Lee Timutimu | Founder & CEO
Awa Digital Aotearoa

Lee Timutimu CEO & Founder, Awa Digital (Tribal affiliations: Ngāti Awa, Ngai Te Rangi, Tūhoe, Ngāti Pōrou) Lee Timutimu is a Māori technology leader, entrepreneur, and Indigenous data sovereignty practitioner with over 25 years in the digital sector. As CEO & Founder of Awa Digital, Lee and his team have been building Tuhi since 2023 - an AI scribe tool developed in partnership with Health New Zealand, designed to support clinicians at the point of care. Lee is a doctoral candidate researching tikanga-based AI governance frameworks for Marae communities, and serves as a Māori Data Sovereignty Advisor to postgraduate and PhD students at the University of Waikato. A recipient of the 2025 NZ Hi-Tech Inspiring Individual Award, his work sits at the intersection of Indigenous innovation, health technology, and ethical AI. He strongly believes the future of digital health must be shaped by the communities it serves - nothing about us without us.