Appointment Of Interim Directors For Hawke’s Bay REDA Limited

At a shareholders’ meeting on 6 June, REDA shareholders appointed three new directors to the interim Board of Hawke’s Bay REDA Limited, the region’s economic development agency. The directors are Andrew Gibbs, Meka Whaitiri, and John Loughin (bios below).

The interim directors will begin their roles on 15 June.

The appointments follow the departure of the current board, who resigned in response to the recent Matariki Governance Group (MGG) review decisions to merge REDA with the Regional Recovery Agency and the formation of a new regional coordination oƯice in 2026. The REDA Board decided to step aside to allow for a quicker transition to the new arrangement.

Outgoing Chair Alasdair MacLeod says: ‘’I want to pay tribute to my fellow directors Shayne Walker, Caren Rangi, and Erin Simpson, and our CEO Lucy Laitinen. We all signed up to REDA because we are passionate about achieving the region’s vision of every whānau and household being actively engaged in and benefiting from an inclusive economy.

In our brief time in operation, we have kept that vision at the forefront of our work and endeavoured to build understanding that eƯective economic development is about lifting overall wellbeing for the whole community.

EƯective regional economic development pushes for robust economic enablers such as aƯordable housing, high quality education, resilient infrastructure including transport, a diverse business environment, and an appropriately skilled and healthy workforce.

Taking this understanding and commitment into the next phase of REDA will be important for our success as a region.

I want to thank our many project partners, suppliers, and stakeholders for their input and support since our establishment.

On behalf of my Board and CEO, I would like to wish the interim board all the best for taking on this important role as the region works to ensure it is well positioned to respond collectively to the challenges and opportunities in front of it.’’

© Scoop Media