Tā Mark Solomon spent 18-years at the helm of Ngāi Tahu. He was elected to the role in 1998 just as the iwi was about to sign its $170 million historic Treaty of Waitangi settlement.
Today Ngai Tahu's asset base stands at $1.2 billion with investments in property, fisheries, tourism farming and much more.
Over $320 million has been distributed to support tribal programmes. As well as guiding Ngai Tahu, Mark Solomon was instrumental in setting up the influential Iwi Chairs Forum.
He is a former chair of the Canterbury District Health Board, a former board member of Te Papa, and current director of a number of companies, and in 2013 was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori and business.
Listen to the interview with Nine to Noon’s Kathryn Ryan on RNZ here.
