Sir Tipene is the former Chair of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust Board, Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation, Mawhera Incorporation, Te Ohu Kai Moana, the Sealord Group Ltd and Deputy Chair of Transit New Zealand.He is a previous director of Television New Zealand, Meridian Energy and the founding Chair of Te Tapuae o Rehua Ltd. Sir Tipene is currently a director and advisor to many companies in New Zealand and Australia, and a Fellow of the University of Auckland. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the University of Canterbury in 1992. He holds Honorary Doctorates of Commerce from both Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is Adjunct Professor at Ngāi Tahu research, University of Canterbury