Whanganui & Partners is the economic development agency for Whanganui & Ruapehu

Our role is to support long-term prosperity by enabling investment, strengthening local capability, and connecting people to opportunity.

We work from a place-led perspective - recognising that strong economies are built through relationships, collaboration, and an understanding of how people, sectors, and place interact.

Intentional investments

When you’re ready to explore what’s possible here, we can act as your first point of connection - helping you navigate the ecosystem and find the pathways most relevant to you growth, and deliver long-term value for the district.

Whether you’re an investor, business, or intermediary, we help you understand the landscape, navigate the ecosystem, and connect with the right people to move forward.

Whanganui & Partners works with a design-thinking mindset, but we keep things practical and people-focused. Our role is to connect the right people, ideas, and opportunities.

We work across sectors and with partners locally, nationally, and internationally, helping navigate Whanganui’s ecosystem in a way that’s clear and easy to work with. Our team brings strong sector knowledge and local insight, and we focus on being approachable, responsive, and useful at every stage.

By working this way, we’re able to move quickly, stay flexible, and focus on outcomes that deliver long-term value for Whanganui.

Learn more

our team

Collaboration is our operating system

Opportunities grow with discovery and an understanding of how to shape them, this is where we come in.

We can support businesses, investors and communities by giving direction for opportunities and relationships that form a path of growth.

Get in touch

Tim Easton

Team Lead

Tim heads up the team at Whanganui & Partners helping deliver a coordinated programme of work across all sectors and stakeholders.

Emma Bugden

Creative Industries

Emma works directly with artists and creative workers to make Whanganui a place where creatives thrive.

Eilish Horrocks

Market Development

Eilish works to position Whanganui as a compelling investment destination, developing targeted strategies to attract the right investment and drive sustainable growth across the district.

Rach Hoskin

Education & Technology

Rach works closely with education providers and industry to make sure that the right training and educational opportunities are available to build the skills that our economy needs.

Suz Hepi

Regional Growth

Suz works with iwi, business, and industry partners to deliver projects that support regional growth across Ruapehu.

Colleen Ervine

Agribusiness

Colleen works with agribusiness stakeholders to develop strategies and initiatives that will develop our region into a food and fibre powerhouse.