Wavemaker chief investment officer Philippa Noleai Tani is a selfless, hardworking professional who has dedicated her life to social change, participating in pro-bono work and raising much-needed funds for charity. But now, she needs Adlands’ help.
Just under two weeks ago, Tani’s wonderful partner, Ratu Peni Wainiqolo, suffered a terrible sports injury during the NSW Rugby Country State Championships in Tamworth, leaving him with a major brain injury. During a tackle, Wainiqolo suffered a vertebral dissection and subsequently had multiple major bilateral strokes. After being put on life support, airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and urgent brain surgery, his family was told to expect the worst and hope for the best.
His family have been holding onto every little bit of hope and strength and praying for his health. He continues to defy medical odds and has achieved the most awe-inspiring milestones. He is still in a very serious condition and has plenty of hurdles to overcome, but is breathing on his own and is finally out of the ICU.
Wainiqolo has a long road to recovery ahead of him, and he will find strength from having his loved ones close to him. He is currently away from home in Newcastle, at John Hunter Hospital, with his partner by his side. His partner and his workplace are trying hard to organise passports and visas for his parents to come over from Fiji to be with him, and are praying he will be strong enough to soon transfer to a hospital closer to home.
This, along with the cost of Wainiqolo’s rehabilitation to make a full recovery, will come at a steep price, and his family is asking for any small help to support him in his time of need.
Peter Vogel, CEO of Wavemaker took to LinkedIn yesterday sharing a GoFundMe page supporting Wainiqolo and calling for help from his network.
“Phillippa Noilea-Tani has built her career in the media industry over the past 18 years, starting off as a Media Buyer and advancing to become the Chief Investment & Operations Officer at Wavemaker. She is one of the most respected media professionals in the Australia industry and has received countless accolades for her contribution to the industry and the great work she produces for our clients. However, the achievement that meant the most to Philippa, was being recognised by UnLtd as the Social Game Changer of the Year, for all the charity and probono work she personally drives for the likes of Whitelion and The Kindness Factory – having raised millions of dollars of media space to help sustain their causes. Philippa is also an accredited Mental Health First Aid trainer and regularly runs training sessions for our staff,” Vogel told B&T.
“Philippa’s partner Peni suffered a terrible sports injury 10 days ago. Following multiple operations, Peni is now fortunately out of ICU. However, he faces a long and costly road to recovery which requires a lot of medical attention and rehabilitation therapy. So, it’s now time for us as an industry to support Philippa and her partner Peni. We need to look out for each other in our industry – our hearts and prayers go out to Peni and Philippa”.
