Maria Fuata is Deputy Director-General Operations and Integration at Pacific Community (SPC). Maria is part of SPC’s Senior Executive Team leading the Operations and Management Directorate, OMD, comprising finance, human resources, IT, publications, property & facilities management, translation and interpretation, legal services, travel, library and administration.
Maria is a seasoned senior finance and management executive who has worked in Fiji and in New Zealand and has more than 20 years of expertise across senior finance and corporate operational roles, programme management and auditing.
Maria hails from the villages of Juju, Pepjei and Itumuta in Rotuma. She was born and raised in Fiji and has spent the last 20 years in New Zealand where she has been an active and passionate advocate for capability and confidence building in Pasifika communities, as well as for the preservation of her Rotuman language and culture for future generations.
Maria holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Auckland (New Zealand). She is also a graduate of University of the South Pacific (Suva, Fiji) with a Bachelor of Arts with double majors in Accounting & Financial Management and Management & Public Administration.
Maria previously served as part of the Executive Leadership Team of the Hanga-aro-rau workforce development council, as Deputy Board Chair of the Pacific Media Network and as a board member of the Pacific Business Trust.