Plunket Board

Chairperson

Dame Fran Wilde was appointed as Chairperson of the Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust in November 2020.

As a previous Government Minister, Mayor of Wellington, and Chair of numerous international and national boards and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, Dame Fran brings decades of leadership and political and business experience to support and steer Whānau Āwhina Plunket over the coming years.  

In addition to being appointed a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order in 1996, she was made first a Companion, and in 2017, a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, recognising her services to the community and State in both Wellington and across Aotearoa. Dame Fran has also been named Wellingtonian of the Year in 1995, and in 2019 won Deliotte’s Top 200 Visionary Leader award.

Dame Fran is passionate about crafting a better future for Kiwis and ensuring every pēpi and tamariki has the opportunity to thrive in Aotearoa.

In her spare time, Dame Fran is an avid gardner with a large vegetable and flower garden and enjoys spending time with her husband Chris, their four children and nine mokopuna.

Ko Ngāti Whātua tōku iwi
Ko Tarati Blair-Hunt tōku ingoa
Nō Ōrākei ahau

Tarati was raised in the southern Kaipara area but has lived on the papakāinga in Ōrakei for 30 years. Tarati has worked in primary care and social services in the last decade, for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Auckland City Mission and Kāhui Tū Kaha. Her current position is Equity Partner – Quality, Safety and Risk, and she manages the Māori Health Provider team ko He Ara Whiria at Te Toka Tumai (formerly Auckland District Health Board). Tarati’s primary focus is to embed kaupapa Māori principles within clinical and social service settings. 

Tarati and her husband have five adult children who are all Plunket babies. Tarati believes that Whānau Āwhina Plunket should deliver culturally safe and equitable services to all of the community we serve.

Tracey joined Whānau Āwhina Plunket as a board member in November 2020. She has a wealth of business, communication/marketing and governance experience as well as strong involvement in the social and not-for profit sector.

She is the co-founder of The Good Registry, a social enterprise which helps people support causes they care about by replacing unwanted gifts with donations to their favourite charity. Tracey is also Chair of Education New Zealand and the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency, and sits on the Boards of WELLfed Charitable Trust, the Digital Media Trust and the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust.

Tracey is passionate about making a difference by ensuring all tamariki are at the centre of our social, political and economic lives and decision making.

Outside of her governance roles, Tracey enjoys spending time buried in a good book, spending time with her whānau and playing sports.

Alofi, Niue, Pago Pago, American Samoa

Anne’s mission in life is to empower diversity and grow people – with her aiga and through her work. Her career has spanned leadership roles in health, education, local government and not-for-profits.

Anne’s superpower is connecting the dots to create opportunities to serve our Māori and Pacific communities. As Chief Executive of TupuToa, since 2017, she has led the organisation’s vision to grow Māori and Pacific leaders for a greater Aotearoa, with exponential growth in the number of interns, partners and innovative programmes including regional and international opportunities.

In addition, she serves on the boards of the Pacific Corporation Foundation (Board Chair), Problem Gambling Foundation, National Deaf and Hard of Hearing Foundation and has previously served in leadership positions; PACIFICA Women’s National Board and YWCA National Board.

Anne has a Master of Professional Business Administration from Auckland University of Technology, and is an alumna of the Global Women Breakthrough Leaders Programme. Of Niuean, Samoan and European heritage, she has been married to Equator for more  than 30 years, and has seven adult children and 11 grandchildren.

Matthew joined Plunket's board in 2016 and is proud to support Plunket’s ambitious path for generational change to promote healthy tamariki, confident whānau and connected communities.

Matthew has extensive governance experience of large organisations delivering social housing, health, aged care and developing large-scale public private partnership projects.  He has a background in corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions and has previously held senior roles at leading international investment banks – UBS, Rothschild and Societe Generale.

Since returning to New Zealand, Matthew has had governance roles with the Tāmaki Regeneration Company, Treasury, Hobsonville Land Company (now HLC), Housing New Zealand Corporation and Haumaru Housing.  He brings a deep commitment to community development and improved delivery of care and services into vulnerable communities.

Matthew is confident that Plunket can deliver on its vision, and is excited to help Plunket provide every New Zealand child with the best possible start in life.

Marama joined Whānau Āwhina Plunket’s board in January 2022, bringing her passion for making a difference in achieving good health and social outcomes.

Since working as a kaiāwhina for Plunket in Porirua in 1988, she has gained more than 20 years’ experience working in the health sector for a range of government and non-government organisations, focusing on Māori health.

She is currently the Director of Māori Health at Kahui Tuitui Tangata – TAS, which sees her working to drive change through collaboration and big picture thinking.

Marama is a proud māmā of four and a serious tramper, a pastime which took her all the way to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in 2008. This is a wāhine who is definitely not afraid of climbing mountains!

Alex spent 12 years as a Partner at KPMG until 2016 before moving into governance roles. At KPMG he worked as an external auditor and also provided support in risk management and internal audit for a range of entities including not for profits, local and central government. He currently has a portfolio of governance roles in multiple entities - commercial, not for profit, privately and publicly owned and charitable.

Alex has been married for over twenty years and has two teenage children. He is very community focused and has always admired the work of Plunket after arriving in New Zealand in 1998. He believes in the importance of looking after all tamariki and giving them the best start in life.

Alex is the current Chair of Plunket’s Risk and Assurance Committee (RAAC).

Fiona (Tūhoe, Ngāti Ranginui) joined Whānau Āwhina Plunket’s board in early 2022, with more than a decade of experience in governance roles across a range of purpose-led organisations behind her.

Her involvement in academic research has seen her develop specialised skills in mātauranga Māori health and community development, Whai Rawa (Māori Economies), Te Taiao (Natural Environment), and Mauri Ora (Human Flourishing and Wellbeing).

She is the Chair of the largest regional kaupapa Māori Health, Social and Employment provider in Aotearoa, Chair of a kaupapa Māori Medical Centre and Deputy Chair of a Primary Health Organisation in addition to teaching indigenous-business at a Whare Wānanga, Fiona is passionate about helping Iwi- Māori led organisations to weave their ūara and matapono through their practice to enhance their day-to-day activities and give strength to their kaupapa.