International Advisory Council

Dr Jason Paul Mika

Dr Jason Paul Mika

Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu

Professor of Māori Management, Department of Management & International Business

Associate Dean Māori, University of Auckland Business School

Co-Director, Dame Mira Szászy Centre, University of Auckland Business School

Adjunct Professor, Waikato Management School, University of Waikato

Jason was born in Whakatāne and raised in Rotorua, Aotearoa New Zealand and is a member of the Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, and Ngāti Kahungunu tribes. At He Manga Tauhokohoko, University of Auckland Business School, Jason is a kaupapa Māori business researcher whose research, writing, teaching, and practice centres on Māori and Indigenous business philosophy in multiple sites, sectors, and scales. Jason has a PhD in business from Massey University, Master of Public Policy from Victoria University of Wellington, and a Bachelor of Management Studies from University of Waikato. Jason was a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga senior scholar at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and the University of Arizona’s Native Nations Institute. Jason is co-chair of the Academy of Management’s Indigenous Caucus and co-convenor of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management’s (ANZAM) Indigenous Special Interest Group. Prior to joining He Manga Tauhokohoko in November 2024, Jason was a Professor of Māori Business and Associate Dean Māori at Waikato Management School where he retains a role as an Adjunct Professor. Jason’s priority is advancing research on economy of mana and growing the next generation of Māori and Indigenous business scholar.

Sharlene Leroy-Dyer

Sharlene Leroy-Dyer is a Saltwater woman, from the Aboriginal Nations of Darug, Garigal, and Awabakal Nations.  She is a fulltime academic in at the UQ Business School where she is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Indigenous Business Hub.  Sharlene has extensive experience as an equity practitioner, having worked for over 40 years in industry and academia.

Sharlene’s research specialises in Indigenous scholarship, labour law, and organisational theory. Her work integrates Indigenous methodologies, frameworks and intersectional analysis to examine how policy and employment systems can support Indigenous economic sovereignty.

She is currently engaged in collaborative research projects that explore Indigenous participation in governance, culturally safe employment, and decolonial policy reform. She has contributed to critical legal studies, policy-oriented writing, and empirical research focused on Indigenous leadership and organisational transformation. Sharlene’s scholarship bridges theory and practice, with a focus on real-world impact. Her long-term goal is to influence policy and institutional design to embed Indigenous values and promote justice across economic systems.

Dr Michelle Evans

Dr Michelle Evans holds a Professorship in Leadership at the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, specialising in the areas of Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship. She is Director of the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership working to contribute through education and research to an economically powerful Indigenous Australia. She is also founder of the award winning MURRA Indigenous Business Masterclass Program, based at Melbourne Business School where she completed her PhD. Professor Evans has been awarded five Australian Research Council competitive grants, international research grants (Spencer Foundation, Endeavour Grant, Fulbright Scholarship) and is widely published.  She teaches predominantly at senior executive and postgraduate levels

Manley A. Begay, Jr.

Manley A. Begay, Jr. is a tenured Professor in the Department of Applied Indigenous Studies (AIS) and Department of Politics and International Affairs at the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff (NAU). Professor Begay is also an affiliate faculty member of the W. A. Franke College of Business at NAU. He is also, director of the Tribal Leadership Initiative in the Office of Native American Initiative at NAU. Professor Begay joined the NAU faculty in summer of 2014. At NAU, he has primary responsibility for teaching about Indigenous Nation-Building, Navajo History and Philosophy, and directing the Tribal Leadership Initiative. He is also President/CEO of M. A. Begay II & Associates, LLC based in Flagstaff, AZ.

As well, Professor Begay has presented on a variety of topics from leadership to Indigenous nation-building and from curriculum development to pedagogy and from historical and contemporary Native American issues to Indigenous philosophy to education at numerous colleges and universities, private and public high schools, national and international conferences, institutes, and symposia. He has worked closely with Native nations in the United States, First Nations and Bands in Canada, Indigenous peoples in Australia, Native peoples in Mexico, and Maoris in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Prior to working with the Northern Arizona University, University of Arizona; Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development; Harvard University; and Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy, he was a middle school principal and jr. high school assistant principal on the Navajo Nation; and high school teacher on the White Mountain Apache Reservation.

In 2024 Dr. Begay was presented with the Harvard University Native American Program Honors Award – an annual award and ceremony to express gratitude for those who have made exemplary contributions to the HUNAP community. Further, in 2021 Dr. Begay received the Cal Seciwa Outstanding Faculty Award, Commission for Native Americans, Northern Arizona University; and in 2015 he was a recipient of the Arizona American Indian Excellence in Leadership Award and named Man of the Year by the Phoenix Indian Center of Phoenix, Arizona. Lastly, Professor Begay is considered as the first Navajo to graduate from Harvard University with a doctorate

Stephen Lindley

Stephen is President and CEO of his own independent consultancy specializing in corporate sustainability and reconciliation, and Indigenous-corporate relations. Prior to 2018, Stephen spent over 30 years with SNC-Lavalin Inc. (now AtkinsRéalis), as corporate Vice President of Aboriginal & Northern Affairs and Director, Environment. Throughout his 30 plus years at SNC- Lavalin, Stephen contributed to the advancement of Indigenous reconciliation and inclusion and responsible/sustainable development throughout Canada and globally.

