By Greg Blood

The departures of CEO’s in 2020 from significant Australian sports organisations – ASC, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, golf and equestrian – made me reflect in 2021 on the level of turnover and experience of CEO’s since 2000.

The information listed was obtained from annual reports, websites, news releases and LinkedIn profiles. The Clearinghouse for Sport’s Australian Sport Publications Archive assisted in the data collection as it has digitally preserved many NSO annual reports since 2000. The listing is restricted to the period post 2000 due to access to annual reports/websites and this period has seen significant growth in many national sports organisations in terms of revenue and staffing. It is restricted to permanent CEO’s (Chief Executive Officers)/ NED’s (National Executive Directors) – the later was the earlier name for the CEO role. Several of the CEO’s listed straddled the 1990’s and 2000’s. It does not include state institute/academies of sport or state sports federations.

This list is updated regularly to reflect resignations and appointments.

Australian Government

Australian Sports Commission – Jim Ferguson (1990-2000), Mark Peters (2001-2008), Matt Miller (2009-2011), Simon Hollingsworth (2012-2016), Kate Palmer (2017-2020), Rob Dalton acting (2020-2022), Kieran Perkins (2022- )

Australian Institute of Sport (position now Executive General Manager, AIS Performance)- John Boultbee (1995-2000), Michael Scott (2001-2005), Dr Peter Fricker (2005-2011), Matt Favier (2012-2017), Peter Conde (2017-2022), Matti Clements (2023- )

Sport Integrity Australia (formerly Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority) – Steve Haynes (1991-1995), Natalie Howson (1995-2001), John Mendoza (2001-2005), Richard Ings (2006-2010), Aurora Andruska (2010-2014), Ben McDevitt (2014-2017), David Sharpe (2017-2024), Dr Sarah Benson (2025- )

Peak Sports Organisations

Australian Olympic Committee – Craig McLatchey (1995-2001), Bob Elphinston (2001-2004), Craig Phillips (2005-2014), Fiona de Jong (2014-2016), Matt Carroll (2017-2025), Mark Arbib (2025-)

Paralympics Australia – Brendan Flynn (1999-2003), Darren Peters (2003-2009), Miles Murphy (2009), Jason Hellwig (2010-2015), Lynne Anderson (2015-2021), Catherine Clark (2022-2024), Cameron Murray (2024- )

Commonwealth Games Australia – Perry Crosswhite (1995-2015), Craig Phillips (2015- )

National Sports Organisations

Listed in alphabetical order by sport and the current name of the organisation.

Archery Australia – Jim Larven (2002-2017), Rick Hastie (2017-2024), Michael Maclennan (2024), Peter Bromley (2024-)

Athletics Australia – Simon Allatson (1999-2004), Danny Corcoran (2004-2010), Dallas O’Brien (2010-2014), Phil Jones (2015-2017), Darren Gocher (2017-2021), Peter Bromley (2021 -2024), Simon Hollingsworth (2024-)

Australian Football League – Wayne Jackson (1996-2003), Andrew Demetriou (2003-2014), Gillon McLachlan (2014-2023), Andrew Dillon (2023- )

Badminton Australia – Julia Phillips (1997-2000), Bill Storey Smith (2001-2002), Stuart Borrie (2003-2007), Damian Kelly (2007-2008), Paul Brettell (2008-2018), Derek O’Leary (2018-2019), James Parsons (2020-2023), Tjitta Weistra (2023-)

Baseball Australia – Don Knapp (1995-2007), John May (2007-2011), Brent Pickett (2011-2017), Cam Vale (2017-2021), Glenn Williams (2021-)

Basketball Australia – Scott Derwin (1999-2008), Larry Sengstock (2009-2012), Kristina Keneally (2012-2014), Anthony Moore (2014-2018), Jerril Rechter (2019-2021), Matt Scriven (2021-)

Bowls Australia – Mark Rendell (1996-2007), Neil Dalrymple (2007-2022), Matthew Kennedy (2022- )

Boxing Australia – Grant Peters (2000-2005), Jandra Cox (2006-2009), Kable Kelleway (2011-2015), Paul Grogan (2015-2018), Josh O’Brien (2018-2021),Dinah Glykidis (2021-)

Combat Institute of Australia – Alex Vallentine (2020-)

Cricket Australia – Malcolm Speed (1997-2001), James Sutherland (2001-2018), Kevin Roberts (2018-2020), Nick Hockley (2020-2025), Todd Greenberg (2025-)

Cycling Australia/AusCycling – Graham Fredericks (1996-2013), Nick Green (2014-2018), Steven Drake (2018-2020), Marne Fechner (2021-)

Disability Sports Australia (previously Australian Athletes with a Disability 2003-2014) – Robyn Stephenson (2005-06), Bianca Van Woesik (2006-2008), Gillian Ting (2008-2014), Jenni Cole (2014- 2020), Murray Elbourn (2020-2023), Ayden Shaw (2023 – )

Diving Australia – Mary Godden (1993-2013), David Bell (2013-2022), Alex Newton (2022-)

