‘Jo is a natural leader who pulls together great teams to do great work. She finds a way through, no matter what the challenges – and always with a smile.’

Jo’s 30-year career began with a focus on journalism, communications and broadcasting, before moving into senior roles within the sports sector across core functional areas, including event delivery from community events through to international mega events.

Jo’s experience in major event delivery, involving several codes at venues around the country as well as offshore, has given her a comprehensive understanding of the many different elements of event delivery: setting and implementing strategy, negotiating venue and host city agreements, establishing fit-for-purpose venues in appropriate locations, and building collaborative and capable delivery teams working with integrated Host City partners and agencies.  Jo was Auckland Unlimited Programme Manager for the Auckland Stadium Strategy advising on event operations and leading stakeholder engagement. Previous major event delivery experience includes several World Cups across a variety of codes and other national and international events including Commonwealth Games and the America’s Cup. Achieving this has required excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship management with credible industry knowledge; Jo can identify and align the key components and needs of different parties, including event deliverers, venues, teams, local authorities, government agencies, federations and governing bodies.