Santiago joined Hōhepa Hawkes Bay with his family in 1999. Santiago has a proven commitment to the people Hōhepa supports, their teams, and families. He has a broad range of skills with extensive experience in the health and education sector, as well as in governance and management. Santiago has served in a number of organisations across the globe and has a strong strategic and sustainable development focus. He supports the Hōhepa community to thrive by ensuring the Hōhepa vision, mission and values are aligned with everything Hōhepa strives to achieve. He is an active member of the Institute of Managers and IOD.

John grew up in Hawke’s Bay and studied accounting at Massey University, and is a chartered accountant by profession. John worked in accounting roles in Wellington for many years, including roles in listed companies, government departments, and not-for-profits. On returning to Hawke’s Bay he has undertaken various part-time accounting roles including in the Hōhepa finance office in Clive. He was, until recently, a Board member and treasurer of BudgetFirst, a Hastings based budget advisory service. John is the chair of the Hōhepa Hawke’s Bay Finance Committee.