Dame Therese Maria Walsh DNZM (born 1971or1972) [1] is a chief executive and business leader from New Zealand. Her particular successes include her roles as the chief operating officer for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and head of the organising body for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand. [2]
Walsh was born and grew up in Wellington where she went to school at St Mary's College [3] [4] before studying accounting at Victoria University of Wellington. [5] She started her professional life as a chartered accountant and auditor at KPMG in the city. [6] [7] [8] In 2003 she moved to work for the New Zealand Rugby Union as general manager of corporate services and later as chief financial officer, and was then appointed to the team that worked on the winning bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. [7] [6]
Following her success with New Zealand rugby, Walsh became a director of New Zealand Cricket. She was the head of New Zealand's 2015 Cricket World Cup campaign and successfully negotiated for New Zealand to host a significant number of the games and events, including a semifinal held in Auckland, and the opening ceremony held in Christchurch. [9]
Walsh serves on the boards of NZX, ASB, and Air New Zealand. [10] [11] She was chair of Television New Zealand from 2015 to 2019 [12] and has chaired the Air New Zealand board since September 2019. [13] She is also a member of the Government’s Major Events Investment Panel, chairs the International Development Advisory and Selection Panel for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and serves on the Government’s Strategic Risk and Resilience Panel. [2] She is a trustee of Wellington Regional Stadium, and a Victoria University Council member. [7]
Walsh is also an ambassador for the Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust. [14]
In 2005, Walsh was the regional winner of the NZIM Young Executive of the Year Award. [6] In 2013, Walsh received the New Zealand Women of Influence Supreme Award in recognition of her impact at local, regional and national levels. [2] In 2014 she received a Blake Leader Award, and in the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sports administration. [15]
Dame Kerry Leigh Prendergast is a New Zealand politician who served as the 33rd Mayor of Wellington between 2001 and 2010, succeeding Mark Blumsky. She was the second woman to hold the position, after Fran Wilde.
Luamanuvao Dame Winifred Alexandra Laban is a former New Zealand politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mana electorate, representing the Labour Party, and was the Labour Party's spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs and for interfaith dialogue. Laban is the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika) at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and is a respected leader in the local Pasifika community.
John James Campbell is a New Zealand journalist and radio and television personality. He is currently a presenter and reporter at TVNZ; before that, he presented Checkpoint, Radio New Zealand's drive time show, from 2016 to 2018. For ten years prior to that, he presented Campbell Live, a 7 p.m. current affairs programme on TV3. He was a rugby commentator for Sky Sports during the All Blacks' test against Samoa in early 2015 — a fixture he had vocally campaigned for while hosting Campbell Live.
Conrad Gerard Smith is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who played predominantly at centre. He captained the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, and played for New Zealand from 2004 until 2015. He was a key member of New Zealand's 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winning teams. Following the 2015 World Cup he retired from international rugby and took up a contract with Pau in France, before retiring in 2018.
Dame Gaylene Mary Preston is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films.
The following lists events that happened during 2007 in New Zealand.
Dame Margaret Kerslake Shields was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She had three terms in the House of Representatives in the 1980s and was afterwards a member of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, including as chairman.
TVNZ Sport is a division of TVNZ which airs many of the sports telecasts in New Zealand.
St Mary's College Wellington is situated in the suburb of Thorndon in Wellington, New Zealand. The school is a state-integrated all-girls Catholic secondary school for years 9–13.
Dame Iritana Te Rangi Tāwhiwhirangi is a New Zealand advocate of Māori language education and the Kōhanga Reo movement.
Dame Catherine Winifred Harcourt, known professionally as Kate Harcourt, is a New Zealand actress. Over her long career she has worked in comedy as well as drama in theatre, film, TV and radio.
Dame Bronwen Scott Holdsworth is a New Zealand businesswoman and arts patron from Gisborne, New Zealand.
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Dame Patricia Lee Reddy is a New Zealand lawyer and businesswoman who served as the 21st governor-general of New Zealand from 2016 to 2021.
Dame Judith Helen McGregor is a New Zealand lawyer, journalist, public servant and academic. She is currently a full professor at Auckland University of Technology and chairs the Waitematā District Health Board.
Dame Julie Claire Molloy Christie is a New Zealand businesswoman and television producer. She is the founder and former CEO of international television company Touchdown Productions, acquired by Dutch media company Eyeworks in 2006, and then later sold to Warner Bros.
Dame Karen Olive Poutasi is a New Zealand government official.
Suzanne Lee Snively is an American company director and economic strategist in New Zealand.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in New Zealand.
Dame Carolyn Henwood is a former District and Youth Court judge in New Zealand, and an advocate for youth justice and the welfare of children in state care. She is active in the arts, particularly theatre and was a founder of Circa Theatre in Wellington.