Mr Mata Nooroa, Chairperson of the Te Aponga Uira O Tumu Te Varovaro (TAU) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Lesley Katoa to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective from the 01 February 2021.

TAU is a statutory Corporation of the Cook Islands Government. TAU is a government-owned utility responsible for the generation, distribution and retailing of electricity on Rarotonga. The operations of TAU are governed by the TAU Act 1991 and amendments, the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) Act 1998 and amendments which establishes the utility as a commercially-operated Government Business Enterprise (GBE) to provide electricity reliably and economically to the Rarotonga community. TAU’s vision and aspiration is to be the leading energy service provider in the region.

Mr Nooroa shared on behalf of the TAU Board that they are “pleased to appoint and welcome Mrs Katoa to the CEO position, following a thorough and robust recruitment process, which attracted a large pool of quality applicants. “Lesley has been the General Manager for Asiaciti Trust Group – Cook Islands and Nevis Operations for over 12 years as well as governance experience with TAU and To Tatou Vai Limited (TTV). Lesley has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland, is a Chartered Accountant with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and current President of the Cook Islands Red Cross Society. Lesley has experience across the public and private sector

Mr Nooroa also wished to acknowledge the excellent leadership and service of the out-going CEO, Mr Tereapii (Apii) Timoti, who has largely been the CEO of TAU since 2002. Mr Nooroa acknowledged Mr Timoti’s service and work of strategic operations in alignment with the renewable energy direction and the ongoing transformation of Rarotonga’s electricity system over the last eighteen years to the agency it is today. Mr Nooroa remarked that “Mr Timoti has had a truly remarkable career and provided outstanding service to the people of the Cook Islands.

(Source: Cook Islands Investment Corporation/22-01-21)