Shay Wright

Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leader, social entrepreneur and co-founder of Te Whare Hukahuka.

Like his ancestors before him, Shay is a teacher and a guide.  He helps mould enterprises and systems to cultivate a more beautiful world.  His work brings together education, strategy, spirituality and reindigenisation, and has been deeply influenced by community and academic leaders, indigenous teachers and spiritual sages. 

Shay has led impact-driven enterprises like The Icehouse’s Māori Development unit, Te Whare Hukahuka, OurOra, and Elemental Food.  He has worked to bring change at all levels of the system, from Government and corporate strategies to the grassroots.  He is passionate about empowering community enterprise leaders to cultivate clarity, self-determination, and economic resilience by building confidence, shifting mindsets, and crafting compelling visions and strategies.

This work has been recognised by a range of awards, as well as by Forbes Asia, the Obama Foundation, and the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.

Shay’s exploration of ancestral knowledge and insights has led him to see that reindigenising our systems and ourselves is a deeply important way to transform the way in which we relate to life and how we solve problems.  He is applying this approach in a range of projects, including how we grow enterprises, what we consume, how we think, and how we connect with the energies within ourselves and the world around us.  As part of building intergenerational legacy and impact, Shay also helps steward the new generation of leaders to navigate and thrive in today's complex landscape, and to develop foresight, just as our ancestors did. 

Speaking Themes: Speaks on business, education, indigenous leadership, iwi enterprise, and the Māori economy.
Offering: Keynote Speaker, Panelist, MC, Facilitator