What We Do
Venture Taranaki is Taranaki’s regional development agency. We deliver regional development and promotion services, from sector and enterprise support to attracting visitors, talent and investment.
A Council Controlled Organisation, owned by New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), Venture Taranaki is incorporated as a charitable trust, and operates a leveraged funding model with NPDC funding at its core. Venture Taranaki also partners with South Taranaki District Council and Stratford District Council to deliver regional development services around the Maunga.
Venture Taranaki Impact Strategy
Venture Taranaki’s Impact Strategy is the Trust’s guiding strategic document, setting the long, short and medium-term outcomes the Taranaki community wishes Venture Taranaki to work towards. It articulates the intervention logic between these outcomes and the activities Venture Taranaki delivers. The Strategy is a living document that will be refined and revisited over time.
At the centre of the Impact Strategy is the core long-term outcome of a Taranaki economy that supports the wellbeing of the region’s people and environment. This vision will be achieved through growing resilient communities, enterprises, and economies.
The Impact Strategy is supported by a comprehensive measurement framework that allows Venture Taranaki to track progress and performance over time. This forms the basis of Venture Taranaki’s accountability to its owner and the broader Taranaki community.
Board of Trustees
Jamie Tuuta
Board ChairTaranaki Maunga chair and holds numerous governance roles.
Kevin Murphy
Deputy ChairFormer CEO of TSB with many community and governance roles.
Dr Joanna Breare
Board MemberFormer CEO of Todd Energy, Chair of the Taranaki 2050 Leadership Group
Gillian Cagney
Board MemberChief Executive of Worley New Zealand and Vice President, E&C Services.
David Downs
Board MemberAuthor, presenter and passionate innovation advocate.
Hinerangi Raumati-Tu'ua
Board MemberChair of Parininihi ki Waitotara and has held many senior management roles.
Hemi Sundgren
Board MemberTe Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa Trust CEO and transition and development lead.
Chief Executive
Justine Gilliland
Chief ExecutiveJustine is the Chief Executive of Venture Taranaki, and a Director of Manaaki Whenua/Landcare Research, AGMARDT, and Economic Development NZ. Prior to joining Venture Taranaki, Justine was the Deputy Director-General Sector Partnerships and Programmes at the Ministry for Primary Industries, where she led investment programmes, Māori partnerships, regional development, and the establishment of Te Uru Rākau and the one billion trees programme. Justine has held numerous other public sector leadership roles across strategy, communications, policy, operations, and innovation investment functions and ran the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the building failures in the Canterbury earthquakes. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, a member of Global Women, and has been admitted as barrister and solicitor of the High Court. Justine grew up in Taranaki, attending Sacred Heart Girls’ College before completing arts and law degrees in Otago. She relocated back to Taranaki in 2018.