Equestrian Federation of Australia – Denzil O’Brien (1996-2001), Franz Venhaus (2002-2010), Grant Baldock (2010-2015), Paula Ward (2016-2018), Lucy Warhurst (2018-2020), Darren Gocher (2021-2024), Sam Jones (2024-2025 ), vacant

Football Federation of Australia – David Woolley (1995-2001), Ian Holmes (2001-2002), Alan Vessey (2002), John O’Neill (2004-2006), Ben Buckley (2006-2012), David Gallop (2012-2019), James Johnson (2020-2025), Martin Kugeler (2026- )

Golf Australia (formed 2006) – Tony Hallam (2006-2008), Stephen Pitt (2008-2020), James Sutherland (2020- )

Gymnastics Australia – Jane Allen (1997-2010), Catherine Clark (2010-2012), Mark Rendell (2012-2017), Kitty Chiller (2017-2021), Alexandra Ash (2022-2024), Alistair Edgar (2024-)

Hockey Australia – Linden Adamson (1991-2008), Mark Anderson (2008-2013), Cam Vale (2013-2017), Matt Favier (2017-2021), David Pryles (2022-)

Judo Australia – Paula Ward (2014-2015), Alex Vallentine (2015-2020), Emma Taylor (2021-2022), Rebecca Hamilton (2023-2025), vacant

Lacrosse Australia – Anna Carroll (2025- )l

Netball Australia – Pam Smith (1990-2003), Lindsay Cane (2004-2006), Kate Palmer (2007-2016), Marne Fechner (2016-2020), Kelly Ryan (2021-2023), Stacey West (2024- )

Paddle Australia – Jon Bisset (1997-2005), Robert Barnes (2005-2006), Gordon Allen (2006), Kate Heeley (2006-2007), Greg Doyle (2008-2017), Phil Jones (2017-2024), Kim Crane (2024- )

Rowing Australia – Darren Peters (1997-2002), Andrew Dee (2003-2014), Michael Scott (2015-2017), Ian Robson (2018-2023), Sarah Cook (2023-)

National Rugby League – David Moffatt (1999-2001), David Gallop (2002-2012), David Smith (2012-2015), Todd Greenberg (2016-2020), Andrew Abdo (2020- )

Australian Rugby Union – John O’Neill (1995-2003), Gary Flowers (2004-2007), John O’Neill (2007-2013), Bill Pulver (2013-2017), Raelene Castle (2017-2020), Andy Marinos (2022-2023), Phil Waugh (2023-)

Australian Sailing – Phil Jones (1997-2014), Matt Carroll (2014-2017), John Lee (2017-2018), Ben Houston (2019-2025), Malcolm Page (2025-)

Shooting Australia (formed 2006) – Nick Sullivan (2006- 2013), Damien Marangon (2013-2019), Luke van Kempen (2019-2021), Adam Sachs (2022-)

Snow Australia – Steven Potts (1999-2002), Michael Kennedy (2002-April 2026)

Softball Australia – Neil Dalrymple (1995-2004), Susan Crow (2004-2007), Mark McAllion (2007-2008), Susan Noble (2009-2012), Chet Gray (2013-2018), David Pryles (2018-2021), Rosie Williams (2022-2023), Sarah Loh (2023-)

Sport Climbing Australia – Rebecca Hamilton (2025- ) Inaugura

Sport Inclusion Australia (Previously AUSRAPID) – Robyn Smith (1991-2025), Chantel Lewis (2026- )

Squash Australia – Phil Trenorden (1991 – 2000), Ross Barry (2001-2002), Norman Fry (2003-2007), Gary O’Donnell (2007-2015), Richard Vaughan (2015-2020), Robert Donaghue (2021-)

Surf Life Saving Australia – Greg Nance (1996-2006), Brett Williamson (2006-2013), Greg Nance (2013-2015), Melissa King (2015-2018), Adam Weir (2018-)

Surfing Australia – Alan Atkins (2000-2003), Mario Agius (2004-2005), Mark Lance (2006-2009), Andrew Stark (2009-2018), Chris Mater (2018-2025), vacant

Swimming Australia – Vena Murray (1995-2001), Glenn Tasker (2001-2008), Kevin Neil (2008-2012), Mark Anderson (2013-2018), Leigh Russell (2018-2020), Alex Baumann (2021), Eugenie Buckley (2021-2023), Rob Woodhouse (2024- )

Table Tennis Australia – Anne-Maree Colborne (2001), Matt Padley (2002-2003), Martin Shaw (2003-2005), Linda Marsden (2005-2006), Bronwyn Marshall (2007-2008), Peter Marriott (2009-2017), Scott Houston (2017-2023), Nicole Adamson (2023-)

Australian Taekwondo – Joelie Chisholm (2015-2017), John Gradisar (20182020), Heather Garriock (2020-2023), Josh O’Brien (2024-)

Tennis Australia – Geoff Pollard (President & CEO) (1989-2005), Steve Wood (2005-2013), Craig Tiley (2013-)

