Māori Television CEO Paora Maxwell says he is leaving the broadcasting agency for personal reasons.
Maxwell announced his resignation in a hui with staff members this morning.
In an interview with Te Kāea presenter Piripi Taylor, he said, "Circumstances in my life have changed, personally, family circumstances and that’s the major reason. There are a couple of things that are weighing heavily on my mind that I need to address and I guess the other reason is that I really do miss the Waiariki, I miss Rotorua, I miss whanau, friends. We’ve got our mokopuna there now, I miss them and it’s just a reprioritization after these years at Whakaata Māori."
Maxwell denies speculation that there has been tension between him and the Māori TV board.
"The speculation is speculation, that’s what’s happened, but the real reasons I’m leaving Whakaata Māori are personal ones. There’s no fallout with any board member.
I'm not saying that working with a board isn’t challenging. Every CEO would acknowledge that working with a board is sometimes challenging, but the other thing we all know as CEOs is that in the end, the buck stops with the board so there are lots of important decisions that the board makes that management may not even be in agreeance with, but nevertheless the buck stops with the board."
When asked if he supports the direction of the board's decision making, Maxwell said, "Yes, I do. I know that the decisions that they are making, they have the interests and the kaupapa of Whakaata Māori at their heart and it is management’s job to provide the best information so that the best decisions are made by the board."
Maxwell adds that his time at Māori Television has comprised many highlights, and he has no regrets with the decisions he's made in his tenure.
"I don’t have too many regrets. You know what I do is I reflect on our shared wins during my tenure and I certainly don’t claim responsibility for all of them but I’m very happy with our multi-platform developments and I’d like to see that develop more."
Maxwell will leave Māori Television in August but says the board has asked him to stay on a consultative capacity until the end of 2017.