Hoani Smith (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu) is Tumu Tuku Pāpāho (Head of Media & Broadcast) at Whakaata Māori. Hoani is one of the few remaining original members of staff, having joined Māori Television in early 2004, the year MTS was launched. He is formally trained as an audio engineer, starting his journey in broadcast as a ‘soundie’. Having worked his way up through the operations ranks with experience in pre-production, live, and post-production, Hoani began his leadership career by establishing an independent Audio Post team and building a production facility to fulfil extensive outputs for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. From there, he took up the role of Media Operations Manager in 2016 before being elevated to HOD of Media & Broadcast in 2024.

‍