NASFUND PNG’s longest serving CEO Ian Tarutia has announced his retirement in March 2023. For almost 35 years, Tarutia has served the fund and its predecessor, the National Provident Fund.
Fiji-born Lisa Tai has been selected as partner at Deloitte New Zealand – which makes Tai the second Pasifika female to take such a senior role at Deloitte, one of the four biggest accounting firms in the world.
ANZ has hired experienced banker Jason Murray as Country Head for the Cook Islands. Murray will be responsible for the bank’s retail and commercial banking business and is expected to relocate to the Cook Islands in September.
Samoan student Chester Leoso has been accepted into the highly competitive NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars programme. Only 147 students were selected, with Leoso the only one admitted from Hawaiʻi.
Pauline-Jean Luyten is the first woman of Tongan and Pasifika descent to be appointed to the New Zealand Rugby Board as an emerging director. “Pasifika players have made significant contributions to rugby at community and professional levels of the game, so being at the decision-making table was important – to provide that lens,” says Luyten.
In the Cook Islands, Myra Patai has been re-appointed as Chief Executive Officer for the territory’s Office of the Public Service Commissioner (OPSC) for a second 3-year term.
Vanuatu’s Simil Johnson will continue in his position as Chairman of the nation’s Public Service Commission. He has already occupied this office for two consecutive years and his tenure will end in June 2023.
Samoa Bureau of Statistics has a new Chief Statistician, Leota Ali’ielua Salani. The position has been vacant for the last nine months following the death of Ali’imuamua MalaefonoTauā-Faasalaina last November. One of the key functions for Salani is the implementation of the National ID card.
Nine National and Supreme Court Acting Judges of Papua New Guinea have been officially sworn in to serve for a period of twelve months. The judges include six females and three males who were reappointed to their current respective residents. They are: Nerrie Pinau Eliakim, Camillus Sambua, Tracy Ganaii, Laura Wawun-Kuvi, Irene Ann Mugugia, Gerhard Linge, Michael Thoke, Gertrude Tamade and Emma Wurr.
Swastika Prasad is the new Company Secretary of Fiji Foods Limited (FFL) and its subsidiaries. Prasad replaces Sandeep Kumar. She has over 13 years of corporate experience in financial management and taxation matters.
Auapaau Logoitino Filipo has been chosen by the Samoan Cabinet as the country’s new Police Commissioner.
Petaia Tevita has been approved by the Cabinet to lead the Samoa Tourism Authority. Tevita has 17 years of valuable experience as senior officer and Assistant CEO with the Tourism Authority.
Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has selected Justin Ilakini as its new managing director. Ilakini served with NFA for eight years before taking up advisory roles at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in the Solomons.
The Solomon Islands Government has re-appointed Dr Franco Rodie as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development; and Stephen Maesiola as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development.
Andre De Bakhapouve is the new group chief risk officer at Credit Corporation (PNG). With more than 20 years of experience, Andre is a risk management professional who previously worked as the chief risk officer at Wells Fargo Bank (Hong Kong).
Fiji’s Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH) Limited Board has announced Juan Castellanos de Armas as its new Interim Chief Executive Officer replacing Ivan Fong whose tenure ended last month. The ATH Board has also selected a new company secretary, Ashnil Prasad.
Cynthia Rasch, Chief Executive Officer of Port Denarau Marina Limited (Fiji), received the Women in Maritime first ever Excellence Award for her significant contributions to the Blue Lanes initiative and the maritime industry as a whole.
Fiji Roads Authority has hired Joseva Sautu as its General Manager Delivery for the Western Division. Sautu has 18 years of experience in the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure assets.
Carey Osborne has been named as the new cluster general manager of Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa and DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Fiji, Sonaisali Island. Osborne will lead the team in all aspects of hotel operations, from marketing and hotel administration to guest services and satisfaction.
The Autonomous Bougainville Government has appointed Amanda Masono as Minister for Lands, Physical Planning, Environment and Conservation, bringing the total number of female members in the Autonomous Bougainville Executive Council to three.
Fiji rugby star Lote Tuqiri has been selected by labour hire company Agri Labour Australia as its new Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme cultural ambassador. “There are a lot of positives coming to work over here as part of the PALM scheme and I’m happy to be helping that and fostering that,” he said.
Women’s Fund Fiji has appointed Menka Goundan as its first Executive Director replacing Michelle Reddy who acted in the position. Goundan has worked at the Fund since early 2019 as Senior Program Manager.
Noeline Mateariki is Cook Islands Tourism’s newly appointed Director of Sales and Marketing (Global).
Westpac Fiji has announced three local appointments to its senior leadership team. They are: Ann Patricia Naisara as Head of Human Resources; Fareena Chanel as Head of Retail Service and Dinesh Kumar as Head of Retail Sales.
CNMI’s Senate has confirmed the re-appointment of Dr Tiffany Lynn Willis and Theodore R. Parker to serve another four-year term on the CNMI Health Care Professions Licensing Board. Willis is a family practice physician with over 20 years of experience in healthcare whilst Parker has over 24 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Harold Arthur Browne has been selected for a second, three-year term as the Secretary to Cabinet of the Cook Islands.
The new Trade Commissioner of Vanuatu to Thailand is Kristof Schöffling. With over 20 years in import-export experience, Schöffling is currently CEO of Move Digital, an enterprise in the industry of decentralised ledger technology.
Guam’s Board of Education voted unanimously to name Guam businessman and former senator Francis Santos as the Guam Department of Education’s acting superintendent, replacing Jon Fernandez. Santos is a former three-term senator in the Guam Legislature, and a former commissioner of the Consolidated Commission on Utilities.
David Orrukem, former Airai Elementary Principal and former legislature Speaker, is Palau’s new Ambassador to Taiwan.
Warren Evans is the new Special Senior Advisor on Climate Change at the Asian Development Bank’s Office of the President. Evans has more than 40 years of sustainable development and climate change experience with various multilateral development banks.
Ngaire Fuata received the New Zealand Ministry for Pacific Peoples Special Recognition award for Outstanding Achievement. The proud Rotuman is the second solo female artist to reach first place on the NZ Music charts.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has re-appointed Papua New Guinea legend Ryan Pini as a member of its athletes’ committee. Pini is best known for winning gold in the 100m butterfly final at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Samoan weightlifter Don Opeloge won the country’s first gold medal in the men’s under-96 kilogram category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Don’s clearance at 210kg matched the best lift of any Commonwealth lifter at that weight.
Australian broadcaster Sulieni Layt has been installed as Chief Attendant for King Tupou VI of Tonga. Layt is just the third non-Indigenous person to be given a role within the palace.
In Memory
Micronesia’s vice president Yosiwo Palikkun George has died aged 81. The FSM Government in a statement said George “exemplified, in his personal and professional life, the FSM’s foreign policy of being a friend to all and an enemy to none, and extending to all peoples and nations peace, friendship, cooperation, and love in our common humanity”. George began his career as an engineer at the Pohnpei Transportation Authority. He served as vice president of the FSM from the year 2015.
Fiji tourism industry icon Hafizud Dean Khan was laid to rest at the age of 72. Khan was the Founder and Chairman of the Hexagon Group of Companies and spent almost 25 years helping to shape the tourism industry in Fiji.
CNMI’s first trial court judge Herbert D. Soll passed away peacefully aged 85 at his home in Hawaii. Soll was the chief public defender of the Trust Territory government before he was appointed as the first Commonwealth trial court judge in February 1979.
