Surprise departure of Ngati Whatua Whai Rawa CEO Rob Hutchison

Rob Hutchison, who grew Ngati Whatua Whai Rawa's asset base from $356 million in 2012 to close to $1 billion today, is stepping down. Photo / Greg Bowker

The head of a one of Auckland's biggest property businesses with assets worth around $1 billion steps down today.

In a move not signalled till now, Rob Hutchison, the chief executive of Auckland's Ngati Whatua Whai Rawa for the last five years, is leaving.

A statement from the Auckland iwi said Hutchison's last day would be today.

Whai Rawa is now seeking a new chief executive.

Michael Stiassny, Whai Rawa chairman, said Hutchison had been instrumental in growing the iwi's asset base from $356 million in 2012 to close to $1 billion today.

"Rob has been an outstanding CEO, successfully balancing the board requirements to grow and protect the iwi's assets while also funding social programmes for the members of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei," Stiassny said.

"From the position of financial strength, we have established a strategy to support aggressive growth in some areas while, at the same time, protecting key land holdings and advancing new housing developments for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei members.

"Rob has also firmly established Whai Rawa's reputation as a significant property player in the city, building strong relationships with Auckland Council, Government departments, KiwiRail, NZTA and Housing NZ," said Stiassny.

"As a board we are committed to providing long-term sustainable benefits for the hapū for generations to come. To help us further that goal, I am very pleased Rob has decided to join us on the Board and look forward to his contributions as a governor."

Hutchison said he had thoroughly enjoyed his time at Whai Rawa and it had been a privilege to develop and implement strategies to safeguard the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei's assets.

In December, Whai Rawa released its annual report for the June 30 year revealing a 22 per cent rise in the value of its investment portfolio to $888.6 million.

It made $49.3m annual revenue, well up on last year's $27.9m, largely due to this year's $18.2m sales revenue when not a cent was recorded as sales revenue last year.

Property rental revenue, mainly from leasehold Auckland land, also rose from last year's $21.7m to $25.8m this year. Net profit before tax and investment property revaluation was $13.1m, up $10.5m on 2015, accounts showed.

Since 2013, Whai Rawa said it had made $15.8m cash distributions to the trust and associate Ngati Whatua Whai Maia; increased total assets by 64 per cent from $554m; increased equity by 97 per cent to $622m; and contributed more than $20m to housing initiatives.