing the leaders and employees in today’s complex and changing business environments. She has also been awarded: Fellowship - Positive Organisational Behaviour Institute (USA) Fellowship - New Zealand Psychological Society and is a chartered member of Human Resource Management Institute of New Zealand Institute (Chartered). In her role as Manutaki, she will carry on the work Dr Wolfgramm in leadership development and combine this with the need to nurture and sustain the Māori workforce.
Manutaki – Centre Co-Director
Professor Jason Paul Mika PhD
Jason is Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu. He was born in Whakatāne and raised in Rotorua. Jason is a Professor of Māori Management in the School of Management and International Business and Associate Dean Māori for He Manga Tauhokohoko, the University of Auckland Business School. His research, teaching and practice centres on Māori and Indigenous business philosophy, policy and practice in multiple sectors, sites, and scales. Jason is pleased to join Professor Maree Roche as a Manutaki (Director) of the Dame Mira Szászy Research Centre. In this role, Jason wants to honour the legacies of the centre’s namesake Dame Mira Szászy and our late colleague Dr Mānuka Hēnare by finding ways to make the economy of mana real for all through research, policy, practice, and teaching as a collaborative intellectual pursuit. Jason is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management board, a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga scholar, and is involved in funded research on Māori and Indigenous entrepreneurship, management, trade and commerce. Jason’s priority is succession – inspiring, training, and encouraging the next generation of Māori and Indigenous business academics to take up the exciting challenge of theoretically explaining and empowering Māori and Indigenous enterprise and economy.
Research Fellow
Dr Daysha Tonumaipe'a
Dr Daysha Tonumaipe’a (Te Arawa, Tainui, Taranaki, Ngāti Hine; Cook Islands Māori/Aitutaki – Amuri) is a researcher and strategist working at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems, health equity, and organisational change.
In December 2025, Daysha joined Dame Mira Szászy Centre at the University of Auckland Business School as a postdoctoral research fellow working on Tauhokohoko, a 5-year Endeavour-funded research programme on Indigenous trade alongside Dame Mira centre co-director Professor Jason Mika, and doctoral students Suz Hepi and Xiaoliang Niu.
Daysha completed her PhD at AUT in 2025 on how social enterprises are shaping healthy food environments for Māori and Pacific communities in Tāmaki Makaurau with supervisors Professor Ella Henry and Dr Radilaite Cammock.
Daysha was a key author of the Pacific Research Guidelines at AUT, contributing to the development of culturally grounded, ethical, and relational approaches for Pacific research across the university. Her work spans gynaecological cancer care pathways, children's immunisation, domestic violence, food sovereignty, and organisational cultural capability.
She also served on the WIPCE (World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education) Academic Board, 2025. Daysha is also on the Editorial Board for The Sage Encyclopedia of Indigenous Business and Management. Daysha brings expertise in Indigenous-led evaluation, policy design, cultural capability, and organisational accountability through Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Moana frameworks.
Te Kaihanga Rangahau - Research Associates
Dr Jamie Newth
Dr Jamie Newth, Ngāpuhi is a post doctoral research fellow at the University of Auckland and CEO of Soul Capital. His interests are in social enterprise, impact investing, sustainable business, social innovation, and social entrepreneurship.
Ngā Ahorangi – Our Professors
Professor Dr Carla Houkamau
Professor Dr Carla Houkamau, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu and Pākehā, from the Department of Management and International Business, was Manutaki for the centre from 2018 - 2021.
Dr Houkamau brought to the centre her focus on intergroup relations, chiefly how group memberships influence attitudes and behaviour. Her publications typically examine how ethnicity helps reproduce socio-economic inequalities but can be leveraged to address them.
Dr Houkamau is also known for the development of the Multidimensional Model of Māori Identity and Cultural Engagement (MMM-ICE) and this research has been recognised nationally and internationally for advancing ethnic identity research using psychometric measures and large samples.
She is currently leading a nationwide longitudinal quantitative study on Māori financial attitudes, Te Rangahau o Te Tuakiri Māori me Ngā Waiaro ā-Pūtea | The Māori Identity and Financial Attitudes Study (MIFAS).
Dr Houkamau completed her term as Manutaki to take up the Deputy Dean’s role for the University of Auckland Business School in 2021.
Read more about Professor Dr Carla Houkamau and her research
Associate Professor Dr Rachel Maunganui Wolfgramm
Associate Professor Dr Rachel Maunganui Wolfgramm, Te Aupōuri, Ngai Takoto, Whakatōhea, Tongan and Irish, was the Manutaki for the Centre from 2021–2023.
As Manutaki, Rachel initiated and led the Matakerepō programme for Māori and Pacific postgraduates, MBA, and doctoral students, initiated and led the Te Waka Taua Kahui Rangatira PhD and postgraduate cohort, served on the Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards steering group and co-chaired the University of Auckland Ngā Ara Whetū Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society, a flagship cross-faculty research centre to respond to the pressing environmental and humanitarian challenges of our time. Rachel also worked with talented colleagues, local and international, on multiple leadership projects, publishing practice-based and scholarly literature. Read more about Associate Professor Dr Rachel Wolfgramm and her research
In March 2023, Dr Wolfgramm reduced her workload at Waipapa Taumata Rau to undertake a commission from the Waitangi Tribunal, Ministry of Justice. Rachel was invited to lead an Historical Overview Report on the impacts of Crown legislation, policy and practices on the Rangatiratanga, status and roles of Wāhine Māori c.1840 to 1950. This was part of a research programme undertaken for the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry, WAI 2700. The Historical Overview report is now available on the Waitangi Tribunal Website.
