Governance & Board Leadership
Mary Los'e brings governance and board leadership experience built across more than one sector of New Zealand life.
Her governance work spans economic development, housing, health and community organisations, complementing a senior executive career with the responsibilities of board contribution and strategic oversight. As a governance professional, she participates in director and leadership bodies where her cross-sector perspective adds depth to organisational stewardship.
Her approach to governance reflects an understanding that boards exist to provide direction, accountability and long-term oversight, balancing organisational sustainability with responsibility to the communities an organisation serves. Alongside her active memberships, Mary has continued her professional development through recognised governance institutions, reinforcing a commitment to sound practice.
Governance Philosophy
Mary Los'e's approach to governance is practical and grounded in the responsibilities a board actually holds. Four principles describe how she contributes.
Stewardship
Mary approaches governance as a form of stewardship, with a focus on the long-term sustainability of the organisations she serves. Good governance means leaving an organisation in a stronger and more durable position, and protecting its ability to deliver on its purpose over time rather than only in the present.
Accountability
Clear and accountable decision-making is central to Mary's governance practice. Boards are responsible for ensuring that decisions are made through sound processes, that responsibilities are clearly understood, and that the organisation can account for the choices it makes. This discipline underpins the trust that effective governance depends on.
Strategic Oversight
Mary contributes to governance through strategic oversight, balancing growth with responsibility. This means supporting an organisation's ambitions while ensuring that risk, capability and obligations are properly weighed. Oversight of this kind keeps strategy realistic and keeps growth sustainable.
Community Impact
Mary considers the long-term outcomes of governance decisions for the communities an organisation serves. Her experience across community-facing sectors informs a governance perspective that keeps community impact in view, recognising that the decisions a board makes ultimately affect people beyond the boardroom.
Current Governance & Professional Memberships
Mary Los'e is actively involved in a number of governance and professional bodies. Her current roles and memberships include:
- Global Women NZ — Rōpū Lead – Pasifika
- Institute of Directors NZ — Member
- Australian Institute of Company Directors — Member
- Global Women — Member
- Tāmaki Makaurau Business Network Governance Group — Current governance participant
These current memberships reflect ongoing, active participation in governance and director networks across New Zealand and Australia.
Current Governance & Professional Memberships
Mary Los'e is actively involved in a number of governance and professional bodies. Her current roles and memberships include:
- Global Women NZ — Rōpū Lead – Pasifika
- Institute of Directors NZ — Member
- Australian Institute of Company Directors — Member
- Global Women — Member
- Tāmaki Makaurau Business Network Governance Group — Current governance participant
These current memberships reflect ongoing, active participation in governance and director networks across New Zealand and Australia.
Previous Governance Contributions
Mary's governance experience also includes earlier board and trustee service, reflecting the depth of her involvement over time. Her previous governance service includes:
- Breast Cancer Foundation NZ — Former Board Member
- Te Manawanui Housing Trust — Former Trustee
This previous service spans health and housing, adding to the breadth of sectors in which Mary has held governance responsibility.
Leadership Networks & Professional Development
Mary Los'e maintains her governance expertise through active membership of professional bodies and ongoing professional development. Her involvement in leadership networks and governance institutions strengthens both her practice and her connection to the wider governance community.
Membership of recognised director institutions reflects a commitment to current governance standards, continued learning and executive development, and to participation in the leadership forums where governance practice is shaped and shared.
Governance Across Sectors
A defining feature of Mary Los'e's governance experience is its breadth. Her leadership and governance participation extend across several sectors, giving her oversight experience in markedly different organisational contexts.
Economic Development
Mary combines executive leadership with governance participation, bringing an understanding of how strategy, partnerships and community outcomes connect in practice within the Pacific business ecosystem and beyond.
Housing
Her governance and leadership experience connects to community and housing systems, including trustee service. This reflects an understanding of the governance responsibilities involved in organisations that serve communities directly.
Health
Mary's experience relates to health access and service delivery, an area where governance must balance the needs of the system with equitable outcomes for the communities it serves.
Business Networks
Through business network governance, Mary contributes to collaboration and ecosystem development, supporting the structures that connect enterprises and strengthen the wider business community.
Governance in Practice
Mary Los'e's governance contribution is best understood through the practical responsibilities a board holds. Across her roles, several elements of governance recur.
Stakeholder engagement is central.
Effective governance depends on understanding and balancing the interests of the many groups an organisation answers to, from the communities it serves to its funders, partners and staff. Mary's cross-sector experience has given her practical familiarity with bringing these perspectives together.
Organisational oversight is the core function of any board.
This includes monitoring performance, ensuring sound processes, and holding management accountable for delivery against strategy. It is the discipline through which a board protects an organisation's purpose and sustainability.
Cross-sector collaboration features strongly.
Having operated across economic development, housing, health and business networks, she is able to connect insight from one sector to the challenges of another, an increasingly valuable capability as organisations work across traditional boundaries.
Underpinning all of this are the core governance responsibilities of direction, accountability and risk oversight. Mary's approach keeps these responsibilities practical and grounded, focused on the real work boards do rather than on governance in the abstract.
Current Focus & Professional Enquiries
Mary continues to contribute to governance, leadership, economic development, and public-sector conversations across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mary Los'e welcomes enquiries relating to leadership, governance, speaking and professional engagements. Please use the enquiry form to get in touch. Enquiries are reviewed and responded to directly.
Get in touchFrequently Asked Questions
Mary Los'e has worked across media and communications, housing and the public sector, banking, health systems and economic development. Organisations connected to her career include NiuFM, Shortland Street, Housing New Zealand, Kāinga Ora, BNZ, Whakarongorau Aotearoa and the Pacific Business Trust. This breadth gives her cross-sector executive experience.
Mary has held senior and executive roles across several sectors, including serving as Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Business Trust from 2023. Her leadership experience spans media and communications, housing and public service, banking, and health systems, progressing into governance and public leadership.
Mary participates in governance and director networks including Global Women NZ, the Institute of Directors NZ, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and the Tāmaki Makaurau Business Network Governance Group. She has previously served as a Board Member of the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ and as a Trustee of Te Manawanui Housing Trust.
Mary served as Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Business Trust, appointed in January 2023 and commencing in February 2023. In this role her focus was on Pacific entrepreneurship, business ecosystem development and strategic partnerships, supporting Pacific businesses and the wider ecosystem that enables Pacific economic participation.
Mary's public engagement includes the Women in Leadership Summit in 2026, the Women Leading Business Lunch in 2025, Auckland Pacific Economic Insights events in 2025 and 2024, and an appearance on the Front Page Podcast. These reflect her contribution to leadership, governance and economic development conversations.