Trustees

Jonathan Mason joined the Dilworth Trust Board in 2019. He serves on the Board of Zespri, is a trustee of WWF-NZ and the University of Auckland Endowment Fund, a Member of the University Council for the University of Auckland and is Chair of the NZUS Council. He has recently held Board positions on major New Zealand companies Vector, Westpac New Zealand, and Air New Zealand. He was previously Chief Financial Officer for Fonterra and, prior to that, Carter Holt Harvey. Jonathan is also an adjunct Professor of Management at the University of Auckland and helps to recruit New Zealand students to attend Yale University in the United States.

Jonathan’s interests include watching cricket and US football,  tramping, birdwatching, and reading about NZ and US history.  

Leo Foliaki was formerly a senior partner at PwC and joined the Dilworth Trust Board in 2022. His governance experience includes Board membership of New Zealand Opera, The Cause Collective Trust, Auckland University of Technology Council, and TupuToa Trust. He has also been an independent member of the audit committees for Oranga Tamariki and Counties Manukau DHB. Mentoring and developing young people is important to Leo. He is the co-Chair of TupuToa Trust, which aims to grow Māori and Pasifika people’s representation in corporate leadership. Since its foundation, it has successfully placed almost 1,000 Māori and Pasifika interns into organisations in NZ.

John Morris ONZM was appointed to the Dilworth Trust Board in 2023 and brings significant experience in secondary school education and governance. He is a former Headmaster of Takapuna Grammar School (1990-93), Auckland Grammar School (1993-2012), and more recently, Executive Principal of Crimson Global Academy (2019-23), a global online high school. John has sat on a number of educational boards including as an Independent Director of Academic Colleges Group, Tertiary Education Commission, Education NZ, and the NZ Partnership Schools’ Board, and has chaired the Education Council of Aotearoa NZ Transition Board. In the sporting arena John was Chairman of NZ Football and a member of the FIFA Technical Committee. John and his wife Jan have three adult children, two of whom are lawyers and one who is in the executive search profession. Jan was a teacher but now works in the law practice of one of their children.

Aaron is a Dilworth Old Boy (1989-1996), is married with two children currently at primary school and joined the Dilworth Trust Board in mid-2025.

A qualified lawyer in both New Zealand and Australia, Aaron moved into executive leadership in 2009 and is currently CEO of Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, one of New Zealand’s largest commercial law firms.  Prior to this, he led the NZX-listed Vital Healthcare Property Trust for nearly 6 years and was Chief Operating Officer of the ASX-listed Growthpoint Properties Australia for ~10 years.

Aaron is currently on the board of the New Zealand government’s financial standards board, XRB, and is a member of the Auckland Urban Design Panel, an independent advisory body that reviews significant projects across Auckland. Previous board roles include for Auckland Council’s urban regeneration organisation Eke Panuku Development, Auckland’s hospice and aged-care provider Mercy Healthcare, the Ponsonby Community Centre, and Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival.

Ngaire Ashmore is a distinguished educational leader with a career spanning three decades, marked by a deep commitment to student success and community engagement. She began her journey at Tamaki College before serving 20 years at Tangaroa College, 11 of which as Principal. At Tangaroa College, she significantly elevated student achievement, particularly in University Entrance rates, and crucially, fostered parental involvement. Her expertise was recognised with a secondment to the University of Auckland, where she contributed to programmes on culturally responsive leadership and community engagement.

As Principal of Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, Ngaire has continued to drive notable improvements in student achievement and curriculum design. She is a proponent of using inquiry to enhance teaching practices and has led key developments, including establishing a Health Science Academy in partnership with Counties Manukau District Health Board. Ngaire's extensive governance experience includes roles on the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand, Polyfest Trust, and Spirit of Adventure Trust, underscoring her broad impact on the educational landscape.

Matanuku Mahuika was appointed on 3 March 2026. He brings extensive legal and governance expertise to the kaupapa and adds further depth to Dilworth’s strong, diverse, and future-focused Board.

Mr Mahuika practises as a barrister at Bankside Chambers, where he provides legal and advisory services in corporate, commercial, and public law, as well as Treaty of Waitangi issues. His experience includes governing complex and high-value organisations in the commercial, iwi, public service, and not-for-profit sectors, and he has made significant contributions to the Anglican Church, where he is currently Chair of Te Kaunihera, the governing body of St John’s Theological College, and Chancellor of Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa, the Māori Anglican Church. 

He has also chaired numerous large organisations, including Eastland Group, Sealord Group, and Ngāti Porou Holdings.  He is currently Deputy Chair of Callaghan Innovation and a Board member of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise.