SBN Inc October Networking Evening with Martin Hautus Institute CEO, Pulotu Selio Solomon

On Wednesday 30th October, the Samoa Business Network held its monthly networking evening, this time hosted by the networks Secretary Tim Baice, at the University of Auckaland’s Faculty of Education.

​This was the second Networking Evening hosted outside of the SBN headquarters at BNZ Manukau, and was attended by old and new members alike.

Given the location of the venue, we thought it would be appropriate to have a speaker in the field of education, and business. Pulotu Selio Solomon the CEO of Martin Hautus was the perfect candidate to come and share his stories of success, as well as the challenges he has faced in being a strategic part in the development of Martin Hautus.

Pulotu Selio Solomon, an old La Sallian boy with a Post Graduate Diploma  in Business Administration as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Auckland, is now CEO of Martin Hautus – the Pacific Peoples Learning Institute, winner of the Pacific Business Trust 'Business of the Year Award in 2007'.

Established by Pulotu Arthur & Maretta Solomon in 1990, who saw the divide in education for school leavers (that did not gain university entrance) and also mature learners. They started with five students in Mangere, South Auckland just over 23 years ago and today have two campuses (Mangere & Onehunga) and a student body which annually numbers over 300. MHI is a category 1 establishment and in 2011 was given a "highly confident" rating by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) for both self assessment and education outcomes during their Education Evaluation.

Pulotu’s passion for the education industry and Pasifika communities is matched by an impressive array of extracurricular commitments, including his roles as the Chairperson of Ministry of Education Pasifika Advisory Group Northern Region, Director of Incredible Angels Early Childcare Centre as well as serving as Deputy Chair on his old high schools’ Board of Trustees.

The former Chair Mangere Community board spent most of the evening talking about the journey in which his parents endured in establishing Martin Hautus, as well as his current journey in overseeing the institute and its future development.

Pulotu spoke mainly about the need to remember the social commitments business owners have to their communities, working towards advancing Pasifika peoples as a core guiding force to the work that he engages in. He also advised network members to be weary of the Finances, to ensure that they understand how they work in order to maintain control over their affairs.