He Whakaaro Nui, He Pānga Nui

Creating impact through innovation, curiosity and mātauranga Māori
For many people, success follows a well-defined pathway. For strategy, economic development and innovation advisor Kohe Ruwhiu (Ngāpuhi), founder of Papaki Advisory Limited, success has come from asking a different question: what if there’s another way?

Born and raised in Taranaki, she left home at 18 to study law, economics and finance in Wellington. Early internships with large professional services firms opened her eyes to the wide range of challenges that advisors can help solve.

“I realised I wasn’t interested in being an accountant or following a traditional legal pathway,” she says. “What excited me was innovation, commercialising new ideas, and finding different ways to solve complex problems.”

That curiosity has become a defining feature of her career. After university, she completed a year of full immersion te reo Māori before building experience across several major professional advisory firms. Along the way, she worked on projects spanning economic development, government reform, system design, infrastructure, Indigenous procurement and Māori development.
What drew her to this work was the opportunity to combine mātauranga Māori with disciplines such as economics, strategy and innovation.

“I’ve always enjoyed bringing different perspectives together,” she says. “You might have an engineer, a psychologist and an economist all looking at the same challenge. I like seeing connections where others might not.”

Her peers describe her as someone who can take ideas that appear unrelated and connect them into something entirely new. That ability to see opportunities within complexity continues to shape how she works today.

A lifelong love of learning also plays a major role.

“I naturally gravitate toward new challenges,” she says. “I enjoy unpicking systems, understanding how things work, and then thinking about how they could work better.”

That thinking led her to roles focused on economic development, innovation, strategy and systems change before joining Callaghan Innovation as the Māori Innovation Partnerships Lead. There, she explored opportunities to connect scientific research with the Māori economy and identify new pathways for growth and collaboration.

When Callaghan Innovation was later disestablished, she transitioned fully into her own consultancy, allowing her greater freedom to pursue projects aligned with her values and interests.

Today, her work is guided by a simple motivation: impact.

“Everything comes back to enhancing the prosperity of Māori,” she says. “Whether it’s business, innovation, economic development or systems change, the question is always how we create better outcomes while staying true to our values.”

Her consultancy, Papaki Advisory, reflects that philosophy.

The name draws inspiration from the ocean and her connection to Te Tai Tokerau where Kohe’s father taught her to dive. From the top of her maunga, Pūhangatohorā, you can look to the Hokianga and the western coast of Te Tai Tokerau – there are stories of people being able to see whales spouting in the distance. Papaki refers to the impact, or the clap, of a whale lobtailing and striking the water, creating ripples that extend far beyond the initial point of impact. For her, the lobtail symbolises a transfer of energy and intention, creating meaningful, lasting change through targeted support and collaboration.

“It’s about being a catalyst,” she says. “Helping people achieve their aspirations and creating sustainable impact alongside them.”

Looking ahead, she sees exciting opportunities in regenerative economic development, innovation and the blue economy.
But perhaps her greatest aspiration is for others.

“I genuinely believe people can achieve anything they want if they have the right opportunities, resources and support around them,” she says. “There are so many Māori with incredible ideas. I’d love to see more of those dreams brought to life.”

For members of He Toronga Pakihi ki Taranaki, her message is simple: there is no single pathway to success.

“Just because a pathway hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it’s not the right one,” she says. “If you know what matters to you, back yourself and create your own path.”