Karen Vercoe is the newly appointed Deputy Chief Executive, Māori Strategy and Performance at Te Tari Taiwhenua, previously the Chief Executive of the Te Arawa Lakes Trust. Karen has held various leadership roles in business and governance. She was formerly the chairperson of the Data Iwi Leaders Group and Te Pūmautanga o Te Arawa. She was a Director of Central North Island Iwi Holdings Ltd. She is a recognised Iwi leader nationally and within Te Arawa and was mandated to lead the COVID-19 response on behalf of Te Arawa Iwi and Hapū in 2020.

Ms. Vercoe is a former New Zealand double international sportswoman in rugby and touch. She was a member of the government-appointed Ministerial Advisory Group Upholding Treaty Settlements Panel for the Ministry for the Environment and an external advisor to the Office of the Privacy Commission. She was also the author of Sport NZ’s Māori Participation in Sport Review in 2017