Leadership: Influential women in NZ Sport

1/15

1/15 Dame Therese Walsh. Chief Operating Officer for the Rugby World Cup 2011, and Head of the Organising Committee for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Therese Walsh was crucial in the success of both. She has also held top jobs at New Zealand Rugby and is involved at a governance level in a number of organisations outside sport.
2/15

2/15 Dana Johannsen: Chief Sports Reporter for the New Zealand Herald, the largest paper in the country. Johannsen is a multi-award winning journalist and sets the sports news agenda with her columns.
3/15

3/15 Liz Dawson: A leading figure in sports governance, both in New Zealand and in Australia. She had had a management and governance career in Rugby, League, Cricket, and is now a member of the St Kilda Saints board, and has been influential in retaining annual AFL fixtures in New Zealand.
4/15

4/15 Lydia Ko: Simply put, Ko put women's golf on the agenda in New Zealand. A phenomenally talented player and global star of the game.
5/15

5/15 Dr Deborah Robinson: Dr Robinson has been influential as the team doctor for the Crusaders and the All Blacks, but is also a leading expert on concussion in sport.
6/15

6/15 Hilary Poole: Formerly the CEO of Hockey New Zealand, now the CEO of Netball New Zealand, the highest participation sport for women in the country.
7/15

7/15 Raelene Castle: The first woman to crack the boys club of being a CEO of an NRL club.
8/15

8/15 Rikki Swannell: The Sports Editor at the largest sports radio station in the country, Radio Sport. Rikki Swannell is also a top quality netball and rugby commentator, and has covered major events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
9/15

9/15 Shelley McMeeken: Former CEO of Netball New Zealand, and recently appointed as the CEO of the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation.
10/15

10/15 Melodie Robinson: Commentator and broadcaster with the biggest sports TV network in New Zealand - Sky Sport. Former New Zealand rugby representative and highly regarded as an expert on the code.
11/15

11/15 Valerie Adams: One of the greatest New Zealand sportswomen of all time, Adams has been winning gold medals since the 2007 World Championships. An icon of athletics.
12/15

12/15 Kereyn Smith: Secretary General of the NZ Olympic Committee, an appointment that followed twenty years of leadership in sport.
13/15

13/15 Waimarama Taumaunu: As the Head Coach of the Silver Ferns, Taumaunu has control of the highest profile female sports team in New Zealand, and significant influence over the high performance development of the most popular female sport in the country.
14/15

14/15 (Photo / Supplied)
15/15

15/15 Barbara Kendall MBE: An Olympic gold medalist, and now a member of the International Olympic Committee.
More Galleries

Advertisement

From governance, organisation leadership, media and the field of play, women are becoming more and more influential in New Zealand sport.

What was once an almost exclusively male domain is changing, in part because the women featured here have fought to have their voices and views heard.

Take a look at our photo gallery that celebrates what they have achieved.

(Getty Images, Newspix, Photosport)