Fiona Mather becomes GM Athlete Performance Support, Andrew Matheson takes on the General Manager Strategy and Innovation role and Emily Downes (pictured) is set to join HPSNZ from 8 August as General Manager Wellbeing and Leadership.
HPSNZ Director of High Performance Steve Tew explains that all three roles are a result of the recent Sport New Zealand Group Leadership and Structure review.
“The review has given us the opportunity to realign the Senior Leadership Team and the organisation to work most effectively as we support our partners to achieve their high performance outcomes,” he says.
“We are thrilled with the calibre of the people who have accepted these General Manager roles, which provide the organisation and its Senior Leadership Team with both continuity and some new blood.”
Emily Downes is looking forward to joining the HPSNZ team.
“I’m excited about getting to know the people and the environments to understand how the Wellbeing and Leadership team can best serve, collaborate and support them to provide thriving high performance environments for all involved,” she says.
The GM Wellbeing and Leadership is a new role for HPSNZ, introduced as part of the Sport NZ Group Leadership and Structure Review, to lead the Wellbeing and Engagement programme, one of the three pou of our 2024 Strategy.
The group Emily will lead includes additional dedicated wellbeing resources to work with sports to support wellbeing outcomes. Performance Life Coaching, Leadership Capability and Women in HP Sport are also included in the Wellbeing and Leadership group.
Emily has spent most of the past six years at the New Zealand Rugby Players Association where her most recent role has been GM People and Development, overseeing personal development, wellbeing and networking initiatives that educate, empower and support players prior to, during and after their professional rugby career. She has also worked as a Player Services Advisor at New Zealand Rugby and as a Solicitor at Bell Gully.
Both Fiona Mather and Andrew Matheson have been contributing to HPSNZ’s Senior Leadership Team for some time. In Fiona’s case, firstly as an intern and then in the Acting GM role since November last year. She has also served as Head of Performance Therapies at HPSNZ and prior to that was Head of Physiotherapy at sportscotland institute of sport for 11 years.
“I’m delighted to be in this role at an exciting time for the system,” Fiona says. “Recent times have tested our resilience, yet we have emerged stronger and more focussed on sustainable pathways and creating positive environments for sports. We have a collective opportunity to carve a path for the next generation of New Zealand athletes, coaches and support staff. That inspires me.”
Andrew took up the role of Acting GM Strategy Implementation 12 months ago. Prior to that he worked on contract supporting the development of HSPNZ’s 2024 Strategy. He also has experience in NSO leadership roles during his career, enabling him to bring a partner perspective to this role. As part of his new role, Andrew will take responsibility for HPSNZ’s Innovation and Intelligence teams.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to continue contributing to the New Zealand HP sports system which I am exceptionally passionate about,” Andrew says. “I will have a steep learning curve as I take responsibility for intelligence, innovation and performance systems and I look forward to supporting and adding value to these really capable teams. I am really excited about our SLT moving forward.”
