Lesley Murdoch ONZM MBE - President
Appointed NZC President in 2022
Lesley Murdoch is a former New Zealand double-international, having represented her country in cricket and hockey. She played six Tests and 25 ODIs for the New Zealand women’s cricket team (captaining them in both disciplines), as well as being a member of the New Zealand hockey team that finished sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Off the field, Lesley’s contribution to cricket has been significant. A member of the Hood Committee that modernised the old New Zealand Cricket Council in 1995, she was an NZC Board member from 1996-98, a New Zealand women’s team selector and, in 2019, was made a Life Member of NZC.
Over the past three decades, Lesley has been a prominent sports broadcaster and commentator, both on radio and on television – where she earned a reputation as one of SKY sports most respected match commentators. In 2016, she became the first women to receive the New Zealand Sports Journalism Association’s Lifetime Award for Outstanding Contribution to Sport. In 1987, Lesley received an MBE for services to cricket and hockey, and in 2016 she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport. She is a past president and now board member of the Christchurch Metro Cricket Association, a Netball New Zealand board member, and a trustee of the NZ Community Trust. Lesley is wife to Tim and mother to Katherine, Alexandra, and Josh.
BOARD
Diana Puketapu-Lyndon
Appointed to NZC Board in 2017
Appointed Chair in 2023
Diana was Chief Financial Officer for more than ten years, both in the commercial sector and in the sporting environment, including two America’s Cup sailing campaigns based in the UK and Spain.
She is a Director of NZX50 company Napier Port Holdings as well as Ngati Porou Holdings, the wealth creation arm of Ngati Porou. In 2015 she was elected to the board of the New Zealand Olympic Committee. She is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.
Diana is Ngati Porou and is on the board of Ngati Porou's commercial organisation.
Sarah Beaman
Appointed to the NZC Board in 2022
Sarah brings a real passion, interest and experience across the sporting and recreation sector. Currently, Sarah works with businesses and organisations both within and outside of the sport sector helping build and improve their organisational capability. She is a Fellow with the NZ Business Excellence Foundation and an Accredited Recreation Professional (ARPro).
Within the Sport & Recreation sector, Sarah was the key consultant working with Sport NZ to develop the Organisational Development Tool (ODT) and train the nationwide pool of facilitators. She supported the early development of Sport NZ's Club WOF and developed the Māori Capability Tool for ARPASS. She was Project Manager for the Auckland Sport and Recreation Strategy. Through her consulting work at Strategic Reality, she has delivered a range of strategic reviews, including NZC’s Women and Cricket, NZ Racing Board's Women in Racing and SNZ/HPSNZ Athlete Voice Review.
Sarah captained the NZ U23 Women’s cricket team as well as coaching the Auckland Hearts First-Class cricket team. She was a member of both the Junior Board and Women’s Board of NZ Cricket. She was on the Recreation Aotearoa Board for six years, with two as Chair. In a previous life, she worked in sport development at Harbour Sport and as Business Manager at UniSports Centre for Sport Performance.
Bill Birnie CNZM
Appointed to NZC Board in 2021
Bill received a CNZM for services to Governance, the Arts and Sport, and holds a Bachelor of Laws. Bill brings extensive governance experience to the board. With a long career in investment banking, he is responsible for managing Sir Owen Glenn’s philanthropic activities in New Zealand and is a member of Sir Owen’s Global Investment Committee. He is a Founding Trustee of the Wellington Stadium Trust and has held several Government board appointments including Sport NZ, High Performance Sport NZ, Hillary Commission, NZ Racing Board, NZ Film Commission and the NZ Screen Council. He is a former Chair of the KidsCan Charitable Trust and Far North Holdings Limited and Director of Equestrian Sports New Zealand from which he received an Honorary Life Membership. He is currently a Director of TAB NZ, Director of Far North Housing Ltd, Trustee of the Eden Park Trust Board, Trustee of the NZ Parliamentary Education Trust, and Chairman of Christchurch-based orthopaedic instrument manufacturer, Enztec Limited.
Anna Campbell
Appointed to NZC Board in 2020
Anna Campbell has a PhD in plant biotechnology and has worked for a number of years in plant and animal genetic improvement roles. She joined AbacusBio in 2007, a private company, bridging science and business and operating in 20 countries, where she has been the Managing Director since 2015. In 2017
Anna was elected as the first female Director of the Otago Cricket Association. She also holds governance roles on the boards of Otago Innovation (the University of Otago’s commercialisation arm), Genomics Aotearoa and Otago Boys’ High School.
Mike Devonshire
Appointed to NZC Board in 2023
Mike is a vastly experienced director and board chair across a wide range of sectors.
