On the back of an outstanding career in sports governance and administration, former Netball New Zealand (NNZ) Board chair Kereyn Smith was awarded the Sport New Zealand Leadership Award at the 59th ISPS Handa Halberg Awards.
With her strategic expertise, commercial and financial acumen, Smith is a highly qualified, experienced and high-achieving sports administrator. She has gone on to leave a telling imprint across many codes, including netball.
Smith spent 11 years on the Board of Netball New Zealand, including six as Chair, closely followed by her five-year term as World Netball Vice President, much of it during a time of significant change for netball.
During her time with World Netball, Smith was involved with the delivery of many international events, including World Netball Championships, World Youth Cups, and the exciting new concept of the FastNet World Netball Series (now the FAST5 Netball World Series).
She was also instrumental in driving the restructure of the international body as well as developing umpiring, coaching and marketing panels. A key leader at World Netball Congress Meetings in 2007, 2009 and 2011, Smith’s resourcefulness helped netball communities around the world take the initiative in pushing the sport to new levels, and empowering its associated personnel.
With NNZ, Smith helped guide the transformation of the code from amateur to semi-professional status.
A leading advocate for increasing the profile and participation of women in sport, Smith was the first female in the 100-year history of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) to be appointed to the CEO role and her influence has reverberated far and wide while winning international acclaim for this work.
Prestigious awards acknowledging Smith’s massive contribution to sport include, Life Membership of NNZ (2012), World Netball Service Award (2017), the New Zealand Centenary Medal in 1990 and the IOC Women in Sport Award in 1999. In 2015, Smith was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to sports governance. She has also received international acclaim for advocacy work to increase the participation of women in sport across all roles and functions.
Earlier in her career, Smith was Private Secretary to the Minister of Sport from 1991-1993 before taking over as Senior Manager and then General Manager of the Hillary Commission until 2000 (now the New Zealand Sports Foundation).
From 2000-2011, Smith was Chief Executive of the New Zealand Academy of Sport (South Island), before being appointed as Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, perhaps the pinnacle of sport leadership in New Zealand.