Tenpin Bowling Australia – Cara Honeychurch (2010-2020), Martin Stillman (2021), Rohan O’Neill (2021-2024), Kurt Wilson (2024- )

Touch Football Australia – Colm Maguire (2007-2017), Steve Mitchell (2017-2019), Jamie O’Connor (2019-2024), Marcus Ashcroft (2025- )

Triathlon Australia – Tim Wilson (1993-2002), David Burt (2002-2004), Andrew Hamilton (2005-2010), Anne Gripper (2010-2015), Miles Stewart (2015-2022), Tim Harradine (2022-)

Volleyball Australia – Andrew Scotford (2000-2007), Joan Perry (2007-2012), Judy Flanagan (2012-2013), Mathieu Meriaux (2013-2017), Andrew Dee (2018-)

Water Polo Australia – John Whitehouse (1982-2011), Chris Harrison (2010-2016), Christian Renford (2016-2018), Joelie Chisholm (2018-2019), Richard McInnes (2019-2023), Tim Welsford (2023- )

Weightlifting Australia – Robert Kabbas (2000-2002), Matthew Curtain (2002-2009), Michael Keelan (2009-2018), Ian Moir (2018-)

Reflections – Experience & Longevity

• Administrators at more than one national sports organisation:
  • Mark Anderson: Hockey Australia (2008-2013), Swimming Australia (2013-2018)
  • Peter Bromley: Athletics Australia (2001-2024),  Archery Australia (2024- )
  • Matt Carroll: Australian Sailing (2014-2017), Australian Olympic Committee (2017-2025)
  • Catherine Clark: Gymnastics Australia (2010-2012),  Paralympics Australia (2022-2024)
  • Perry Crosswhite: Australian Olympic Committee (1991-1995), Commonwealth Games Australia (1995-2015)
  • Neil Dalrymple: Softball Australia (1995-2004), Bowls Australia (2007-2022)
  • Andrew Dee: Rowing Australia (2003-2014), Volleyball Australia (2018- )
  • Scott Derwin: Surf Life Saving Australia (1992-1996), Paralympics Australia (1997-1999), Basketball Australia  (1999-2008)
  • Matt Favier: Australian Institute of Sport (2012-2017), Hockey Australia (2017-2021)
  • Marne Fechner: Netball Australia (2016-2020),  AusCycling (2021-)
  • David Gallop: National Rugby League (2002-2012), Football Australia (2012-2019)
  • Darren Gocher: Athletics Australia (2017-2021), Equestrian Federation of Australia (2021-2024)
  • Todd Greenberg: National Rugby League (2016-2020), Cricket Australia (2025- )
  • Simon Hollingsworth: Australian Sports Commission (2012-2016), Athletics Australia (2024- )
  • John O’Neill: Rugby Australia (1995-2003, 2007-2013) , Football Australia (2004-2006)
  • Phil Jones: Australian Sailing (1997-2014), Athletics Australia (2015-2017), Paddle Australia (2017-2024),
  • Kate Palmer: Netball Australia (2007-2016), Australian Sports Commission (2017-2020)
  • Darren Peters: Rowing Australia (1997-2002), Paralympics Australia (2003-2009),
  • David Pryles: Softball Australia (2018-2021), Hockey Australia (2022- )
  • Craig Phillips: Australian Olympic Committee (2005-2014), Commonwealth Games Australia (2015- )
  • Michael Scott: Australian Institute of Sport (2001-2005), Rowing Australia (2015-2017)
  • James Sutherland: Cricket Australia (2001-2018)  , Golf Australia  (2020- )
  • Cam Vale: Hockey Australia (2013-2017), Baseball Australia (2017-2021),
  • Alex Vallentine: Judo Australia (2015-2020),  Combat Institute of Australia (2020 – )
• CEO’s ten or more years at one national sports organisation:
  • Neil Dalrymple: Bowls Australia (2007-2022)
  • Andrew Dee: Rowing Australia (2003-2014)
  • David Gallop: National Rugby League (2002-2012)
  • John O’Neill: Rugby Australia (1995-2003, 2007-2013)
  • Phil Jones: Australian Sailing (1997-2014)
  • Kate Palmer: Netball Australia (2007-2016)
  • Michael Kennedy: Snow Australia (2002-2026)
  • Craig Phillips: Commonwealth Games Australia (2015- )
  • James Sutherland: Cricket Australia (2001-2018)
  • Robyn Smith: Sport Inclusion Australia (1991-2025)
• Held CEO position over ten years (one or more national sports organisations): Mark Anderson, Matt Carroll, Perry Crosswhite, Neil Dalrymple, Andrew Dee, Scott Derwin, Graham Fredericks, David Gallop, Michael Keelan, John O’Neill, Phil Jones, Kate Palmer, Darren Peters, Craig Phillips, Mark Rendell, James Sutherland, John Whitehouse

My reflection on this list is around the importance of CEO experience and longevity in the progress of a national sports organisation. Does constant changes inhibit an national sports organisation.

• Original publication updated after feedback.

For comments or alterations to the list contact Greg Blood.