Levi Reti Kaukau announced as one of the winners of Rabobank's Cooperative Awards

Levi Reti Kaukau has won a trip to Peru to participate in Rabo Foundation's Cooperative Ambassadorship Programme as one of three winners of Rabobank’s 2024 Global Cooperative Awards. He was announced as one of the winners during the Managing Board’s Week of the Cooperative livestream on Tuesday.

The Cooperative Awards recognise employees who help make Rabobank a better place to work through their cooperative behaviour. This year the annual awards campaign attracted nominations for 500 colleagues worldwide. With votes from 10,000 peers, 27 local winners were decided and ten qualified for the final.

Levi was recognised for modelling the organisation's values and behaviours to the highest standard.

In his day-to-day role at Rabobank, Levi is a senior analyst in the Country Banking New Zealand client due diligence team in Hamilton. He supports clients and account managers with complex onboarding processes, handling deals worth several million NZ dollars. His reliability and expertise have made him the face of client onboarding, earning him numerous accolades from peers and leaders. His involvement in continuous improvement projects and his ability to foster relationships across business units further highlight his professional prowess.

As an active contributor to the Social Club and Rainbow Rabo groups, he has played a pivotal role in integrating te ao Māori and tikanga in the Bank including the coordination of Matariki Week, the blessing of the new Wellington office, and hosted a mental health awareness session.

Levi’s role in the Global Farmers Masterclass Team’s event in November 2023 is a testament to his dedication. Tasked with facilitating the powhiri (welcoming ceremony) and cultural session for 25 international farmers and growers, Levi went above and beyond, dedicating countless personal hours of research to engage, educate, and prepare to showcase Māori culture to these guests.
 

"Levi has a passion for te ao Māori and has been a trusted advisor for Rabobank New Zealand to help with cultural initiatives,” says Anna MacKinnon, Levi’s team leader.

“But it was the powhiri to welcome Global Farmers MasterClass participants, where Levi excelled. He dedicated a massive amount of his own time and effort to coordinate and speak on behalf of our foreign guests at the powhiri in Hamilton. This piece of work took hours of research, practise and consultation with kaumatua in order to best represent Rabobank and provide the most authentic experience for our guests.

“The whaikorero (speech) he performed was moving, and the time and care he took to explain protocol and translations to our foreign guests is to be commended,” says Anna.