Karalee Tangiau (Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara) and Quincy Tangiau (Rarotonga, Niue, Papua New Guinea) started their Auckland-based construction company, Stronghold Group, from the ground up. Today, their business is one of a select few chosen for Air New Zealand’s 12-week Ka Rere mentoring programme, designed to prepare Māori, Pacific, and diverse suppliers for future contracts with the airline.
“Honestly, it’s really humbling and exciting to be part of Ka Rere, especially recognising that Air New Zealand is an iconic Kiwi company,” said Karalee, who is the managing director. “But it really reinforces for us that this is a space that we belong.”
Stronghold Group operates from New Lynn, West Auckland, employing 70 staff. About 80% of their workforce are Māori or Pasifika, with others from Filipino, Vietnamese, and Pākehā backgrounds. Their projects range from commercial builds to community-focused work, including the full rebuild of Te Puea Memorial Marae in Māngere Bridge. “It’s quite a diverse team. In our company, we call it community building,” Karalee explained.
Family and community ties are central to Stronghold’s culture. “We’ve got sisters and brothers working for us. We’ve got uncles and nephews. A father and son—actually, two fathers and two sons. We’ve got cousins,” Karalee said. “We are not all related but people are bringing in people from their own community looking for work and we’re helping to grow them.”
Stronghold’s reach extends beyond Auckland, with projects in Kaitaia, Whangārei, Waikato, and Gisborne. “Depending on where the work is we’ll respond where the need is. We will work with local communities and try and put some of the local builders alongside our team from Tāmaki so that we’re supporting the communities we’re working in,” Karalee said.
Participation in Ka Rere has been transformative. “It’s opened our eyes massively. The learning that we take away from Air New Zealand is supercharging our company,” said Quincy, the operations manager.
The company is using this opportunity to rethink its future. “Already, we’ve been rethinking and reworking what the future of Stronghold looks like,” Karalee said. The goal is a genuine partnership with Air New Zealand. “We’re definitely excited about the future pathway for us, and thinking about (the possibility of) a genuine partnership with Air New Zealand.”
Karalee believes the impact of such opportunities extends far beyond business. “When businesses like ours are given an opportunity to be seen, heard and supported it ripples out to the whānau, to the hapori—the communities we’re working in—and for future generations,” she said. “Even though our company is about building structures, we’re not just building buildings. We’re building people. That’s what Stronghold is all about. Our people are the heart of everything that we do. Without them, we’re nothing.”
