Bella Takiari-Brame

Bella Takiari-Brame is passionate about her culture, community and creating solutions that make a difference for the vulnerable.

With a strong background in accountancy, Bella has gravitated towards full-time governance roles in recent years on iwi and corporate organisations which have enabled her to use her voice to empower her communities.

This is something she started at the age of 18, after taking on her first role as the Treasurer of the Māori Land Corporation.

“I’ve always loved the governance space but knew that it was vital to explore the theories of academia, get the operational experience and embed my feet in the real world before taking it on in a professional capacity,” says Bella.

The former PioPio College student says she was empowered by her secondary school teachers and kuia to embrace both Te Ao Māori and the academic world, so taking the next step into higher education was a no-brainer.

“The experiences and peers that I met during my time at Waikato are forever connected. The University has a special place in my heart and always will. It offered lots of opportunity for Māori when I first started studying here, and still does,” says Bella.

After graduating with a Master of Management Studies in Accounting, Bella started her career as an auditor and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in Auckland, before moving to London to take up the role of Financial Controller role for petroleum giant, Shell.

There are many skills that Bella took from her studies that have held her in good stead throughout her career so far including discipline, the importance of professionalism and effective communication skills. All of which she channelled into one of her more recent roles as the interim CEO of the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board. Taking on this role just a month before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, meant Bella led the iwi through the challenging year of 2020.

“My journey so far has been one of experience and development, where I am continually learning a lot about myself,” says Bella.