50 Essential Thought Leaders in Sport and Recreation Leadership in Australia and New Zealand

Introduction

Sport and recreation leadership in Australia and New Zealand is not one field. It is dozens of fields layered on top of each other, held together by a shared conviction that what happens inside a sport organisation, a recreation programme, or a high-performance system matters far beyond the scoreboard. The leaders who shape these fields shape how communities feel about themselves, whether young people stay active into adulthood, and whether the institutions that govern sport are worthy of the trust placed in them.

The sector is entering one of the most consequential decades in its history. The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games are approaching, demanding coordinated leadership across government, sport, infrastructure, education, and community. At the same time, data from the Australian Sports Commission's AusPlay survey shows that almost half of Australian children are not participating in sport-related activities regularly, a challenge that no amount of elite success at the Games will resolve on its own. Leaders at every level of the system are now being asked to hold multiple tensions simultaneously: invest in winning at the highest level while reversing declining grassroots participation; build inclusive pathways while maintaining competitive rigour; fund new facilities while ensuring those facilities serve communities equitably for decades.

Across Australia and New Zealand, the people navigating these tensions are diverse in background, discipline, geography, and approach. Some lead national agencies. Some run clubs. Some publish research that reshapes how the sector understands governance or participation. Some advocate for the inclusion of communities that have long been marginalised from sport's mainstream. Some are building the infrastructure through which sport happens. What they share is a commitment to making sport and recreation a stronger force for human wellbeing.

This directory brings together 50 of the most active and influential voices in sport and recreation leadership across Australia and New Zealand in 2026. Each person was selected on the basis of substantive documented contribution to the field, active engagement with the professional community, and the potential to amplify thinking across the sector. The list deliberately moves past the most prominent household names to surface voices the reader may not yet have encountered. You will find government agency leaders alongside community recreation practitioners, academics alongside peak body executives, and advocates pushing the sector to be more inclusive alongside architects building the facilities of the future.

If your team is grappling with strategy, culture, governance, or the human dynamics of leading through change, Jonno White works with sport and recreation leadership teams on the team health and communication foundations that allow organisations to perform under pressure. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Why Sport and Recreation Leadership Matters

Australia and New Zealand have historically punched above their weight in global sport. That success has always rested on the quality of the leadership behind the athletes. The people who govern sports organisations, manage high-performance systems, design participation strategies, and build sport infrastructure determine whether sport delivers on its enormous potential as a vehicle for community health, social cohesion, and national identity.

The stakes are substantial. According to AusPlay data released by the Australian Sports Commission in 2026, 89% of Australian adults now engage in sport or physical activity each year. Yet participation in structured, organised sport declines sharply after adolescence, and almost half of Australian children are not participating in sport-related activities regularly. Sport New Zealand is navigating its own participation challenges while managing the expectations that accompany a high-performance system that has produced significant Olympic and Paralympic success.

Brisbane 2032 presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build sport infrastructure, develop athlete pathways, and inspire a new generation of participants. Realising that potential requires leaders who can think systemically, build coalitions, and make decisions that serve communities long after the closing ceremony. The voices on this list are the people thinking hardest about how to do exactly that.

If you lead a sport or recreation organisation and want support building the team health and leadership culture to deliver on your strategy, email Jonno White at jonno@consultclarity.org. Jonno is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author of Step Up or Step Out (10,000+ copies sold), and host of The Leadership Conversations Podcast (230+ episodes, 150+ countries). He facilitates Working Genius sessions, DISC workshops, and executive team offsites with organisations across Australia and internationally.

How This List Was Compiled

Every person on this list was selected on three criteria. First, documented contribution to sport and recreation leadership through institutional leadership, published research, policy development, advocacy, or substantial field practice. Second, active engagement with the sector's professional conversation through conference appearances, publications, or public commentary in 2025 and 2026. Third, geographic, disciplinary, and demographic diversity designed to reflect the full scope of sport and recreation leadership across Australia and New Zealand. The list deliberately moved past the most recognised household names to surface voices shaping specific fields within it, from sport integrity and governance reform to recreation facility design, community participation, and athlete wellbeing.

Category 1: National Sport System Leaders

The people leading the national agencies that fund, govern, and shape sport and recreation across Australia and New Zealand carry disproportionate influence over the sector's direction. Their strategic choices ripple through every level of the system.

1. Raelene Castle ONZM

Raelene Castle is the Group Chief Executive of Sport New Zealand, the Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation across Aotearoa. Reappointed for a second term through to 2030, she leads one of the most comprehensive sport systems in the world relative to population size, overseeing both the participation strategy and the high-performance pipeline through High Performance Sport New Zealand.

Castle has led Sport NZ through a period of significant external scrutiny, including a government-ordered rapid review of the agency's spending and governance structure in 2025, and has emerged with the organisation's strategic direction intact and her own leadership credibility strengthened. Her biography across Netball New Zealand, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and Rugby Australia makes her one of the most credentialled sport executives in the region. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raelene-castle-onzm-3a82441b

2. Kieren Perkins OAM

Kieren Perkins OAM is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sports Commission, the Commonwealth entity responsible for both Sport Australia (participation) and the Australian Institute of Sport (high performance). Reappointed in February 2026 for a further five-year term, Perkins has led the ASC through Australia's record-breaking performance at the Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026 Games while simultaneously driving the Play Well participation strategy.

His leadership has secured record government funding of $489 million for the first two years of the Los Angeles 2028 cycle, and he is guiding the $249.7 million AIS Podium Project redevelopment. Perkins posts regularly on LinkedIn about the intersection of elite sport success and community participation, arguing consistently that both are necessary and neither is sufficient alone. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kierenperkins

3. Cindy Hook

Cindy Hook is the Chief Executive Officer of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee, the most complex and consequential leadership role in Australian sport right now. She brings 35 years of global executive experience from Deloitte, including four years as Australian CEO and four years as inaugural Asia Pacific CEO, to the task of planning and delivering the Games.

Hook has been explicit and consistent about her priorities: a Games that leaves lasting community infrastructure, a workforce reflecting the diversity of Australia, and planning processes that centre sustainability and inclusion from the start. She is an advocate for gender equality and a member of Chief Executive Women Australia, and posts regularly on LinkedIn about leadership, legacy, and inclusion in the context of Brisbane 2032. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cindyhook

4. Shantel Netzler

Shantel Netzler is the Chief Executive Officer of QSport, Queensland's peak sport body representing more than 70 member organisations. Her appointment in November 2025 made her the first Samoan woman to lead Queensland's peak sport organisation, and her background combines deep operational experience with a clear focus on grassroots participation, commercial partnerships, and gender equity.

Before QSport, Netzler served as CEO of Squash Queensland, where she led the organisation to 95% growth in affiliated clubs and secured the first major increase in sport funding in two decades. She has been outspoken about the need for Queensland's sport ecosystem to be genuinely inclusive and sustainable, advocating for community sport infrastructure investment that outlasts the Brisbane 2032 Games. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shantel-netzler

5. Kate Jenkins AO

Kate Jenkins AO is the Chair of the Australian Sports Commission Board, appointed in May 2024. She brings her background as former Sex Discrimination Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission and Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner to the governance of Australia's peak sport body.

Jenkins led the landmark Set the Standard review into Commonwealth Parliamentary workplace culture, and at the ASC has championed the Women in Leadership in Sport programme and the new Equity Governance Grants, working to build a pipeline of board-ready women across Australia's sport sector. Her combination of legal expertise, reform experience, and institutional leadership makes her one of the most significant figures in the governance of Australian sport. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kate-jenkins-ao

Category 2: High Performance Sport Leadership

High-performance sport in Australia and New Zealand operates at a level of sophistication that few nations can match. The leaders shaping the systems that produce Olympic and Paralympic champions carry responsibilities that extend well beyond medals.

6. Matti Clements

Matti Clements is the Executive General Manager of the Australian Institute of Sport, leading the institution responsible for Australia's high-performance sport pipeline as the nation builds toward Brisbane 2032. She stepped into the role in 2023 and has been working to integrate the AIS's expertise more deeply with national sport organisations as part of the Win Well strategy.

Clements has focused on athlete welfare and wellbeing as non-negotiable foundations of a high-performance system rather than optional add-ons. She has overseen the early stages of the Podium Project, the $249.7 million redevelopment of the AIS campus in Canberra that will serve as the physical foundation of Australia's 2032 campaign. LinkedIn profile active with AIS programme and athlete welfare updates.

7. Andrew Matheson

Andrew Matheson is the General Manager of Strategy and Performance at High Performance Sport New Zealand, with nearly two decades of high-performance sport leadership experience spanning multiple Olympic cycles. His career has included roles as High Performance Director at Rowing Australia, CEO of Cycling New Zealand, and multiple senior positions within HPSNZ.

Matheson led the development of HPSNZ's Investment Framework, which took effect from January 2022 and governs how New Zealand directs its high-performance sport funding across national sport organisations. His expertise straddles operational delivery and strategic architecture, making him one of the clearest thinkers on how a high-performance system can be designed for consistent success. LinkedIn active with high-performance sport leadership posts.

8. Simon Hollingsworth

Simon Hollingsworth has led two of Australia's most significant sport organisations: the Australian Sports Commission (2012-2016) and, more recently, Athletics Australia from 2024 onwards. His return to active sector leadership at Athletics Australia after years in corporate roles brings deep institutional knowledge of how the national sport system works and a track record of building organisational capability.

At Athletics Australia, Hollingsworth has been navigating the organisation's unification with Little Athletics Australia and building the sport's pathway from community participation to elite competition. His experience managing complex multi-stakeholder environments in sport makes him one of the most knowledgeable systems thinkers in the sector. LinkedIn active with sport governance and athletics development posts.

9. Fiona Mather

Fiona Mather is the Head of the Athlete Performance Support team at High Performance Sport New Zealand, leading the team of specialists across strength and conditioning, health, nutrition, psychology, physiology, and performance analysis who support New Zealand's elite athletes. As a physiotherapist by background, she brings a health-first perspective to high-performance sport.

Her work at HPSNZ has been central to building the integrated support model that helped New Zealand achieve strong results at multiple Olympic Games. She has been vocal about the importance of inclusive environments in which athletes feel psychologically safe to develop their potential, and posts on LinkedIn about athlete development, wellbeing, and the science of integrated performance support.

10. Steve Lancaster

Steve Lancaster was appointed Chief Executive of New Zealand Rugby in 2026 following more than a decade leading Community Rugby at NZR. A former Crusaders lock with high-performance roles across NZR, Crusaders, Rugby Canada, and Netball New Zealand, he brings a rare combination of elite competitive experience and community sport development expertise.

Lancaster has been an architect of NZR's Game On and Rip Rugby initiatives, which have driven significant participation growth at the community level. His appointment as CEO represents a deliberate choice to lead the organisation with someone who understands the full pipeline from community game to All Blacks, and he has posted on LinkedIn about community sport development and leadership culture. LinkedIn: nzrugby.co.nz

Category 3: Sport Governance and Integrity

Governance and integrity have become central preoccupations of the sport sector following high-profile failures across multiple codes and countries. The people working to build stronger governance frameworks and protect sport's integrity represent some of the most important work being done in the sector.

11. Dr Sarah Benson

Dr Sarah Benson became the Chief Executive Officer of Sport Integrity Australia in March 2025, bringing her background as the former Chief Forensic Scientist for the Australian Federal Police to the task of keeping Australian sport safe, fair, and inclusive. Under her leadership, the agency hosted its second annual CEO Sport Integrity Forum in February 2026.

Benson has been particularly focused on the psychosocial dimensions of sport integrity, including the prevention of abuse, harassment, and discrimination. She has built out the agency's Empowering Women and Girls in Sport Integrity Program and positioned SIA as a system partner rather than simply a regulator. LinkedIn active with sport integrity sector updates from Sport Integrity Australia.

12. Professor Lesley Ferkins

Professor Lesley Ferkins is one of the most cited researchers in sport governance globally, based at Auckland University of Technology's School of Sport and Recreation. Her research on board governance in sport organisations has been adopted by Sport New Zealand as part of its leadership framework development, and she has been involved in governance reviews for multiple national and international sport bodies.

Ferkins has published extensively on how sport boards can become more strategically capable, and her work connecting academic governance theory to practical board improvement has made her a trusted voice across both academia and the sector. She was a former President of SMAANZ and brings a uniquely evidence-based perspective to the governance questions practitioners face in boardrooms. LinkedIn active with sport governance research and commentary.

13. Professor Emma Sherry

Professor Emma Sherry is the Dean of the School of Management at RMIT University and the 2025 SMAANZ Distinguished Service Award winner, the highest recognition in Australian and New Zealand sport management academia. Her research spans sport for development, social impact, gender equality in sport, and organisational culture, and she has worked with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Victorian Government, VicHealth, Netball Australia, the NRL, the AFL, and Tennis Australia.

Sherry has extensive board experience across VicSport, Tennis Victoria, and the Melbourne and Olympic Park Trust, giving her a dual perspective as researcher and governance practitioner. Her co-authored work on sport for development has been cited more than 4,000 times, and her advocacy for women in sport management has shaped the careers of a generation of researchers. LinkedIn active with sport management, governance, and research posts.

14. Sarah Kenny

Sarah Kenny is the Advisory Council Chair at Sport Integrity Australia, providing independent leadership oversight of the agency's work to safeguard Australian sport. Her background spans national sport governance and public sector leadership, and she has been a consistent voice for systemic rather than reactive approaches to sport integrity.

At the 2026 CEO Sport Integrity Forum, Kenny opened proceedings by framing the session around practical collaboration rather than compliance, setting a tone that has shaped how SIA engages with sport leaders across the country. Her advocacy for shared accountability across the sport system, rather than placing the burden on individual athletes, has been influential in how the sector thinks about integrity culture. LinkedIn active with governance and integrity commentary.

15. Patrick Johnson OAM

Patrick Johnson OAM is the first person not of African ancestry to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres, a Kaanju man from Far North Queensland, an Olympian, and a member of both the Sport Integrity Australia Advisory Council and the Brisbane 2032 Indigenous Advisory Council. He brings more than two decades of experience in child safeguarding, diversity, equity, and inclusion to the governance of Australian sport.

Johnson has been an advocate for First Nations athlete pathway development and a consistent voice on the need for sport organisations to engage with Indigenous communities through genuine partnership rather than representation as a token. His record as Oceanian and Australian 100-metre record holder and his current governance roles give him access and credibility across the sector that few advocates possess. LinkedIn active with Indigenous sport and safeguarding posts.

Category 4: Community Sport and Recreation

The vast majority of Australians and New Zealanders who engage with sport and recreation do so at the community level. The people shaping community sport, local recreation, and grassroots participation are often less visible than their elite counterparts but no less influential on the sector's outcomes.

16. Martin Sheppard FCIMPSA

Martin Sheppard is the CEO of the National Sports and Physical Activity Convention (NSC) and Managing Director of Smart Connection Consultancy. He has built NSC since 2016 into the largest gathering of the sport, recreation, leisure facilities, play, and physical activity sectors in the Asia-Pacific region. The 2026 NSC in Melbourne features more than 50 sessions across eight streams and more than 150 speakers.

Sheppard has been the convening force behind Australia's most significant industry knowledge-exchange platform for a decade, consistently bringing global expertise to the Australian and New Zealand markets. His work in community sport infrastructure consulting spans council planning, sport facility design, and participation strategy. He posts frequently on LinkedIn about the future of community sport infrastructure, participation, and physical activity's role in community wellbeing. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/martin-sheppard

17. Cam French

Cam French is the Executive General Manager of Sport and Community Capability at the Australian Sports Commission and the operational architect of Sport Australia's Play Well strategy, the national participation framework designed to help more Australians be active more often. He was the keynote speaker at the NSC 2026 participation stream session.

French has built much of Sport Australia's community engagement infrastructure, working across government, national sport organisations, state bodies, and local government to build the systems that support grassroots sport. His LinkedIn posts engage directly with practitioners on the challenges of community sport delivery, club sustainability, and participation barriers. LinkedIn active with community sport and Play Well strategy posts.

18. Jerril Rechter

Jerril Rechter is the Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Foundation, the only national body empowered to receive tax-deductible donations for sport. Her appointment positions the Foundation to grow philanthropic sport funding at a time when government funding alone cannot meet the infrastructure and programme needs of Australian sport.

Rechter brings experience from the philanthropic and sport sectors to the task of building new funding models for community sport. Her appointment signals the Foundation's ambition to deepen the case for sport philanthropy with the corporate and individual donors who have historically been more focused on health and arts. LinkedIn active with sport philanthropy and community sport sustainability posts.

19. Richard McInnes

Richard McInnes is the Executive General Manager of Sport Business at the Australian Sports Commission, representing the ASC in the closing intergenerational conversation at NSC 2026. He has been a consistent voice within the ASC on the practical dimensions of connecting participation strategy to community outcomes.

McInnes brings deep institutional knowledge of how the ASC works with state sport organisations, local government, and national sport bodies to build participation systems. His engagement at NSC 2026 focused on how the sector can build the genuine cross-sector partnerships needed to deliver the Play Well strategy's ambitions across the next decade. LinkedIn active with Australian sport policy and participation posts.

20. Jenn Benden

Jenn Benden is a Director at Xyst, the largest parks and recreation consultancy in New Zealand and Australia, and a regular presenter at Generate NZ, the country's leading young professionals network for parks, sport, and recreation. Her work spans strategic community planning, reserve management, and recreation facility planning for local government clients across both countries.

Benden brings a community planning perspective to sport and recreation infrastructure that foregrounds the lived experience of residents rather than the technical requirements of sport alone. Her presentations to young professionals in the sector have helped shape how the next generation of parks and recreation managers thinks about community engagement, equity, and long-term planning. LinkedIn active with parks, recreation, and community planning posts.

Category 5: Sport Inclusion and Access

Inclusion in sport is not a side issue. It is the defining challenge for a sector that has historically been built around narrow participation models. The voices leading the inclusion agenda are reshaping what sport and recreation looks like for millions of people.

21. Robyn Smith OAM

Robyn Smith OAM is the President of Sport Inclusion Australia, an IPC Governing Board member, and one of Australia's most persistent and credible advocates for the inclusion of people with intellectual impairment in sport and recreation. Her work contributed to Australia's growing reputation for leadership in inclusive sport systems, including Sport Inclusion Australia's leadership role at the Zero Project Conference 2026 in Vienna.

Smith has been central to building Virtus (the international federation for athletes with an intellectual impairment) and has worked to expand pathways for athletes with disability at national championship level across multiple sports. She is a vocal advocate for ensuring that Brisbane 2032 delivers genuine inclusion in its volunteer programme, participant engagement, and legacy planning. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/smithrobyn

22. Ayden Shaw

Ayden Shaw is the Chief Executive Officer of Disability Sports Australia, the national body working to increase participation in sport and recreation for Australians with disability. Under his leadership, DSA released the Play Well Participation Plan 2026-2029, outlining a national approach to disability sport participation aligned with the ASC's broader Play Well strategy.

Shaw has positioned DSA as a voice on the global stage, including through the organisation's leadership role at the Zero Project Conference 2026. He has been outspoken about the structural barriers that prevent people with disability from accessing community sport and about the responsibility of the sport system to build genuine inclusion rather than token representation. LinkedIn active with disability sport and inclusion posts.

23. Frances Quan Farrant

Frances Quan Farrant is the Manager of Strategic Impact at Disability Sports Australia and the leader who chaired a key session at the Zero Project Conference 2026, exploring how community-level sport fosters connection and belonging for people with disability. Her work sits at the intersection of sport policy, disability advocacy, and international engagement.

Quan Farrant has been a key architect of DSA's strategy for influencing how community sport organisations build inclusive environments rather than simply adaptive programmes. Her contribution to the 2026 Zero Project session demonstrated Australia's capacity to contribute to global thinking on inclusive sport at the highest level. LinkedIn active with disability inclusion and sport policy posts.

24. Kate McLoughlin

Kate McLoughlin made history as the first woman to lead Australia's Paralympic team at Rio 2016 and has been a consistent advocate for the full inclusion of athletes with disability across the Australian sport system. Based at Paralympics Australia, she has worked to build the commercial profile and community visibility of Paralympic sport in the Brisbane 2032 build-up.

McLoughlin has been particularly focused on making the case that Paralympic sport is not supplementary to Olympic sport but a full and equal dimension of Australia's sporting identity. Her advocacy for athlete welfare and governance reform within Australian sport has extended beyond the Paralympic movement to the sector more broadly. LinkedIn active with Paralympic sport and inclusion posts.

25. Dean Barton-Smith OAM

Dean Barton-Smith OAM is a nationally recognised leader in sport, accessibility, and public affairs with over 35 years of executive experience, and a member of the Sport Integrity Australia Advisory Council. Deaf from birth, he made history as the first deaf person globally to compete in the decathlon at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games representing Australia.

Barton-Smith now applies his deep understanding of accessibility to building sport organisations that genuinely include people with disability at every level. His dual expertise as a former elite athlete and an executive leader in the sector gives him a perspective on inclusion that bridges lived experience with systemic change. LinkedIn active with sport accessibility, disability inclusion, and leadership posts.

Category 6: Women in Sport Leadership

Women hold fewer than half of the leadership roles in Australian and New Zealand sport, a gap that has persisted despite decades of advocacy. The voices pushing hardest for change are also building the systems that will deliver it.

26. Lauren Jackson AO OLY

Lauren Jackson AO OLY is Australia's most decorated female basketball player, a Basketball Hall of Famer, and the newly appointed Chief Strategy and Basketball Partnerships Officer at the WNBL. Her appointment in 2026 follows her earlier role as WNBL Special Adviser and her work at Basketball Australia as Head of Women in Basketball, where she built the She Hoops participation programme.

Under her strategic leadership at the WNBL, the competition posted record broadcast numbers and introduced its first-ever collective bargaining agreement and total player payment system. Jackson has used her platform to challenge the commercial and media assumptions that have historically undervalued women's sport and to build the evidence-based case for investment in women's basketball infrastructure. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lauren-jackson-ao-oly-01639995

27. Chlo Dalton

Chlo Dalton is an Olympic gold medallist in Rugby Sevens, an AFLW competitor, a professional basketball player, and the founder of The Female Athlete Project, one of the most visible platforms in Australia for advancing visibility, equity, and investment in women's sport. Her multi-sport career and advocacy work make her one of the most distinctive voices in the Australian sport landscape.

Dalton has used her platform to challenge the commercial and media assumptions that undervalue women's sport, making the evidence-based case that investment in women's sport delivers returns to sponsors, broadcasters, and communities. The Female Athlete Project has produced research and advocacy that has influenced national conversations about women's sport funding and representation. LinkedIn active with women's sport and equity posts.

28. Caroline Young

Caroline Young is the Chief Executive Officer of Women in Sport Aotearoa, the New Zealand organisation established to accelerate gender equity across the sport and recreation sector. Under her leadership, Women in Sport Aotearoa has built a research and advocacy platform that regularly surfaces data on representation gaps and translates that data into practical governance recommendations.

Young has been particularly active in working with national and regional sport bodies to build gender equity plans that address the cultural and structural barriers limiting women's progression into leadership, not just numerical targets. Her LinkedIn posts engage regularly with research on women in sport, governance reform, and the practical dimensions of building equitable sport organisations. LinkedIn active with women in sport and governance posts.

29. Emma Styles

Emma Styles is the Director of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation in Victoria, and formerly Cricket Australia's inaugural Head of Female Engagement, where she played a pivotal role in the historic ICC Women's T20 World Cup Final at the MCG. She has been recognised as one of Brisbane 2032's most influential women in sport for her work advancing women's leadership initiatives across Australia.

Styles brings practical advocacy experience and institutional knowledge of how to drive gender equity initiatives through large sport organisations and government. Her current role at the state level gives her influence over the sport and recreation participation infrastructure that most directly affects Victorian women and girls. LinkedIn active with women's sport and equity posts.

30. Cate Campbell OAM

Cate Campbell OAM is an eight-time Olympic medallist and one of Australia's most decorated swimmers, who serves as Chair of the Australian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. She was among the 15 former athletes selected for the ASC's 2026 Accelerate program, supporting retiring female athletes as they transition into roles across the sport sector.

Her leadership of the Athletes' Commission gives her a formal platform through which to advocate for athlete interests in the governance decisions of Australian Olympic sport. Campbell has been increasingly active as a voice on athlete welfare, governance accountability, and the responsibilities of sport institutions toward their athletes as they navigate life beyond elite competition. LinkedIn active with athlete welfare and sport governance posts.

Category 7: Sport Management Academics and Researchers

The quality of evidence informing sport and recreation leadership decisions depends on the quality of research being produced. Australia and New Zealand have a world-class sport management research community that is actively shaping both policy and practice.

31. Professor Rochelle Eime

Professor Rochelle Eime is a sport participation researcher at Federation University whose work has mapped sport participation patterns across the lifespan, with a particular focus on the transition periods where participation drops most dramatically. Her research has directly informed national sport participation policy and has been used by organisations including the ASC in designing the Play Well strategy.

Eime's longitudinal research on participation demonstrates that the decisions sport organisations make about cost, accessibility, scheduling, and culture have measurable effects on who participates across their lifetime. Her LinkedIn engagement translates complex participation data into accessible insights for practitioners working to grow sport participation. LinkedIn active with sport participation research posts.

32. Associate Professor Daniel Lock

Associate Professor Daniel Lock is a sport consumer behaviour and governance researcher at Deakin University whose work on sport fandom, club identity, and participation motivation is widely cited across the sector. His research on the psychological dimensions of sport participation has practical implications for how sport organisations engage their communities.

Lock has been a consistent voice on the importance of understanding the motivational psychology of participants and fans, arguing that sport organisations that fail to understand why people engage with their sport will struggle to build sustainable communities. He has collaborated on an integrated framework for sport organisational culture with colleagues at Queensland Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies. LinkedIn active with sport management research posts.

33. Dr Stephen Townsend

Dr Stephen Townsend is a researcher at the Queensland Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies whose work on organisational culture in sport has produced a synthesis framework integrating the major models of organisational culture and applying them to sport contexts. His collaborative research with colleagues has generated original academic work bridging sport management theory and practice.

Townsend's research addresses how sport organisations can diagnose and change their cultures more effectively, drawing on insights from organisational studies that have rarely been applied to sport. His work has practical implications for any sport organisation undergoing leadership transition, governance reform, or strategic change. LinkedIn active with sport organisational culture research posts.

34. Professor Katie Rook

Professor Katie Rook is a sport management researcher at Victoria University Melbourne whose work focuses on the governance and leadership of sport for development programmes across Australia and internationally. Her research connects academic governance theory with the practical realities of managing organisations that are simultaneously sport delivery vehicles and social outcome generators.

Rook has been particularly active in research on the governance of small sport organisations and community clubs, a dimension of the sector often overlooked in favour of large national bodies. Her LinkedIn posts engage with practitioners on the operational challenges of community sport governance and the evidence on what works for sustainable community sport organisations. LinkedIn active with sport management and governance posts.

35. Greg Blood

Greg Blood is a sport administration analyst and blogger based in Australia who has been documenting the movements of Australian sport CEOs and executives for nearly a decade. His stocktake of Australian sport CEOs from 2000 to 2026 is one of the most comprehensive resources on sport leadership succession in the country and is regularly cited by practitioners and researchers.

Blood's analytical work fills a genuine gap in sport sector knowledge by tracking how leadership positions change hands over time and what patterns emerge in sport executive career paths. His LinkedIn and blog posts are a consistent source of sector intelligence for sport management professionals navigating career development and sector strategy. LinkedIn active with sport administration analysis posts.

Category 8: Sport Facility Infrastructure and Aquatic Leadership

The physical environments in which sport and recreation happen matter enormously to participation and community outcomes. The people designing and managing these environments shape what is possible for communities for decades to come.

36. Philip Saikaly

Philip Saikaly is a senior leader at Sport and Recreation Victoria with extensive experience in community sport infrastructure planning and investment. His work on the Active Victoria strategy has shaped how the Victorian Government invests in sport facilities, parks, and recreation infrastructure designed to increase participation and serve communities equitably.

Saikaly has presented at international forums including the IAKS conference on how government investment in sport infrastructure can be designed to deliver lasting participation outcomes rather than simply adding square metres. His approach connects infrastructure investment to evidence on participation behaviour, ensuring that new facilities are built where they will have the greatest community impact. LinkedIn active with sport infrastructure and community planning posts.

37. Ben Ewald

Ben Ewald is the CEO of Aquatics and Recreation Victoria, the peak body for aquatic and recreation facilities in Victoria. Aquatic facilities are among the most significant community sport and recreation assets in Australia, and the sector's leadership on accessibility, inclusion, and sustainability has major implications for who gets to be active.

Ewald has been particularly active in advocating for investment in ageing aquatic infrastructure across Victoria and in building the workforce capability of aquatic and recreation facility managers. His LinkedIn posts address the operational challenges of community recreation facilities, the governance of recreation organisations, and the workforce development needs of the sector as it prepares for population growth. LinkedIn active with aquatic and recreation management posts.

38. Alicia McKay

Alicia McKay is a New Zealand-based author, strategist, and consultant specialising in public sector leadership and local government, including her work with councils managing sport, parks, and recreation infrastructure. With a focus on practical strategy and decision-making, she has worked with over 120 organisations including councils and major corporations.

McKay is known for her candid approach, emphasising the importance of authenticity and real-world impact in leadership. She has authored three books and runs the Wednesday Wisdom newsletter, which regularly addresses the challenge of making better decisions in complex organisations. Her LinkedIn presence reaches a large and engaged audience of public sector and recreation leaders across New Zealand and Australia. LinkedIn active as a New Zealand LinkedIn Top Voice 2025.

Category 9: Sport Policy and State Peak Bodies

State and territory peak bodies translate national sport policy into local delivery systems. The leaders of these organisations are often the most influential voices in how sport actually functions for most Australians and New Zealanders day to day.

39. Richard Mulcahy

Richard Mulcahy is the Chief Executive of Tennis Australia, one of the most commercially sophisticated and technically advanced national sport organisations in the country. His leadership has overseen Tennis Australia's continued investment in both elite pathways and community participation infrastructure, including its innovative Smart Tennis facility programme.

Mulcahy has been a consistent voice on the commercial sustainability of national sport organisations and the need for sport bodies to build revenue streams beyond government funding. His LinkedIn engagement addresses sport commercial strategy, governance, and the challenge of building sport organisations that serve both elite and community needs simultaneously. LinkedIn active with tennis and sport commercial posts.

40. Andrew Travis

Andrew Travis is the Chief Executive Officer of Netball Australia, leading the administration of one of Australia's most played women's sports through a period of significant structural change. He has overseen the renegotiation of broadcast rights, the reform of the Super Netball competition structure, and efforts to build a more sustainable commercial model for the sport.

Travis has been transparent about the financial and governance challenges facing Netball Australia and has worked to build stakeholder trust through open communication. His experience managing complex multi-stakeholder environments in sport makes him a credible voice on the governance and commercial challenges facing national sport organisations in the current funding environment. LinkedIn active with netball and sport governance posts.

41. Marne Fechner

Marne Fechner served as Chief Executive of Netball Australia from 2016 to 2022 and has since been active as a board director and adviser across the sport sector. Her tenure at Netball Australia included managing the historic broadcast deal with Foxtel and Nine Network and navigating the significant governance and financial challenges that have characterised the sport's recent history.

Fechner's experience as a female CEO in a historically female sport has given her a distinctive perspective on the unique challenges facing women's sport administration in Australia. She is active on LinkedIn with commentary on sport governance, women's leadership, and the commercialisation of women's sport, making her one of the most engaged practitioner-advisers in the sector. LinkedIn active with sport governance and women in sport posts.

42. Andrea Nelson MNZM

Andrea Nelson MNZM has been appointed Chief Executive of New Zealand Rugby League ahead of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, bringing more than two decades of senior leadership across national and international sport, major global events, governance, and commercial strategy. She previously led Gymnastics New Zealand, the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, and the merger that created Northern Region Football.

NZRL Chair Justin Leydesdorff described her appointment as reflecting a rare combination of strategic leadership, operational delivery, and authentic passion for the game. Her career trajectory across multiple codes and disciplines makes her one of the most versatile sport executives in the Tasman region. LinkedIn active with New Zealand sport leadership posts.

Category 10: Community Recreation, Wellbeing, and Emerging Voices

The recreation sector, broadly defined, touches more Australians than organised sport. The people leading community recreation programmes, youth sport development, and physically active communities are doing some of the most consequential work in the sector. This category also includes the emerging voices whose contribution to future leadership is already underway.

43. David Lloyd

David Lloyd is the Chief Executive Officer of the Heart Foundation Australia, one of the most important external voices in the sport and recreation sector on the public health case for physical activity. His presence at the closing NSC 2026 session alongside sport sector leaders reflected the growing recognition that sport and public health are not separate conversations.

Lloyd has been consistent in making the evidence-based case that investment in community sport and recreation infrastructure is public health investment, and that the sport sector needs to build stronger partnerships with health agencies to make this case to government decision-makers. LinkedIn active with public health, physical activity, and sport policy posts.

44. Ikram Mahamed

Ikram Mahamed is the Director at the Centre for Multicultural Youth and one of the emerging voices in the sport and recreation sector on the participation barriers facing young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. He spoke at NSC 2026 as part of the intergenerational dialogue on the future of sport, representing the perspectives of young people whose engagement with sport is shaped by barriers that traditional participation data fails to capture.

Mahamed's work at CMY has produced practical guidance for sport organisations on how to engage multicultural youth communities in ways that respect cultural identity while building genuine participation. His presence at NSC 2026 reflected the sector's growing recognition that diversity in the room shapes the quality of decisions being made about sport's future. LinkedIn active with multicultural community and youth development posts.

45. Khalid Muse

Khalid Muse is the Chief Operating Officer of CALM Youth, a Queensland-based organisation working with young people at risk, and one of the emerging voices in Australian sport on the role of sport in youth development and social inclusion. He was featured at NSC 2026 as part of the intergenerational dialogue, bringing a youth services perspective to the sport sector's conversation about its future.

Muse's work at CALM Youth has produced evidence on how sport programmes can be designed to build genuine belonging and development for young people who have historically been excluded from the sport system. His perspective challenges the sector to think about participation not as a number to be increased but as an experience to be designed for inclusion and transformation. LinkedIn active with youth development and community sport posts.

