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20 YEARS OF WORK
Explore my work and impact with these major sports, event and tourism brands. Below, you’ll find an overview of my roles, key outcomes, and deliverables for each project.
SPORT & MAJOR EVENTS
2005
Event Manager, Opening Match
DHL Lions Series, New Zealand
As the newly appointed Sponsorship Manager at Bay of Plenty Rugby Union, my first task was Event Manager for the Lion Series Opening Match. Managing signage and sponsor obligations, ensuring brand visibility and compliance, and delivering the pre-match entertainment, which was broadcast live to millions and set the tone for the series. Additionally, I managed broadcast logistics and timings, ensuring seamless coverage of the event.
2007
Event Director
Oceania Football Confederation
Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers
Contracted to deliver a last-minute event originally planned for Tahiti, which was relocated to Auckland (in winter) after their withdrawal. Partnered with the council and OFC to create a bespoke outdoor sand pitch at one of Auckland’s most iconic lookout points, ensuring the tournament met FIFA regulations and event requirements. Despite the challenges, the event was successfully delivered and through the broadcast, it rivaled the standards of any global professional beach soccer tournament.
2008
Director - Protocol & Events
FIFA U17 Women's World Cup 2008
Developed and managed the globally televised events within the tournament, including the Draw, Opening, Closing & Medal Ceremonies, plus three significant banquets. Being the first point of contact for FIFA and government key stakeholders, I also oversaw the VIP hosting and gift programme for FIFA executives, government officials, sponsors, teams and media across all venues.
2009
Marketing Instructor
FIFA, Oceania Region
Appointed as a FIFA Marketing Instructor for a year, supporting the media and marketing efforts of the Oceania Football Confederation’s 11 National Football Federations across New Zealand and the Pacific. My role involved delivering workshops that guided their marketing strategies, enhancing media engagement, and strengthening brand presence to drive the growth of football and fan base in the region.
2010
Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Major Sponsor & Broadcast Partner
ANZ Championship (Netball)
Led the sponsorship delivery of ANZ’s major partnership with the ANZ Netball Chamionship in New Zealand, overseeing game activations, a nationwide funding program for clubs, schools, and teams, and the execution of a Netball Festival across five major regions. This role involved maximizing brand engagement, enhancing community participation, and ensuring seamless activation of ANZ’s sponsorship assets.
2011
Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Worldwide Partner
Rugby World Cup 2011
Negotiated and managed an award-winning, multi-million-dollar campaign in partnership with the International Rugby Board and IMG. Successfully delivered a world-class event, hospitality, and tourism program for 5,000 high-value customers from New Zealand, Australia, and the Asia-Pacific region across 48 games. This sponsorship drove a significant impact, resulting in a 30+ percentage point increase in brand consideration, and was the driver in moving ANZ from a community bank in New Zealand to a serious international player. Received an ANZ CEO Recognition Award.
2012
Senior Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Insurance Partner & NZ Broadcast Partner
NZ Olympic Team, London 2012
This nationally recognised campaign included the organization and delivery of New Zealand’s only Olympic Gold Medal Ceremony for Dame Valerie Adams. ANZ entered as a late sponsor in the insurance category, while competitor ASB initially held the banking category before exiting soon after. Through strategic activation, ANZ dominated brand association with the team, securing significant media coverage and driving a substantial uplift in brand consideration.
2012 - 2016
Senior Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Major Sponsor & Broadcast Partner
ANZ International Series (Cricket)
In 2012, I took charge of ANZ’s largest and longest-running sponsorship with New Zealand Cricket, managing brand campaigns, Series launches, match activations, hospitality, broadcast sponsorship, and media campaigns. A key challenge - and success - was rebranding the International Series from The National Bank to ANZ brand after a 13-year association. We maintained a seamless transition through strategic stakeholder management and communications while retaining ANZ's brand dominance in the sport. The success of this transition was driven by delivering on ANZ’s brand promise, building immediate trust, and reinforcing credibility with fans, customers and stakeholders.
2014
Senior Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Major Sponsor & NZ Broadcast Partner
NZ Commonwealth Games Team,
Glasgow 2014
Managing this sponsorship led to the creation of the “Supporting the Supporter” campaign, designed to build an emotional brand connection with fans and customers. The initiative rewarded athletes’ supporters with free game tickets and amplified personal stories from athletes about the vital role their supporters played throughout their sporting journeys. This campaign was seamlessly integrated across ANZ’s customer base, the Commonwealth Games Team, fans, and on the ground at New Zealand House in Glasgow, reinforcing ANZ’s commitment to supporting New Zealanders.
2015
Senior Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Official Bank and NZ Broadcast Partner
Cricket World Cup 2015
Negotiated this sponsorship with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and secured the event's broadcast sponsorship. To support New Zealand Cricket in rallying nationwide support for the Black Caps, we developed the award-winning “Dream Big” campaign, led by Brendon McCullum. This fully integrated advertising campaign captured the hearts and minds of New Zealanders by bringing dreams to life for players, fans, clubs, and schools — helping them achieve their dreams. It was also a powerful opportunity to showcase ANZ’s long-standing support for the cricket community, a commitment that resonated all the way to the Cricket World Cup final - once just a dream for the Black Caps and their fans.