A self-confessed and lifelong cricket tragic, Mike chaired the Central Districts Cricket Association Board for seven years from 2016, and has been secretary of the Havelock North Cricket Club since 2014. Passionate and knowledgeable about the community game, he also has a keen interest in the Commercial aspects of cricket, particularly in the international context.
Mike spent ten years working as a banking and finance executive in London before returning to New Zealand in 2002. Upon returning to live in Hawkes Bay, he established a corporate advisory business focussed on deal execution and board consultancy. He also served as a NZTE Beachheads Advisor for a decade, from 2008 to 2018.
Mike has a long and successful track record in mentoring C class executives, strategy development and execution, company restructuring, deal advising (eg: acquisitions and divestments, and private equity investment) and the commercialisation of intellectual property.
He is currently the Board Chair for Ngati Kahungunu Asset Holding Company, Hawkes Bay Wine Investments, and Te Mata Park Trust (owner of Hawkes Bay’s most visited place – Te Mata Park). A chartered member of the Institute of Directors, Mike also sits on the Wellington Branch Committee of the Institute.
Kevin Malloy
Appointed to NZC Board in 2019
Kevin has extensive experience in advertising and marketing in New Zealand, New York, Hong Kong, and London.
He was with the global media agency Starcom for 29 years, including the role of CEO of International Operations and Global Client Director on both Coca-Cola and P&G. Kevin also held the role of Chair for Australia/New Zealand for Vivaki (the trading arm for Publicis Groupe, who own Starcom and Zenith Optimedia).
Kevin is currently on the Board of Kiwibank and the Halberg Trust. He is also Chairing the newly formed Super Rugby Pacific board. He is also a Beachheads Advisor for NZTE, and has had consulting roles with Tourism NZ, Sport NZ, and a number of leading NZ advertisers.
Alison Shanks
Appointed to NZC Board in 2023
Alison is a New Zealand Olympian, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and double World Champion track cyclist. Alison has extensive governance experience in the sports sector having served on the High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) board, Cycling New Zealand board, and is a current member of the NZOC Athletes Commission. Internationally, Alison currently represents the Oceania Region on the Commonwealth Games Federation Athletes Commissions.
Alison's passion for sports is deeply rooted in her personal experiences, which started with a wide variety of school team sports she then represented Otago in both basketball and netball before switching to track cycling where she found her international success.
Her experience in commercial partnerships and marketing, most recently as Commercial Manager of the Waikato BOP Magic Netball franchise, adds to her capabilities. Alison is currently part of the Performance Pathways team at HPSNZ in a strategic consulting role. She is an advocate for a holistic athlete-centered approach to high performance that nurtures athletes not only as competitors but as individuals on their sport for life journey.
Alison is a champion for women in sport and diversity & inclusion having graduated from the NZ Olympic Committee Women in Sport Leadership Academy. She has also been a member of the Institute of Directors where she was awarded the Waikato emerging director award in 2016.
Alison lives in the Waikato with her husband Craig and their three young children, Lucas, Abigail, and Brayden. As a parent she is enthusiastically involved in a range of community sport, including cricket this summer. She loves cheering from the sidelines and seeing the joy sport is bringing her children.
Through a variety of perspectives Alison understands the impact sport can have on one’s life and is committed to ensuring that future generations have the same transformative opportunities she has had in sport.
Martin Snedden CNZM
Appointed to NZC Board in 2013
A former 1980s BLACKCAP, Martin Snedden 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, Duco Events, and leader of NZC’s One Cricket project.
He is currently a director on the board of the Cricketers’ Hardship Trust, as well as chair of the board of Auckland’s Heart of the City business association and the Sport NZ-backed Sector Governance Community (involving the board chairs of national sporting organisations and regional sports trusts) . Martin was NZC’s Chair from 2020 to 2023.
He has previously been a director of World Masters Games 2017, and a partner of an Auckland-based law firm.
Roger Twose
Appointed to NZC Board in 2021
Roger Twose played over 100 games for the BLACKCAPS and represented Central Districts, Northern Districts and Wellington along with several district associations, giving him first-hand experience of the wider cricket community in New Zealand. Regarded as a key influencer within his era, he was a pivotal member of the team that won the Champions Trophy in 2000 and was ranked 2nd in the world for ODI batsmen that same year.
After retiring from cricket, Roger joined the National Bank, working his way up to senior management level, before joining Willis Bond & Company Limited, serving on its senior management team and then as a director, primarily responsible for several large-scale development projects including their Wynyard Quarter project in Auckland with an end-value in excess of $500 million.
Roger is NZC’s alternate director to the ICC Board and serves on NZC’s Finance & Compliance Risk Committee, High Performance Advisory Group, and Investment Committee. He is an investment committee member for three Willis Bond Capital Partners’ private equity funds and the Property Income Fund. Roger is a past chair of the NZCPA and a former board member of Swimming Auckland and the North Shore Swimming Club.
