Rachel Taulelei new Chair of Sky Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, June 25^th, 2021

Image: Sky Stadium & austadiums.com

Rachel Taulelei has been appointed Chair of Sky Stadium in New Zealand. An announcement in this regard was made by the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust on Thursday. She will assume the role of Chair from July 1^st, 2021.

‘Sky Stadium’ stated that Taulelei has been a Trustee of Sky Stadium for seven years, having been appointed in 2014.

The 34,500-capacity Sky Stadium is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium’s bowl site size is 48,000 m². The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situated close to major transport facilities one kilometer North of the Central Business District (CBD).

Taulelei is the head honcho of Kono, a vertically integrated, family-owned Māori food and beverage producer and exporter of award-winning wine, cider, craft beer, seafood, fruit, and natural fruit bars.

‘Sky Stadium’ further stated that Taulelei also presently chairs New Zealand’s APEC Business Advisory Council, and her career includes being a former US Trade Commissioner, founder of sustainable seafood company Yellow Brick Road Limited and was a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council. Her governance experience includes The Warehouse Group, Moana NZ, New Zealand Wine Growers, Aquaculture New Zealand, NZ Hops, the Young Enterprise Trust, and Sir Peter Blake Trust.

She has many a plumes to her beret – Taulelei has received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to Food and Hospitality. She is also a KEA World Class New Zealander and in 2018 was named Māori Woman Business Leader at the prestigious University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards.

Outgoing Chair John Shewan, who has held the role for the past nine years, said the stadium was delighted Rachel was stepping into his shoes – “Rachel is a passionate advocate for Wellington and for the key role the stadium plays as the region’s major community sports and entertainment facility.”

Taulelei is armed with a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Victoria and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a graduate of the Stanford University Executive Program.

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