2015
Senior Sponsorship Manager, ANZ Bank NZ NZ Broadcast Partner
Rugby World Cup 2015
To maintain visibility and association with this high-profile event without the large sponsorship fee, we leveraged our RWC 2011 relationships with French bank Société Générale and IMG to secure the New Zealand broadcast rights. This allowed us to extend the award-winning Dream Big campaign, delivering impactful activations on the ground and through the broadcast led by our rugby ambassador Stephen (Beaver) Donald. The campaign reinforced ANZ’s strong position in supporting New Zealand’s biggest sports and events as well as their fans and clubs — aligning the brand with what Kiwis are most passionate about and helping them to achieve more.
2016
B2B Progamme Development Manager
World Masters Games NZ
This short-term project focused on developing a B2B programme to engage some of New Zealand’s largest businesses, encouraging their employees to participate in the World Masters Games. The initiative aimed to drive corporate involvement, boost event participation, and strengthen business-community engagement through sport
2018
Head of Marketing, Visit Sunshine Coast Award-winning Leverage Campaign
Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
With a major international event taking place just two hours south of the Sunshine Coast, we saw a strategic opportunity — not with visiting fans, but with locals. Leveraging Queensland Government campaigns that warned Brisbane and Gold Coast residents about increased congestion in the lead-up to and during the Games, we flipped the message and launched Escape to the Sunshine Coast. This targeted campaign encouraged locals to avoid the crowds by heading north for a relaxing getaway. The initiative received destination marketing recognition at the Queensland Tourism Awards.
2018 & 2019
Head of Marketing, Visit Sunshine Coast
Event & Partnership Development
The Curated Plate, Culinary Festival
In 2017, with a directive to find or create a unique food festival that showcased the Sunshine Coast’s culinary scene, producers, growers, chefs, breweries, and tourism experiences - while encouraging visitors to explore the region’s stunning locations - We partnered with Fairfax Media to develop The Curated Plate, Australia’s newest food festival. Securing a multi-million-dollar funding partnership with Tourism Events Queensland and Sunshine Coast Council, the event successfully positioned the region as a premier food destination and delivering economic benefits beyond tourism. The Curated Plate is still successfully running today, and went on to win Best Regional Event at the Australian Event Awards in 2023.
2020
Sponsorship & Events Manager, ANZ Bank NZ
Major Sponsor
NZ Olympic & Paralympic Teams, Japan 2020
Recalled to ANZ to lead the campaign supporting the New Zealand Olympic and Paralympic Teams for the Tokyo 2020 Games, we set out to create a meaningful and innovative engagement strategy. Building on previous “support campaigns” we introduced a technology-driven initiative using specially designed fit bit watches worn by both athletes and fans - the ANZ Support Band. Fans could send a “support push,” triggering a vibration on the athletes’ watches—allowing them to physically feel the nation’s support. We developed a TVC, the wearable technology, and the communications campaign. However, COVID-19 had other plans. While I was unable to see the full campaign through due to the Games’ postponement, the concept resonated more than ever as the event proceeded without spectators, making the connection between athletes and fans even more powerful.
TOURISM
2017-2019
Head of Marketing
Visit Sunshine Coast
Led a team of ten across domestic and international marketing, digital and social, business events, education tourism, and event marketing — driving a 27% increase in visitor expenditure to $3.3bn. Key outcomes included a new marketing strategy to sustain year-on-year growth, a realigned digital strategy that delivered industry-leading social media and website engagement, and the development of a 10-year international marketing strategy. Oversaw the sponsorship of Sunshine Coast Lightning and the inaugural Sunshine Coast Aviation Partnership with Sunshine Coast Airport and Tourism Noosa, which delivered seasonal campaigns with Air New Zealand, Qantas, and Virgin Airlines. Managed marketing and sponsorship leverage campaigns for Council-supported events, including six signature events and up to 50 annual events that were key economic drivers for the region. Judged the Sunshine Coast Business Awards in 2018 & 2019.
2020 - 2024
Consulting Manager
NZ Māori Tourism Tāpoi Funding Programme
Led a team of six management consultants at GHA, New Zealand’s largest Māori-owned accounting and consulting firm, delivering marketing services to over 50 businesses. Contracted by New Zealand Māori Tourism, we developed and managed a multi-million-dollar funding programme supporting Māori tourism businesses during COVID-19, assessing, advising, and creating action plans for over 180 businesses. Provided strategic marketing consultancy to NZ Māori Tourism, to enhance awareness, capability, sustainability, and sector growth.
2023 - 2024
Director of Partnerships
NZ Māori Tourism
Developed strategic industry partnerships to enhance the authentic visibility, inclusion, and promotion of Māori tourism businesses. Key partners included Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Business Events Industry Aotearoa, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Regional Tourism Organisations, and operators. Served on the advisory group for Business Events Industry Aotearoa to develop its 10-year strategy. Instigated changes in the Qualmark assessment process, increasing Māori business engagement. Partnered with Tourism New Zealand to deliver pre-TRENZ buyer events, hosting Australian buyers in year one and North American & UK buyers in year two, alongside curating 100% Māori-owned famil itineraries. Supported Tourism NZ with the development of an authentic Māori storytelling social media campaign and provided business and marketing advisory to approximately 100 Māori tourism operators. Oversaw the creation of a new website to improve customer experience and industry engagement. Supported the delivery of the 2024 NZ Māori Tourism Conference, including programme design, branding, marketing, speaker liaison, AV production, and event management. Served as a judge for the 2023 New Zealand Tourism Awards and the 2024 Luxury Travel Gold List Awards.