Real Life with John Cowan

Tenby was raised in Tauranga, where he attended Otumoetai College. Prior to attending the University of Waikato, he was an engineering apprentice at Edwards Engineering, working on fishing vessels. In 1983, he joined the New Zealand Defence Force and, in 1999, started a private investment firm with his entrepreneur wife, Sharon. He was the Mayor of Tauranga from 2019-2020 and has also served as a Director and Chairman on several private and government boards. In 2022, Tenby founded Kiwi K.A.R.E. (Kiwi Aid & Refugee Evacuation), which provides essential medicines, trauma kits, medical equipment, food and more to the people of Ukraine.

Tenby and Sharon have two adult children, George and Charlotte.