Helping organisations start strong, work better and deliver together.
Hūnuku brings practical consulting, facilitation and coaching to organisations of every size. We help people connect, align, build high-performing teams and turn ambition into action — from the first kick-off to lasting improvement.
Practical experience that helps people work better together.
Hūnuku combines organisational performance expertise with natural facilitation, team development and hands-on delivery. Our founder brings more than 25 years of experience across business, transformation, operations, governance and sport.
Strong performance starts with people understanding why they are together, what they want to achieve and how they will work. We help teams, boards and programmes establish those foundations early — before months of drift, misunderstandings or competing expectations get in the way.
From team kick-offs and values-based activity days to operating-model design and transformation, we combine engaging experiences with practical outcomes. When work needs a reset, we use evidence, feedback and experimentation to help people make progress that lasts.
Experience from both sides
Chris has worked inside complex corporate environments and across community organisations as a participant, coach, official, administrator, governor and leader. That breadth helps Hūnuku connect strategy with the people who experience the outcome.
Chris leads the work, with Hūnuku able to bring in additional people or specialist contractors where the challenge calls for them.
Start strong. Work smarter. Deliver together.
From small businesses to large enterprises, boards, trusts and sporting teams, Hūnuku helps people connect, align and perform. Engage us for team kick-offs, facilitated planning, tailored team experiences, operating-model improvement or complex transformation.
Choose the support that moves your people forward.
Start with a focused session, a tailored team day or a longer consulting partnership. Each engagement is designed around your people, purpose and outcomes.
Start Strong — Team & Group EffectivenessForm, launch, align or reset your team, board or programme.
New team and programme kick-offs, onboarding and team charters; board, trust and committee formation; leadership off-sites; annual and quarterly planning; retrospectives and team resets. We help people build trust, clarify roles and decision rights, agree priorities and establish effective ways of working from day one.
What you take away: Shared purpose, practical commitments, clear ownership, agreed meeting and feedback rhythms, and a plan for what happens next.
Better Together — Team ExperiencesMemorable activities that connect people and strengthen performance.
Tailored lawn bowls, dragon boating, indoor games and outdoor challenges that bring organisational values to life. Bowls offers an inclusive, relaxed space for connection and friendly competition; dragon boating makes shared rhythm and everyone paddling in the same direction tangible. We design experiences for workplaces, boards, community groups and sporting teams at every level.
What you take away: An engaging experience with purposeful reflection that connects the activity back to teamwork, mission, values and everyday culture.
Operating Models & PerformanceMake the way you work support the outcomes you want.
Review and design operating models, team structures, accountability, decision-making, priorities, performance measures and delivery rhythms. Support leaders as new ways of working are introduced and embedded.
What you take away: Clearer responsibilities, more effective decisions and practical ways of working that sustain performance.
Facilitation & Strategic AlignmentBetter conversations, clearer decisions and committed action.
Independent facilitation for strategy days, stakeholder engagement, off-sites, planning workshops and cross-functional challenges. We design and guide inclusive sessions that turn different perspectives into shared understanding.
What you take away: Documented decisions, agreed priorities, ownership and next steps.
Transformation & Problem SolvingTurn complexity into practical progress.
Focused diagnostics, improvement sprints, change and programme support, digital and AI conversations, prototyping and testing. We connect strategy with frontline experience and use feedback to improve what matters.
What you take away: An evidence-based view of the challenge, practical options and a prioritised path forward.
Leadership & Capability DevelopmentBuild the habits behind high performance.
Leader and team coaching, onboarding, performance conversations, retrospectives and support to establish continuous improvement as part of everyday work.
What you take away: Stronger leadership, more confident teams and sustainable performance habits.
Your people. Your purpose. Your day.
Tell us your budget, group size and what you hope to achieve. We can help design and coordinate a tailored day — including larger groups that are hard to accommodate — with activities, facilitation, venues and catering as appropriate.
Lawn bowls
An inclusive, calm and social level playing field with just enough friendly competition to bring everyone together.
Dragon boating
Experience trust, shared rhythm, communication and the power of everyone paddling in the same direction.
Indoor & outdoor challenges
Accessible games and purposeful activities that connect your values and mission to how people collaborate.
Our sporting experience includes team connection activities with groups from the Auckland Blues, NZ Warriors Juniors, Team New Zealand and Auckland Cricket. Activities and venues are tailored to group needs, accessibility, safety and availability.
From a focused workshop to ongoing partnership.
Choose a half-day or full-day session, a multi-day off-site, a 2–6 week performance sprint or embedded consulting and coaching. We'll shape the scope around your needs.
Focused session
Kick-off, planning day, facilitated workshop or team experience.
Performance sprint
Diagnose, align, design and mobilise improvement over a defined period.
Embedded partner
Practical leadership, coaching and support through complex change.
Helping your people and community thrive and prosper.
We help boards, clubs and community organisations turn good intent into clear priorities, stronger participation and achievable action.
Practical support for clubs, boards and community groups.
We help organisations strengthen governance, participation, community connection and the outcomes they can deliver for members, communities and funders.
Club health checkWhere are you strong, and where are the gaps?
A conversation and a short written summary of your strengths, gaps and next steps.
Plan on a page workshopCan you agree where you are heading, and what to do first?
