Senior Executive Leadership

Interim Chief Executive Officer of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu since April 2024, Ben Bateman (Ngāi Tahu and Cook Island Māori) has previously served Te Rūnanga as its Chief Operating Officer since 2022.  Ben has a lead role in shaping organisational strategies, leading their implementation and driving operations that deliver outcomes for Ngāi Tahu whanau.

Ben had a diverse executive leadership career before coming to work for his iwi, both within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Chief of Staff, National Security Group) and the New Zealand Defence Force (Deputy Director, Intelligence and Operations Law). Ben was a Commissioned Officer in the New Zealand Army and retired in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Ben is also a Manawa Nui graduate of our Ngāi Tahu Group Associate Director programme, having held roles as an Associate Director of both Ngāi Tahu Property and Ngāi Tahu Seafood. He subsequently served as a Director of Ngāi Tahu Seafood, and then as the Chief Operating Officer of Oha Honey from 2020 to 2022.

The common theme of Ben’s career has been service leadership. He is deeply motivated to ensure the benefits of Settlement are enjoyed by Ngāi Tahu Whānui now and for future generations – Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei.

An experienced lawyer with Bachelors degrees in both Laws and Science from the University of Canterbury, Ben also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from Victoria University of Wellington. He is a seasoned professional director, currently serving as an Advisory Panel Member for the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, a Future Director on the Meridian Energy Board and a Board Member of the Ministry of Education, Risk and Assurance Board.

Darren Beatty (Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Te Roroa, Ngā Puhi) joined Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu in May 2017 as the Group Head Finance and Planning, before stepping into the role of Group Head Chief Financial Officer in 2020. In this role he is responsible for the financial and performance management of the Office of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, as well as leading Whai Rawa, the Monitoring & Evaluation team, Grants team, Whānau and Business Support team and Legal team.

Prior to joining Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Darren worked in financial leadership for 12 years. His most recent role was Head of Finance and Administration at Māori Television where he was a member of the Executive team. Darren’s career to date has focused on strategic financial management and reporting, monitoring investment manager performance, improving data culture and performance reporting, climate change reporting, digital transformation, transaction processing and systems improvement, audit and risk management, facilities management and administration. Darren is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) and has a law degree.

Darren is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori and is passionate about ensuring te reo Māori me ōna tikanga is part of the life of his whānau. He is committed to whānau development, to his hapū and his marae.

Ben Matheson was appointed to the role of Interim Group Head Regional Investment in April 2024. The Regional Investment Fund’s whakatauki is “Wahie mō te ahi ka, tekau mā waru – To support the home fires burning brighter”. A key part of this kaupapa is the responsive provision of capability and capacity support, tailored to meet the needs of the shareholder. This is a kaupapa which Ben is passionate about and feels privileged to be involved in.

Ben previously held the role of Lead Investment Manager for the Regional Investment Fund and was tasked with supporting the 18 Papatipu Rūnanga as they look to invest within their takiwā to realise their regional aspirations.

With a strong connection to the purpose of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Ben has displayed a great desire to engage with whānau, hapū and iwi responsively to meet their needs since he first came to work for Ngāi Tahu Property in 2017. In his role as Ngāi Tahu Property’s Finance Manager, Ben led the property data insights division, and was responsible for financial system change and portfolio risk reporting.

Prior to joining Te Rūnanga Group, Ben worked in various senior financial and accountancy roles overseas. In his last role abroad, Ben was a senior finance manager within the Nuveen Real Estate Group in London. At the time, Nuveen had over $1 trillion in assets under management and operated in 32 countries. Ben was responsible for Nuveen’s $1 billion UK Retail Warehouse fund.

Ben has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Otago and he is also a qualified financial advisor. Whilst overseas, Ben played semi-professional rugby and completed a Chartered Accountancy qualification in London.