Stephen’s family is a “found” generation having recently identified family Métis heritage associated with the North Lake Superior Métis Community and family roots in the Red River Settlement. The family’s journey of discovery is nascent but brings them pride. Stephen’s ancestors were employed by the Northwest Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company and were active in the establishment and management of trading posts throughout Northern Ontario. As a result, the family’s connection to community is thin, so they tread carefully with respect to claims of citizenship.

Since 2018, Stephen has been, with Indigenous Works, providing strategic Indigenous relations economic reconciliation, Indigenous inclusion advice and policy development to a variety of clients including corporations, banks, universities and government agencies. Stephen also provides expertise in the area of environmental assessment, Indigenous community engagement and economic inclusion, and the assessment of project impacts on Aboriginal and treaty rights and interests. His most recent work has been with Hydro One (Indigenous Engagement and Environmental Strategic Advisor on a variety of greenfield high capacity transmission projects in northern and southwestern Ontario); Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation (Strategic Environmental and Indigenous Relations Advisor on the proposed Webequie Supply Road Project and the Northern Road Link Project in Ontario’s Ring of Fire area); and Strategic Indigenous Relations Advisor and author of the Indigenous Engagement and Inclusion Plan (IEIP) for the ONxpress Transportation Partners Consortium which is responsible for the GO Transit expansion project in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Stephen is also a certified Facilitator providing assistance to clients on their journey through the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business (CCAB) Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) process. Stephen is currently Board Co-Chair of Indigenous Works; and Board Treasurer for Native Child and Family Services Toronto, a licensed Children’s Aid Society and provider of child and family support and prevention programs/services to urban Indigenous people in Toronto.

Cadmus Delorme

Cadmus Delorme, a Cree and Saulteaux, is a citizen of the Cowessess First Nation. Mr. Delorme is finalizing his Institute of Corporate Director designation, received a Master of Public Administration from the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Business Administration along with a Certificate in Hospitality, Tourism and Gaming Entertainment Management from the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv).

While a student, Mr. Delorme served in several capacities within the student association, including vice-president and president, and also served as a student ambassador. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his student leadership and the hospitality he showed to Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, when they visited FNUniv in 2012. Mr. Delorme has also been named one of CBC Saskatchewan’s Future 40, which celebrates the province’s new generation of leaders, builders and change-makers under the age of 40. Cadmus Delorme worked as the Student Recruitment Officer for the First Nations University of Canada from 2013 to 2016 when he was elected as Chief.

He lives with his wife Kimberly, brother-in-law, daughter and son’s on Cowessess First Nation.

Maui Hudson

My Iwi affiliations are Whakatōhea, Ngāruahine, and Te Māhurehure. I am an interdisciplinary researcher working on Indigenous ethics, Indigenous data sovereignty, and the challenges of working at the interface of mātauranga Māori and science. I am currently the Co-Director of the Te Kotahi Research Institute working on projects around Indigenous Trade, benefit sharing, and improving research practices when working with Indigenous communities. I am a founding member of Te Mana Raraunga Māori Data Sovereignty Network and the Global Indigenous Data Alliance as well as a co-author of the CARE Principles for Indigenous Governance. I am a Council member of Local Contexts and co-developer of the Biocultural Labels. I have just submitted a PhD by Publication focused on Cultural Reciprocity and Deep Knowledge Co-production.

Richard

Richard affiliates to the Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Tukorehe tribes of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Richard is Development Manager with Waikato/Tainui tribe and is committed to generating opportunities for Indigenous businesses to collaborate and trade.

Richard is passionate about the development of Maori and Indigenous business models that reflect and integrate the culture of the Tangata Whenua (original people of the land) into the way in which they conduct business and clarify their vision and purpose. He has provided advisory services to over 300 Maori organizations during 18 years as a management consultant and has been involved in a range of strategic initiatives for Maori across various industries.Richard sits on several boards and is also a businessman in his own right with interests in the kiwifruit industry. He is a fluent speaker of the Maori language, has wide experience in Maori education, and is happily married with six children.

Richard also leads Te Ohu Whai Ao Charitable Trust which was set up to organize WIBF 2018 to be hosted by the Māori people of New Zealand/Aotearoa. The Trust will also represent Māori from New Zealand on the World Indigenous Business Network.