A half-day with your board or committee, ending with a clear direction and 90-day actions.
Board and committee mentoringHow can your governance work better for your members?
Practical mentoring for chairs, presidents and committee members on roles, meeting rhythm, decisions and volunteer engagement.
Community building and engagementIs your club visible, relevant and connected to the community around it?
Chris listens to how you currently attract, engage and retain people, then compares that with current practice and what successful clubs and community organisations are doing today. Together we look at membership experience, community relationships, communications, events, partnerships and profile.
The aim is to identify where awareness or participation is being lost and where practical changes can help your organisation become more visible, more connected and increasingly recognised as a heart of its community.
Chris has tested a range of practical approaches to participation and engagement and has supported the recovery of several clubs and trusts.
You get: a clear picture of where you are today, practical opportunities to lift participation and awareness, and a prioritised plan for strengthening your role in the community.
Funding, impact and community outcomesCan you show the difference your funding is meant to make?
Connect funding opportunities with the outcomes your community needs and the benefits funders want to see delivered. We look at who benefits, what success should look like, how the activity creates lasting value, and how to demonstrate participation, reach, connection and ongoing community benefit.
The goal is stronger alignment for everyone involved: communities see tangible benefit, organisations make better use of funding, and funders can see how their investment contributes to meaningful outcomes.
You get: a clearer community-outcomes story, practical measures of success, stronger alignment between your plans and potential funding, and a better foundation for funding applications, stakeholder conversations and reporting.
Funding-ready packageHow do you make the case for support?
Shape your need, outcomes and evidence into a clear proposition for funders or councils. Move from simply asking for funding to demonstrating the community outcome worth investing in.
Any of these can include a prioritisation session, a light risk and resilience check, or a conversation about digital tools and AI for your club.
Finding the right people can be part of the work.
We connect clubs and community organisations with useful people, funders, products and expertise, help align community outcomes with the benefits funders want to support, and bring experience in international cultural and sports exchange where that can create value.
More than 25 years across business and community.
Hūnuku brings practical experience from critical operations, transformation, coaching, governance, volunteers, events and community leadership.
Business
- Air New Zealand, 2004 to 2026: Chris led 24/7 support of critical airline systems across a network of up to 50 airports, with technical teams of up to 20 and budgets up to $6 million.
- Chris led customer self-service transformation across more than 20 airports. A full rebuild of the kiosk application contributed to a 17% increase in completed kiosk transactions (previous role).
- Chris replaced 234 kiosks across 12 New Zealand locations, including the RFP and contract negotiation.
- Chris led the digital response to airport closures and restarts during Covid, including the Trans-Tasman travel bubble.
- As Business Performance Coach and Enterprise Agile Coach from 2022 to 2026, Chris coached leaders and teams across Cargo, Finance, People, Safety, Risk, Internal Audit, Resilience, Engineering and Maintenance, and Digital Platforms to plan, prioritise and sustain new practices. The Risk and Internal Audit coaching received an industry award for innovation.
- Chris led a cross-functional dangerous-goods programme to completion ahead of schedule.
- Earlier: Systems Engineer and Database Administrator, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, 1997 to 2004.
- AI and practical digital tools: Chris has worked with AI tools such as ChatGPT, coached teams to use AI to speed up processes, and built websites and small applications for use. He has strong networks in the AI space and helps inform customer needs for problem-solving solutions, particularly for sports clubs and community organisations.
Community governance and sport
Chris has worked across the full sporting system: as a participant, coach, official, instructor, administrator and governor, with experience spanning youth through to senior masters sport.
- Auckland Dragon Boat Association: inaugural board member, Chair from 2009 to 2018, and Life Member. As Chair, Chris led 20 committee members and 100+ volunteers, with about $150,000 turnover and events of up to 1,600 competitors and 10,000 spectators.
- Board Member, New Zealand Dragon Boat Association: 2010 to 2015 and 2020 to 2022.
- Board Member, New Zealand Canoe Federation: 2017 to 2020.
- New Zealand American Football Association: Board Member from 2002 to 2005, and Manager of the Ironblacks 2004 campaign.
- Club creation: co-founder of City Dragons Dragon Boat Club and Polar Bears Dragon Boat Club.
- President, Oratia Bowling Club, 2021 to present: member participation, community events and a growing community cafe.
- Trustee, Oratia District Primary School Board, 2007 to 2010: community governance experience with executive responsibility for building, property, health and safety matters.
- Coach, St Mary's College dragon boat teams: since 2009.
- Paddler and masters coach: paddler, coach and current Head Coach of the Auckland Retro Rockets Masters Dragon Boat Team for the Pan Pacific Masters Games.
- Regional dragon boat steersperson instructor: 2023 to 2026.
- International cultural and sports exchange: experience building international sporting relationships and contributing to cultural and sister-city exchange, including Auckland–Guangzhou engagement.
- International Dragon Boat Federation Certified Race Official: officiating experience includes Chief Official for the Auckland Dragon Boat Championships, the New Zealand Dragon Boat National Championships and the 2017 World Masters Games.
Tell us what you are trying to achieve.
If something is stuck, complex or simply needs fresh eyes, start with the outcome you want. Every enquiry is read and replied to personally.