Report on the MAS 2024 Annual General Meeting on 21 August 2024

For the first time in 5 years, the MAS Annual General Meeting was held in-person at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland and online. We thank all those Members who attended the meeting and who cast votes on the various resolutions. We appreciate the views of our Members and we are grateful to them for setting aside the time to contribute to the future of our mutual. 

The meeting was opened by MAS CEO Suzanne Wolton who also introduced guest speaker Dr Mahsa McCauley.  

Guest speaker 

We were delighted to have Dr Mahsa McCauley presenting on AI and the opportunities, challenges and risks in our digital future. Dr Mahsa McCauley is a respected Senior Lecturer and Director of Women in Tech at Auckland University of Technology, School of Computer, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. With a strong expertise in AI and machine learning, she is widely recognised as a leader in her field. 

Annual Report 

After Dr Masha’s presentation, MAS Chair Brett Sutton, took Members through the Annual Report and offered his thoughts on some of the highlights of FY 2024, and what MAS will focus on in the year ahead. You can read more about this in the Chair’s report in the 2024 Annual Report. 

MAS Foundation 

The meeting then heard from Jenny Gill, Chair of MAS Foundation (the Foundation). Jenny reported on MAS Foundation's activities over the past financial year, which saw the Foundation distribute over $1.7 million in grants. This funding is helping to build capacity and capability within community-led groups that are creating solutions to support health and wellbeing aspirations within their communities. 

With 2024 being MAS Foundation’s fourth year making grants, it has shown that despite their relative youth, they’ve established themselves as an innovator in the philanthropic sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. This has been done through MAS Foundation’s clear focus on health and wellbeing equity and a distinctive values-based approach to grant making. 

Resolutions 

The second half of the meeting was taken up with discussion of the proposed resolutions, which you can read about in more detail in the Notice of Meeting.  

All of the resolutions were approved: 

1. Minutes of 2023 AGM were accepted. 
2. The 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements were approved. 
3. The remuneration to be divided among all the directors of MAS increased from $780,000 per annum to $803,400 per annum. 
4. Brendan O’Donovan and Lindsay Knowles were appointed as Commercial Trustees.  
5. Dr Doug Hill was re-elected as Practitioner Trustee.  
6. The Special Resolution to amend the Members’ Trust Deed relating to the MAS Board governance structure, was approved.  

Thank you again to those who took the time to participate in this year’s AGM process, and thanks to all our Members for trusting us to provide you with the protection and support you need in your personal and professional lives. 

Download a copy of the 2024 Annual Report 

You can download a copy of the Annual Report from the Publications section on our website. 

Pictures from the 2024 AGM, Cordis Hotel, Auckland 

Here are a few pictures from our in-person AGM in Auckland.