New Appointments for Haier Pulse as Rebuilding Continues

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Media Release

18 May 2012

New Appointments for Haier Pulse as Rebuilding Continues

The Haier Pulse has appointed two new high profile directors at its Annual General Meeting, as the franchise continues to strengthen both its governance and management teams.

Prominent Wellington barrister Tim Castle and Land Information NZ acting Chief Executive Sue Gordon join a board which is able to draw upon extensive experience in a range of different sectors.

Ian Collier, whose own appointment as Chairman was also ratified at the AGM, was delighted to be able to welcome his new colleagues. “We have appointed two excellent new board members, who bring a wealth of experience in their relative fields. This is a major coup, as all Haier Pulse directors are volunteers which presents real challenges considering the workload and commitment required in 2012.”

“Tim is looking forward to contributing to our commercial and strategic positioning, while one of Sue’s great strengths is her work in organisational development and human resources. Both will be vital to our future success, particularly, with their considerable experience in the world of sport.”

Collier sees bright times ahead for the Haier Pulse, but is not underestimating the size of the task as the franchise works towards financial stability. “Our audited result for 2011 was disappointing, however we have taken a number of steps over the last six months to address the concerns of our shareholders, our stakeholders and of Netball New Zealand, all which we are confident will improve the financial performance of the franchise moving forward,” he explained.

“With stronger match ticket and season ticket sales flowing through, we will deliver a better financial result this year, although we have also marginally increased our player relocation costs, which off-sets some of the revenue improvement.

“We have more than doubled our season ticket sales, increased our number of sponsors, attracted sell-out crowds, changed the financial management structure of the business, contracted specialists in media and public relations, event management, social media and marketing, as well as employing a general manager who has made a material difference to the way we function as a franchise. We are also in talks with Netball Wellington Region about a shared services model for the future as we continue to look for ways to trim our costs, whilst working closely with the Netball New Zealand finance department.

“The board will be a lot happier when it has delivered a budget surplus, paid off its outstanding debt and the team is winning more consistently.”

Biographical Details

Tim Castle

Tim is a senior barrister who has an impressive record specialising in sport and sports law both in NZ and internationally for over 30 years.

He provides legal strategic advice to national and international umbrella sporting bodies which have included the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC), the Sports Foundation of New Zealand, the Commonwealth Games Association in London and more recently to SPARC/Sport NZ.

Tim also provides broad legal, governance and commercial advice to some of New Zealand’s high profile national sporting organisations, athletes and support professionals. He is an agent, manager and legal counsel for a number of New Zealand and Australian athletes across different codes and is an accredited agent with the New Zealand Rugby Players Association.

He was Chairman/Board member of the NZOC and Board member of the NZ Sports Foundation from 1994 through 2000, New Zealand representative on the ICC Appeals and Corruption Commissions, a member of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport since 1999, an inaugural member on the NZ Sports Tribunal (serving for eight years in total) and has been a New Zealand Cricket and Wellington Cricket Code of Conduct Commissioner.

Sue Gordon

Sue Gordon has broad general management experience and a long association and passion for netball as a player, administrator and umpire.

She is currently the acting Chief Executive of Land Information NZ (LINZ). In her General Manager role at LINZ, Sue was responsible for its corporate functions including planning, communications, finance and human resources. Her working career has been in the delivery and management of corporate activities, particularly organisational development and human resources. She has held leadership roles in both the public and private sector.

Sue has a life-long association with netball at the local level. As a player she was involved in club administration and more recently she has been involved as a coach and official for school netball. Sue holds her New Zealand umpires badge and continues to umpire in the Wellington area.

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