Title: Mana Wāhine Māori i Ngā Wā o Mua, The impacts of Crown legislation, policy and practices on the rangatiratanga, status and roles of wāhine Māori c.1840-1950
Author: Associate Professor Rachel Maunganui Wolfgramm (Lead Author)
Ngā Kairangahau Matua – Our Senior Researchers
Dr Nimbus Staniland
Dr Nimbus Staniland, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe, is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Auckland Business School with over 10 years’ experience in tertiary education. Her research is focused on the question of how Māori and other Indigenous research methodologies can be effectively applied to the workplace experience and the organisation of work, what practices and processes enable or inhibit meaningful experiences of employment and careers, and how might we use theoretical frameworks that are particular to this country to develop new theories and approaches to practice in business.
Dr Amber Nicholson
Dr Amber Nicholson is an uri o Ngāruahine and a māmā of two. She has been affiliated with the centre since 2009 in both professional and academic capacities. Amber has been involved in various research projects in the areas of Treaty of Waitangi claims, Māori health disparities, Māori governance, Māori history, child poverty, and Economies of Mana. She completed her PhD in 2021, exploring ways to enhance Māori wellbeing through recognising and honouring the ancestral landscapes in which business operates. Amber has research interests in Māori concepts of wellbeing, economies of mana and kaitiakitanga.
Ngā Tohunga PhD – Our PhD scholars
Robina Bedwell
Robina is a PhD candidate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Auckland Business School. Her research explores how supplier diversity initiatives can support Māori entrepreneurial development and improve socio-economic outcomes for Māori communities.
Her work is grounded in kaupapa Māori values and focuses on relational procurement, intergenerational wellbeing, and mana-enhancing approaches to economic inclusion. Robina holds a Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership (with Distinction) from the University of Canterbury and is committed to Indigenous-led approaches that elevate Māori voices in business and research.
She has a background in adult education and natural health science, with over two decades of experience in roles across both the education and wellness sectors.
Suzanne Hepi
Suzanne Hepi (Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāpuhi, Te Kapotai, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāi Tukairangi, Ngāti Rahiri) was born in the Rangitīkei and raised in Waiouru growing up in the hospitality business owned and operated by her parents. She and her partner, Liam Reedy, run their own consultancy business while raising their five children. Suzanne is currently pursuing a PhD in Management and International Business at the University of Auckland Business School with supervisors Professor Jason Paul Mika, Dr Kiri Dell and Professor Anna Strutt of Waikato Management School. She also holds a Master of Business Studies from Massey University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Commerce from Lincoln University. Suzanne is a two-time recipient of the Te Hononga-ā-Kiwa scholarship, which supports Māori business engagement, capability, and awareness on the international stage. Through this opportunity, she travelled to Vietnam and Taiwan to explore global trade and Indigenous business connections. Suzanne serves as a hapū delegate for Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whitikaupeka, where she plays an active role in governance and the development of environmental initiatives.
Abigail McClutchie
Abigail McClutchie is of Te Rarawa and Ngāti Porou descent and lives in the CBD in Tāmaki Makaurau. She is one of the Kaiārahi in the Lead Team of Student and Scholarly Services at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
Abigail is also studying a PhD at the University of Auckland Business School, enquiring into ‘mahi rangatira’ and 'utu' in the entrepreneurial context, past and present. Her work and studies progress and empower tauira me kaimahi Māori to embed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in all we do, and to realise tino rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination, independence, sovereignty, mana motuhake).
Xiaoliang Niu
Xiaoliang is of Han Chinese ethnicity, born and raised in Yangxin County, China. After completing high school, Xiaoliang moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2010.
Xiaoliang is a doctoral candidate of the University of Auckland Business School within the Department of Management and International Business, working with supervisors Professor Jason Paul Mika, Dr Amber Nicholso, and Associate Professor Paresha Sinha of Waikato Management School. Xiaoliang’s doctoral research explores how different world views, including cultural values and knowledge systems, particularly Chinese and te ao Māori, influence perspectives on environmental sustainability in business.
Beyond his doctoral research, Xiaoliang has been involved in research projects focused on Indigenous business management, entrepreneurship, trade, cross-cultural management, and sustainability management. Recent publications include an award winning ANZAM case study on The Southern Initiative published in JMO and a book chapter on whānau enterprise and Māori economies of wellbeing.
Ngāroimata Reid
Ngāroimata Reid is from Te Rarawa, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitane - Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Maui. She was awarded the Dame Mira Szászy Māori Business Leaders Alumni Award for Excellence in Māori Business and Leadership; is a Leadership New Zealand Fellow and holds an international membership with the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID).
Ngāroimata is a former member of the Academic Advisory Council, International Indigenous Women’s Forum (IIWF/FIMI) representing the Te Atatū Branch Māori Women’s Welfare League at Indigenous Women’s Global Leadership School, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and at Columbia University in New York City.
Ngāroimata’s PhD research is focused on the Leadership Resilience, Identity and Efficacy of Wāhine Māori.
Manuhiri Huatahi
Manuhiri Huatahi is a Kaiārahi for Student and Scholarly Services at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. She is also a PhD scholar in Management and International Business at the University of Auckland Business School and is an active member of the Ngā Taniwha Māori Alumni Network and Te Rōpū Whakahau.
Manuhiri’s PhD research focuses on The Evolution of Libraries in Meeting the Needs of Māori.
Ngā Kaitohutohu Matua - Our Senior Advisers
Dr Robert Pouwhare
Hone Thorpe
Hone Arohaina Te Topa Thorpe, Te Āti Awa was appointed as the Auckland Business School Kaiārahi on 1 August 2022. He works closely with the Executive Team and Business School to support the Te Taumata Teitei aspirations at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland.