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Leadership from Lockdown

Take a look at a video leadership series, exploring the challenges and opportunities of ‘Leadership from Lockdown’!

Posted: 8 April 2020

We have seen unprecedented disruption at all levels of sport and physical activity globally and here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The IWG New Zealand Secretariat and our partners at Trans-Tasman Business Circle SportsConnect are delighted to bring you a free series of live virtual sports leadership interviews.

Leadership from Lockdown: How do we lead effectively from self isolation? And when the restrictions finally lift, where do we go from lockdown?

Globally, we’ve seen giants of the sporting world bring their competitions to an abrupt halt, with the postponement or cancellation of everything from the Formula 1 season to the English Premier League and significantly, the 12-month postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In Aotearoa New Zealand, home to the IWG 2018 – 2022, all sport – from high performance to grassroots – was on-hold and many sports organisations at all levels are now fighting for survival. Our country’s “lockdown” has also presented enormous challenges for the physical activity sector, with kiwis restricted to simple exercise in their local areas and explicit bans on activities such as surfing, tramping, fishing and hunting. These experiences are similar all over the globe right now, with the movements of more than 1/3 of the world’s population currently restricted to fight COVID-19. The knock-on effect to sport broadcasters and media globally is immense, as is the impact on support services. We all need to pull together to recover and build a system bigger, better and more inclusive than ever before!

As we all navigate this uncertain world, learning and leaning on the expertise of those at the top of their games has never been more important.

In this series we have:

  • Listened to the stories of a varied range of top leaders from across global and local sport and physical activity
  • Explored the major decisions they have made (or reacted to) and their decision-making processes
  • Understand the practicalities of managing staff, stakeholders and volunteers through significant change
  • Find out about the process of redeveloping an organisational strategic plan and budget very quickly 
  • Learn about opportunities and challenges unique to their particular position or type of organisation
  • Hear authentic insights about the journey they have been on personally, as they lead from lockdown

Over the course of 45min, we have:

  • Introduced our moderator of the week and our guest speaker (2-3min)
  • Led our guest speaker through a series of pre-planned questions (15min)
  • Opened the floor to questions from the audience, taken through the ZOOM platform (25min)
  • Closed the session with final remarks and words of wisdom from our guest speaker (2-3min)


WEEK TEN: Paula Tesoriero MNZM, Chef de Mission – NZ Paralympic Team & Disability Rights Commissioner, NZ Government

13.30 pm – 14.15 pm NZT, Friday 12 June 2020

A lot happened on 25 March 2020. New Zealand entered an unprecedented lockdown and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games was postponed by 12 months.

WATCH: Paula Tesoriero talk about the postponement and the need to create a more inclusive society during the recovery from COVID-19.

Paula Tesoriero is New Zealand’s Disability Rights Commissioner. It is her role to protect and promote the rights of disabled New Zealanders. Paula is Chef de Mission for the New Zealand Paralympic team heading to Toyko. She is also a Paralympic cycling gold medalist, a former lawyer, was a general manager at Stats NZ and at the Ministry of Justice, a life trustee with the Halberg Foundation, and has held a range of governance roles on various Boards, and is a mum.

This week’s moderator: Rachel Froggatt.



WEEK NINE: Oliver Dudfield, Head of Sport for Development & Peace, Commonwealth Secretariat

08.30 – 09.15 am NZT, Friday 5 June 2020 (21.30 pm GMT, Thursday 4 June 2020)

The Commonwealth Secretariat, the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is uniquely placed to observe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: both generally on the economies and societies of its 54 member nations, but also on sport and in particular, women’s sport.

WATCH: Ollie Dudfield explain what the Commonwealth Secretariat is seeing around the world.

Oliver Dudfield leads the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work supporting member countries to maximize and protect the contribution sport can make to sustainable economic, social and environmental development. He has spearheaded the intergovernmental organisation’s globally recognised initiatives on sport and the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes overseeing the Secretariat’s role coordinating international efforts to measure and quantify the contribution of sport to this global agenda. Over his career Oliver has advised multiple United Nations and intergovernmental agencies, national governments, sporting bodies and civil society organisations on policy design, strategy and partnership projects. He was previously the Chair of the Steering Board for the International Platform on Sport and Development, represents the Commonwealth on the Permanent Consultative Council of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Education and Sport and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights and Advisory Board for the International Safeguards for Children in Sport.  He is the author of multiple publications on enhancing the contribution of sport to human and social development. Before taking up his current role, Oliver was the General Manager at Vicsport, the peak body for sport and active recreation in Victoria, Australia. He started his career as a basketball coach and coach educator, working in the national systems in Australia and New Zealand.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Zoë George.



WEEK EIGHT: Jeff Latch, Head of Spark Sport (New Zealand)

11.30am – 12.15 pm NZT, Friday 29 May 2020

Spark Sport entered the New Zealand broadcast scene in February 2019, offering kiwis their first sports streaming alternative to traditional Pay TV.

WATCH: Jeff talk about the impact of COVID-19 and the role he thinks broadcasters should play in making sure women’s sport is not left behind.

Read some of the media coverage post-interview:

Women’s sports rely on women viewers‘, Radio New Zealand. Syndicated on Fiji Times.

NZ sports among those ‘woefully unprepared’ for pandemic, TV official says‘, Reuters. Syndicated on ESPN Australia and CNA.

Jeff Latch is a Senior Executive with an extensive background in Television and Digital Media. He has previously held senior roles at TVNZ including Head of Television, Director of Content and Director of Sales. Prior to his time at TVNZ  he was a foundation shareholder and CEO of Sportsinc, a local NZ production company, COO of Touchdown Television and General Manager of Moving Pictures, the standalone subsidiary of TVNZ that was responsible for all TVNZ, Sky TV and Mediaworks Outside Broadcast productions. His current role is Head of Spark Sport where he is responsible for managing the financial and operational performance of Spark’s stand-alone Sports Streaming business.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Zoë George.



WEEK SEVEN: Dr. Bridie O’Donnell, Director, Office for Women in Sport & Recreation, Victorian State Government

13.30 – 14.15 pm NZT, Friday 22 May 2020

There has been much discussion about the similarities and differences between New Zealand and Australia when it comes to lockdown measures.

WATCH: Bridie talk about how Australian sport has been faring during COVID-19 and what plans are in place for recovery and rebuild. 

Dr Bridie O’Donnell graduated Valedictorian from the University of QLD Medical School and was awarded the JRS Lahz prize for Most Outstanding Intern of the Year. She competed as an elite rower and an Ironman triathlete while working as a junior doctor, and then gave up working full time to race in Europe as a professional cyclist in Europe and the US from 2008-2012, working part time every summer as an ICU Fellow and Orthopaedic assistant to fund her cycling career. Bridie represented AUS three times at cycling world championships, and then returned home to Melbourne to work at the Epworth hospital as a behaviour change physician. In 2016, she broke the UCI Women’s Hour World Record riding 46.882km at sea level. In 2017 Dr O’Donnell was appointed the inaugural head of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation and in 2018 she published ‘Life and Death – a cycling memoir.’ Her role in the Victorian Government is leading the first office of its kind in Australia and directs investment into the community to level the playing field for women and girls in sport and recreation.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Zoë George.



WEEK SIX: Tracey Prince Puketapu, Acting CEO, Recreation Aotearoa

13.30 – 14.15 pm NZT, Friday 15 May 2020

Lockdown has brought recreation to an unprecedented standstill, with people limited to only the activities they can do at home or in their neighbourhoods.

CLICK HERE to watch Tracey talk about helping people to get moving and how social distancing will continue to impact freedom of choice and movement.

Tracey Prince-Puketapu has been in the Recreation Industry for over 18 years in various roles including lifeguard, facility manager and for the past 7 years, as Aquatics Programme Manager at Recreation Aotearoa. In her current role as Acting CEO Tracey is endeavouring to provide leadership for her team and the industry through the challenging time presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. She is keen to explore the opportunities for the recreation sector that are emerging through COVID-19. In her spare time Tracey loves off-road running and generally spending time outdoors recreating in the sunny capital of New Zealand.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell.



WEEK FIVE: Dr. Siouxsie Wiles, MNZM, Microbiologist, Auckland University

13.30 – 14.15 pm NZT, Friday 8 May 2020

Dr. Siouxsie Wiles has been a mainstay in living rooms across Aotearoa New Zealand. 

WATCH: Siouxsie give insights on what sport and recreation may look like in future, as we drop down through lockdown levels.

Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles describes herself as a microbiologist and bioluminescence enthusiast but to many she is “that pink-haired science lady”. Siouxsie studied medical microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a PhD in microbiology at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxford. She spent almost a decade at Imperial College London, before relocating to Aotearoa New Zealand as a Health Research Council Hercus Fellow in 2009. Siouxsie heads up the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at Auckland University, where she combines her twin passions to understand infectious diseases and to find new antibiotics. Siouxsie also has a keen interest in demystifying science; she is a tweeter, blogger, podcaster, and media science commentator, and has worked with artists to make living works of art for various exhibitions in Aotearoa and overseas. In 2017 she published her first book, ‘Antibiotic resistance: the end of modern medicine?’, and recently collaborated with her daughter to make a kid’s show about microbiology. Siouxsie has won numerous awards for her research and science communication efforts, including the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) 3Rs prize, the Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize, and Royal Society Te Apārangi’s Callaghan Medal. She was one of three finalists for the 2018 Kiwibank New Zealander of Year award and in 2019 was appointed a member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to microbiology and science communication.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell.



WEEK FOUR: Katie Sadleir, General Manager, Women’s Rugby, World Rugby

07.30 – 08.15am NZT, Friday 1 May 2020

World Rugby has accelerated development of the women’s game in recent years. Katie joined us live from Dublin, to talk about the changing landscape.

WATCH: Katie talk about the progress and ambitions for women’s rugby globally and the challenges of ensuring COVID-19 does not slow growth.

Read some of the media coverage post-interview:

Golden year awaits women’s rugby in 2021‘, LockerRoom.

2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand won’t be shifted‘, Radio New Zealand.

Katie Sadleir was appointed World Rugby General Manager for Women’s Rugby in November 2016 and moved from New Zealand to Ireland to take up the role in 2017. Prior to joining World Rugby, Katie accrued a wealth of experience as both an athlete and a senior leader working in sports and sports governance in New Zealand. Born in Scotland, raised in Canada, Katie made New Zealand her home, representing her adopted country at the 1984 Olympic Games in synchronised swimming, before going on to win a bronze medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. Following her retirement from international sport, Katie led the establishment of the New Zealand Academy of Sport network in the late 1990s. She then went on to serve as General Manager of Sport and Recreation New Zealand (now Sport New Zealand), from 2000-2006, acting as a leading proponent in the transformation of New Zealand’s High-Performance system.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell.



WEEK THREE: Sarai Bareman, Chief Women’s Football Officer, FIFA

07.30 – 08.15am NZT, Friday 24 April 2020

FIFA, World Rugby and the International Cricket Council (ICC) jointly sounded an alarm last week as to the potential impact of COVID-19 on women’s sport.

WATCH: Sarai talk about the growth of women’s football and how the 211 FIFA member associations are managing the impacts of COVID-19.

Read some of the media coverage post-interview:

Women’s football can flourish out of Covid-19‘, LockerRoom.

Coronavirus: Women’s sport on back-burner as money reigns supreme‘, Stuff.

Elite women’s football in danger of being overlooked after Covid-19‘, Radio New Zealand.

Sarai heads the Women’s Football Division as a member of FIFA’s Management Board, implementing the Women’s Football Strategy in conjunction with FIFA’s 211 member associations. This aims to grow participation, enhance commercial value and build on the foundations of the game, all while leveraging the societal benefits of football. In 2019, Sarai was at the helm of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, the most successful edition of the tournament to date with more the 1 billion broadcast viewers worldwide, and stadium spectators totalling more than 1 million fans. Born in Auckland, New Zealand to a Samoan mother and Dutch father, Sarai’s passion for football started as a young girl. Encouraged to play by her father, a coach, she eventually represented the Samoan women’s national team. After a career in the banking and finance industry in New Zealand, she worked at national association level as the CEO of the Football Federation Samoa. In July 2014, she back moved to New Zealand to take up the position of Deputy General Secretary at the Oceania Football Confederation. In 2015, Sarai was appointed as the sole female member of the FIFA Reform Committee and went on to be named FIFA’s first ever the Chief Women’s Football Officer in 2016.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell.



WEEK TWO: Martin Snedden CNZM, Board Member & ‘One Cricket’ Project Lead, New Zealand Cricket (NZC)

13.30 – 14.15 NZT, Friday 17 April 2020

Cricket came to an instant halt for our New Zealand teams when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced tough new border restrictions to control COVID-19. 

WATCH: Martin speak about the NZ Cricket response so far, and what he sees ahead as the sports sector begins to recover.

Read some of the media coverage post-interview:

New Zealand sport has good opportunity post Covid-19 – Martin Snedden‘, Radio New Zealand.

Clubs likely lose out on millions — Snedden‘, Otago Daily Times.

How the Black Caps home summer might look and why NZ Cricket is depending on it‘, Stuff.

Government rules out competitive sport at Level 3, as golfers wait for clarity‘, Stuff.

A former 1980s BLACKCAP, Martin brings a wealth of ‘business of sport’ experience to the table. Martin, at various stages, has been Chief Executive of NZC, Rugby New Zealand 2011 (which delivered RWC 2011), Tourism Industry Association NZ, and Duco Events as well as having been a Director of the ICC and World Masters Games 2017. Martin is passionate about inclusion, now leading NZC’s ‘One Cricket’ project. He is a Board member of Women in Sport Aotearoa.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell.



WEEK ONE: Kereyn Smith MNZM, Chief Executive and Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC)

13.00 – 13.45 NZT, Thursday 9 April 2020

After many weeks of speculation and uncertainty, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were officially postponed by 12 months due to COVID-19.

WATCH: Kereyn speak about the journey so far and what she now sees on the horizon as our athletes prepare for 2021.

Read some of the media coverage post-interview:

Concerns women’s sport could bear brunt of financial cutbacks‘, Radio New Zealand

Kereyn is amongst one of New Zealand’s most recognisable sports administrators, having led the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games campaigns since 2011. Kereyn was involved in the establishment of the IWG in 1994 and since then, as continued to promote gender equity. In 2015, the NZOC became the first National Olympic Committee (NOC) to win the IOC ‘Women in Sport’ World Trophy. Kereyn is an original Foundation Member of Women in Sport Aotearoa.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell.

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