Matt Crockett appointed as new Kāinga Ora Chief Executive

Mr Crockett has considerable experience in large organisations driving performance improvement and has held senior executive and Chief Executive Officer roles in the telecommunications and building products industries.

Board Chair Simon Moutter confirmed Mr Crockett is joining the organisation for 12 months to assist the Board in responding to the Government’s expectations to deliver a financial performance plan in November and set the organisation up to deliver against it.

“Matt will work with the Board and executive team to ensure Kāinga Ora is operating as effectively and efficiently as it can, and to align the organisation’s delivery of housing, tenancy services and financial performance to the Government’s expectations,’’ Mr Moutter said.

“With a background in leading large companies through transformational change, Matt is the ideal choice to lead Kāinga Ora for the next year of significant change and set the new course, before appointing a permanent Chief Executive.’’

Mr Crockett starts with Kāinga Ora on 2 September.

Mr Moutter confirmed the outgoing Chief Executive Andrew McKenzie will remain with the organisation until 31 October and will advise the Board on the development of the financial performance plan and assist with the handover to Matt.

“The Board and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew McKenzie for the significant contribution he has made as Chief Executive of Kāinga Ora, and its predecessor Housing New Zealand,’’ Mr Moutter said.

Matt Crockett bio

Matt is an experienced business leader in New Zealand and internationally, with a particular focus on leading and supporting large strategic transformations. He has been a divisional Chief Executive through times of major change at both Telecom New Zealand, where he led the Wholesale and International division, and Fletcher Building, where he led the Building Products division.

He has also been the Chief Transformation Officer at Spark NZ, Optus Telecommunications, and Vodafone NZ, and more recently has been supporting multiple pan-company transformations internationally with a focus on senior executive coaching and capability building.

Matt has deep experience in the application of digital and wider technologies to support business improvement, and a strong track record of building the organizational engagement, culture and capabilities needed to execute and sustain improved company performance.

Originally graduating and working as a Mining Engineer, Matt subsequently completed a Master of Philosophy in Management at Oxford University, where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He has a strong interest in Te Ao Māori and has completed the Te Ara Reo Māori certificate at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.