46. Abbie Brady

Abbie Brady is the founder of HER WAY Sports Media, who launched the platform at just 11 years old to amplify women's sport and young voices in the sport industry. She chaired the intergenerational dialogue session at NSC 2026 and has rapidly become one of the most distinctive emerging voices in Australian sport.

Brady's presence at NSC 2026 as a session chair reflects the sector's growing recognition that the next generation brings different expectations about media, inclusion, and what sport should look like. Her platform HER WAY has built a following among young people engaged with women's sport and is producing content that is shaping how the sector communicates with its youngest audiences. LinkedIn active with women's sport and media posts.

47. Mia Victorsen

Mia Victorsen is a Netball Queensland Youth Advisory Group alumna and one of the emerging voices at NSC 2026 on the future of sport from the perspective of the generation that the sector most needs to serve. Her participation in the intergenerational dialogue at NSC 2026 demonstrated the sector's capacity to elevate youth voices in genuine conversations about direction and strategy.

Victorsen's perspective on how young people want to engage with sport, what values they expect sport organisations to hold, and what barriers prevent them from participating more is exactly the intelligence that sport organisations need to plan effectively for the next decade. LinkedIn active with netball and youth sport leadership posts.

48. Dr Roslyn Kerr

Dr Roslyn Kerr is a New Zealand sports sociologist whose career spans academic research on high-performance sport and community recreation, including her recent move into the Christchurch City Council as a parks manager. Her transition from academia to local government practice is itself a model for how research expertise can be translated into operational leadership.

Kerr's work on the actor-network dimensions of high-performance gymnastics in New Zealand and her subsequent work on parks management brings a sociological lens to questions that are usually treated as purely technical. Her research on how knowledge travels through sport systems has practical implications for how organisations build and share expertise. LinkedIn active with parks management and sport sociology posts.

49. Wayne Smith KNZM

Sir Wayne Smith KNZM is one of New Zealand's greatest coaching minds, whose career in rugby coaching spans three Rugby World Cup wins with the All Blacks. Sport New Zealand honoured him in 2026 and cited his contributions to how New Zealand builds coaching cultures and develops leadership in high-performance environments. His nickname, The Professor, speaks to the intellectual rigour he brings to leadership development.

Smith's approach to coaching has always centred on team culture, values, and identity rather than tactical systems alone, and this philosophy has influenced how New Zealand's high-performance sport sector thinks about the role of coaches as culture-builders. His publicly shared reflections on leadership, team identity, and what it means to win with integrity have resonated across the sector. Referenced via Sport New Zealand LinkedIn posts.

50. Trevor Meiklejohn

Trevor Meiklejohn is a New Zealand sport management researcher and practitioner whose work at Auckland University of Technology has focused on governance in Pacific sport organisations and the leadership challenges specific to sport in small island developing states. His research addresses how governance frameworks developed for large Western sport organisations often fit poorly onto Pacific sport bodies.

Meiklejohn has contributed to Sport New Zealand's leadership framework development and has been a consistent voice on the need for context-sensitive governance models. His work on Pacific sport leadership is increasingly relevant as Australia and New Zealand deepen their engagement with sport development across the Pacific region ahead of Brisbane 2032. LinkedIn active with Pacific sport governance and management posts.

Notable Voices We Almost Included

This list was deliberately focused on active current leadership and contribution rather than historical legacy alone. Figures like Peter Miskimmin, who led Sport New Zealand for more than a decade, Kate Palmer AM, who served as CEO of both Netball Australia and the Australian Sports Commission, and academic voices such as Professor David Shilbury at Deakin University, whose Sport Management textbook has educated a generation of practitioners, came very close to the final selection. Brene Brown, Adam Grant, Simon Sinek, and similar figures whose work touches leadership broadly are well known to most readers and were deliberately set aside in favour of voices specific to the sport and recreation sector.

Within the sport sector, the scale and pace of change in 2025 and 2026 meant that several senior executives whose significant contributions are well-documented, including long-serving state sport body leaders and recently departed national sport executives, were passed over in favour of those whose current public engagement was most active. The strength of the field reflects how much leadership talent exists across the sector.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Sport and Recreation Leadership

The first and most common mistake is treating participation as a numbers problem rather than an experience problem. Sport organisations that focus on growing participation headcounts without examining the quality of the experience they deliver find they can recruit participants but cannot retain them. The AusPlay data consistently shows that participation drops sharply after adolescence, and the evidence points to organised sport becoming less enjoyable and more pressured as children age through the system. Leaders who focus relentlessly on experience quality, belonging, and fun at the community level produce very different outcomes from those who focus on headcounts and targets alone.

The second mistake is separating governance from culture. High-profile integrity failures in sport have consistently emerged from organisations with technically adequate governance frameworks that had poor cultures around accountability, truth-telling, and athlete welfare. The research by Professor Emma Sherry and RMIT colleagues consistently shows that culture does more work in shaping organisational outcomes than governance structures alone. Leaders who treat governance reform as a cultural project, not just a procedural one, produce more durable change.

The third mistake is treating inclusion as a programme rather than a design principle. Sport organisations that create inclusion as a special programme for underrepresented groups, while leaving their core systems and cultures unchanged, find that participation by those groups remains fragile and dependent on the continuation of the specific programme. The advocates on this list who are producing the most durable inclusion outcomes are working to change how core systems, from facility design to club culture to selection processes, function by default rather than by exception.

The fourth mistake is underestimating the Brisbane 2032 window. The Games present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build participation infrastructure, develop workforce capability, and inspire community engagement. The leaders on this list who are most optimistic about the next decade are those who have clear plans for how their organisations will use the 2032 moment to build something lasting. Those without such plans risk becoming spectators in their own sector's most significant decade.

The fifth mistake is leading in isolation. The complexity of the challenges facing sport and recreation, from declining youth participation to governance reform to climate adaptation, exceeds what any single organisation can solve alone. The most effective leaders are building coalitions, sharing data, and creating the conditions for genuine cross-sector learning. NSC and SMAANZ exist precisely because the sector recognised that collective intelligence outperforms siloed excellence.

Implementation Guide: Building Your Professional Network in Sport and Recreation Leadership

Following 50 thought leaders is not the same as learning from them. The value of this directory depends on what you do with it. A practical approach begins with selecting five people from this list whose work is most directly relevant to your current role and challenges. Read their recent LinkedIn posts, look at the organisations they lead, and identify the specific questions their work addresses that are relevant to yours. Follow them on LinkedIn and engage genuinely with their content, sharing your own perspective rather than simply observing.

Next, identify the conference and convening opportunities where these voices appear. NSC 2026 in Melbourne brings together many of the people on this list in July. The SMAANZ annual conference, Women in Sport Aotearoa events, and the Sport Integrity Australia CEO Forum are all gatherings where the sector's thinking is being actively shaped. Attending even one of these per year provides access to conversations that cannot be replicated through content consumption alone.

Build your own perspective. The sport and recreation sector needs practitioners who can contribute to the conversation, not just consume it. Write up what you are learning from your own experience. Share your challenges and what you have tried. The thought leaders on this list built their influence by having something to say, not by waiting until they had perfect credentials.

Connect with the academic voices on this list, particularly through SMAANZ. The evidence base for effective sport and recreation leadership is stronger than most practitioners realise, and building a relationship with researchers working on questions relevant to your practice is one of the most underutilised professional development strategies in the sector.

If your leadership team needs structured support to work more effectively together as you navigate these challenges, Jonno White facilitates Working Genius workshops, executive offsites, and DISC sessions with sport and recreation organisations across Australia and internationally. Whether you are based in Brisbane, Auckland, or anywhere in between, reach out to jonno@consultclarity.org. International travel is often far more affordable than organisations expect.

Frequently Asked Questions

How was this list compiled?

Every person on this list was selected on the basis of documented professional contribution to sport and recreation leadership, active engagement with the sector's professional conversation in 2025 and 2026, and relevance to Australia and New Zealand. The list prioritises practitioners and researchers who are actively shaping the field right now, with a deliberate effort to represent the full disciplinary and geographic breadth of the sector rather than only its most prominent national figures.

Who leads Sport New Zealand in 2026?

Raelene Castle ONZM is the Group Chief Executive of Sport New Zealand, reappointed in April 2026 for a second term through to May 2030. She has led the organisation since December 2020 and oversees both the participation strategy and the high-performance system through High Performance Sport New Zealand.

Who is the CEO of the Australian Sports Commission?

Kieren Perkins OAM is the CEO of the Australian Sports Commission, reappointed in February 2026 for a further five-year term. He has led the ASC since March 2022 and is responsible for both Sport Australia (participation) and the Australian Institute of Sport (high performance).

What is SMAANZ?

SMAANZ is the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand, the professional association for sport management academics and researchers across both countries. It publishes the Sport Management Review and runs an annual conference. Professor Emma Sherry received the SMAANZ Distinguished Service Award in 2025.

What is the Play Well strategy?

Play Well is the Australian Sports Commission's national sport participation strategy, designed to help more Australians be active more often across their lifetime. It is delivered in partnership with national sport organisations, state sporting organisations, local government, and community providers. Cam French from the ASC led the Play Well stream at NSC 2026.

Can I hire someone to facilitate leadership workshops for my sport or recreation organisation?

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator and Certified DISC practitioner who works with leadership teams in sport and recreation organisations on team health, communication, and the alignment that underpins effective strategy execution. He facilitates Working Genius workshops, DISC sessions, and executive team offsites across Australia and internationally. Jonno is the bestselling author of Step Up or Step Out and host of The Leadership Conversations Podcast, trusted by schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

What is Brisbane 2032 and why does it matter for sport leadership?

Brisbane 2032 is the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in Southeast Queensland in 2032. It represents the most significant catalyst for sport infrastructure investment, athlete pathway development, and community engagement in Australian sporting history. Cindy Hook is the CEO of the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee. The Games are shaping every major strategic conversation in Australian sport right now, from facility investment and athlete welfare to community legacy planning.

Final Thoughts

Sport and recreation leadership in Australia and New Zealand has never been more complex or more consequential. The 50 people on this list are navigating a sector that is simultaneously preparing for the most ambitious sporting event in Australian history, managing declining youth participation, reforming governance frameworks that have sometimes failed the people they serve, and building the physical and organisational infrastructure for the next generation of active Australians and New Zealanders.

What strikes you reading across all 50 of these profiles is the diversity of approaches to a shared challenge: how to make sport and recreation genuinely valuable for communities, not just for elites. The national agency leaders and the community recreation practitioners, the governance academics and the inclusion advocates, the infrastructure designers and the emerging Pacific voices, they are all working on different dimensions of the same question.

The sector has the people. It has the research. It has the government investment. What it now needs is the leadership collaboration that connects all of these resources into a coherent national effort. The voices on this list are already building those connections. The best way to support their work is to learn from it, contribute to it, and add your own perspective.

If you lead a team inside a sport or recreation organisation and want to strengthen the leadership culture that will sustain your strategy through the Brisbane 2032 decade and beyond, Jonno White works with leadership teams on the team health and communication practices that allow organisations to perform under pressure. He is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator and Certified DISC practitioner who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits across Australia and internationally. His book Step Up or Step Out addresses the difficult conversations and accountability challenges that every leadership team eventually faces. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

For more on team dynamics and organisational health, see Jonno's blog at consultclarity.org/news-updates.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.

To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Next Read

For more on building leadership team effectiveness, Jonno's blog covers Working Genius facilitation, team building, and executive coaching for organisations around the world. Visit consultclarity.org/news-updates to explore the full library.