Webcast
1
CPD
What happens to good governance when the pressure goes on?
This webinar will be recorded and shared in a follow-up email. If you can’t attend live, please register and we’ll send you the recording after the event.
Sport boards are facing financial and commercial pressures, integrity and safeguarding expectations, member and athlete voice, public scrutiny and complex stakeholder relationships.
Join Martin Snedden CNZM, Alan Isaac CNZM, DistFInstD and Professor Sarah Leberman MNZM, CMInstD for this webinar launching the Institute of Directors’ new report, Grassroots to governance: Director perspectives, sport governance research and sector evidence in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Drawing on interviews with chairs, directors, executives and sector leaders, the report explores where sport governance is being tested and what helps boards respond. It finds that governance expectations have professionalised faster than the management support, administrative capacity and funding available in parts of the system.
The panel will discuss how boards govern when pressure rises, the balance between member voice and board authority, the role of relationships and information flow, and how governance structures and practices may need to evolve.
Join the webinar for a practical discussion about the pressures facing sport boards today and the governance practices that can help them respond.
Martin Snedden is one of New Zealand’s most experienced sport and governance leaders, with a distinguished career spanning elite sport, major events, organisational leadership, and board governance. He is currently Chair of Cycling New Zealand and leads a Sport NZ supported governance community that brings together National Sport Organisation (NSO) and Regional Sports Trust (RST) board chairs to trengthen governance capability and leadership across the sector.
A former New Zealand international cricketer, Martin has held several prominent leadership positions, including Chief Executive of New Zealand Cricket, Chief Executive of Rugby World Cup 2011, and Chief Executive of the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand. He has also served as Chair of New Zealand Cricket and brings extensive experience leading organisations through strategic change, stakeholder engagement, and long-term planning.
Throughout his career, Martin has been recognised for his ability to unite diverse stakeholders around a shared vision and deliver outcomes with lasting impact. From leading one of the largest events ever hosted in New Zealand to his ongoing governance work across the sport sector, he is passionate about strong leadership, collaboration, and building organisations and communities that are well positioned for the future.
DFInstD
Alan is distinguished director, holding governance roles with a wide variety of New Zealand commercial, sporting and not for profit organisations.
He served as President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2012 to 2014, the first New Zealander to hold the position. Prior to the ICC, he was on the board of New Zealand Cricket for 18 years and served as its Chair from 2008 to 2010. He was the Chair of KPMG for 10 years (1996-2006) and President of the Institute of Directors’ National Council (2019-2021).
He currently chairs the New Zealand Community Trust and is a director on the board of Selacs Insurance Ltd. He is also a director on the boards and chairs the Audit & Risk committees of Oceania Healthcare Ltd, Skellerup Holdings Ltd, Scales Corp Ltd/SCL Ltd and the Wellington Free Ambulance.
Alan’s current community sporting roles include chair of the Basin Reserve Trust and serving as a trustee on both the Wellington Cricket Trust and the Wellington Cricket Foundation. He has also chaired the boards of two National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) and served on board appointment panels for four different NSOs.
Alan is an IoD Distinguished Fellow and a Fellow of Chartered Accountants. He was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 2013 for services to business and cricket. In 2015, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Victoria University of Wellington.
CMInstD
Sarah is co-founder, past co-chair and current board member of Women in Sport Aotearoa. In 2025, she was elected to the Skateboarding New Zealand Board. She has been involved in sport all her life, both on and off the field. She is a leader in the field of sport management, helping to establish Massey University’s academic programme, and has had tremendous influence through her research into women and leadership in sport and academia. She has just joined the University of Canterbury as a Professor of Sport Leadership.
An advocate for facilitating opportunities for girls and women in sport at all levels, Sarah was recognised as NEXT magazine’s women of the year (sport) in 2018 and was a finalist in the 2016 Westpac ’Women of Influence’ awards in the diversity category.
With previous board experience at Volleyball New Zealand, Western Netball and Hockey Manawatu, Sarah has also been ‘hands-on’ at the highest level as manager of the Black Sticks women’s hockey team.
She was elected to the Massey University Council for a 4-year term, 2020-2024, and in 2020, Sarah was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for her services to women, sport and tertiary education.
CMInstD
Judene is a Principal Governance Advisor with the Institute of Directors’ Governance Leadership Centre, leading governance research, best practice guidance and advocacy for directors, and Chapter Zero NZ.
Prior to joining the IoD she ran her own consultancy for over 20 years, specialising in governance, policy, strategy and communications working across a wide range of sectors, including housing, health, solid waste, aviation, energy, not-for-profit and infrastructure.
Judene was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to governance, local government and the community in the 2026 New Year Honours. She was a local government elected member for 12 years and a director on a range of private and public entity boards. She has a background in behavioural science and communications and is a Chartered Member of the IoD.
Regrettably, registration fees cannot be refunded when cancellations are received within two working days prior to any event. See our standard terms and conditions for more information.
Carla Britz
National Events Executive
+64 9 365 2736
carla.Britz@iod.org.nz
Members — $0.00
Non-members — $0.00
