Matanuku has more than 30 years’ experience as a lawyer advising on a wide range of corporate, commercial, Treaty of Waitangi, Māori land and administrative law issues. He was partner at Walters Williams and Co and in-house counsel at the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission before becoming the founding partner of Kahui Legal, a specialist boutique firm for Māori legal issues. Matanuku is currently a barrister at Bankside Chambers.
Alongside his experience as a lawyer Matanuku has worked with early-stage and start-up businesses and has held a wide variety of directorships and governance roles. He currently chairs Eastland Generation, serves on the boards of Callaghan Innovation and the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and has formerly held roles as Chair of the Ngāti Porou Holding Company, Chair of Sealord Group, and Deputy Chair of Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (now Moana New Zealand).
Matanuku lives in Gisborne and is of Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Raukawa descent.