I have been fortunate to complete a few circuits or tours of our sporting planet over the past two decades and I delight in sharing the best from the sports, creative and events sectors with New Zealanders. That might be the top tennis players, state-of-the-art sailing technology; social and environmental best-practice competitions or creative events designed to make you stop and think.
I started out organising sports business conferences and awards in New Zealand, which inspired me to seek out best-in-class organisations and pinnacle events overseas. My professional journey made stops in Melbourne, Beijing, and London through commercial roles with Tennis Australia, the Australian Open and the WTA Tour.
I came home to Auckland in 2012 to become Tournament Director and Head of Commercial for the ASB Classic WTA and ATP Auckland events. Later I established a marketing and events agency with the goal of pushing the boundaries of innovation and experiential marketing.
Governance with purpose and pioneering commercial programmes are my passion and I’m really proud to have led teams that were awarded best international event four times on the WTA tour and best fan experience on the ATP Tour.
Aligning corporate objectives with engaging audience programmes and an aspiration to achieve something new has helped to secure over $100 million in new commercial revenues during my career.
An unfulfilled ambition is to make the top 10 of the Last Man Stands rankings, however, to date significant effort hasn’t translated into achievement!