Mr Goodall said yesterday he would leave the position with a great sense of achievement, but it was an appropriate time for a new chief executive to take on the role.
"Working with Te Runanga, I have achieved the objectives that we set in place at the time of my employment as chief executive, including the consolidation of all our operations after 10 years of rapid post-settlement growth and the establishment of the base on which the next decade's tribal development might be built.
"After four years, I am confident that the foundations I intended to build have been built."
Mr Goodall will remain with Te Runanga for an extended transitional period until a replacement is found.
The former union delegate and nurseryman, who has an MBA from Harvard's John F.
Kennedy School of Government, began working with Ngai Tahu in 1987 and was a manager of the iwi's historical settlement process.
He planned to pursue interests around social innovation and philanthropy.
Ngai Tahu kaiwhakahaere (chairman) Mark Solomon said he was reluctant to accept the resignation of Mr Goodall, who had "completed an enormous body of work for us over the past four years".
Mr Goodall achieved his goals of consolidating the iwi organisation and delivering positive outcomes for members, he said.
"He will be difficult to replace, but our task now is to do just that and to find the right person to take the iwi forward into its next phase."
It was business as usual for the iwi's commercial arm, Ngai Tahu Holdings Corporation, under chief executive Greg Campbell, he said.
