Chris Cormack

Chris (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is a proponent of Māori data sovereignty. As the original developer of Koha, the world’s first open source library management system, Chris has spent over 25 years advocating for digital solutions that honour Indigenous values and community ownership of data.

Chris has presented internationally on Indigenous data sovereignty, including at the International Indigenous Librarians Forum and various European conferences on digital rights and open source alternatives. Through his work at Catalyst, he has helped organisations across Aotearoa implement data sovereignty principles while maintaining technical excellence, and continues to advise government and private sector organisations on ethical data governance frameworks.