Traci Houpapa – New Zealand Company Director

Traci Houpapa has won many awards over the years for her work as a company director. Currently, she specializes in strategic and economic development, in both the private and public sectors in New Zealand. She is recognized as an industry leader and is well-known for her focus and inclusive leadership when it comes to building the wealth of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Houpapa believes that a strategy and policy is needed to improve the wellbeing and wealth of the families, communities and countries around the world. Right now, she holds many Ministerial appointments and directorships in Maori Development and in the Primary Sector.

In 2012, she was named one of the most influential women in New Zealand agribusiness. Then in 2013, she made it onto the Listener's top ten influencers list and was a finalist in the Fairfax Media Westpac Women of Influence Awards. Houpapa took home the WOI Board and Management award in 2014. Westpac then put her on the NZ Women Power Brokers’ List in 2015.

Recently, she was awarded the Massey University distinguished Alumni Service Award for her services to Maori and agribusiness. In 2016, Houpapa was named by BBC as one of the 100 most influential women in the world.

The feminine name Traci is a version of Tracy, which is a unisex name taken from an English surname. The name was originally from a Norman French place that means “domain belonging to Thracius”. Thracius is a Roman name that means “of Thracia,” which is a region in southeast Europe.