Netball Western Australia (WA) has announced former Aussie Home Loans WA state manager, Simone Hansen, as the organisations’ new chief executive officer.

Hansen also currently serves as a member of the Western Australian Football Commission’s Women in Football Advisory Committee, and as a non-executive director of the Australian Institute of Management WA, with a background of key executive positions across the banking and finance sector.

Speaking of her appointment, Hansen said: “It’s a great privilege to be appointed to lead Netball WA, and to be able to drive the ongoing growth and development of a sport that I’ve had a lifelong connection with – first as a player in my youth, and now as a supporter watching my daughter play in both the winter and spring netball seasons.”

“I’m very much looking forward to continuing to lift engagement and participation across all of netball in Western Australia, and really connecting the sport with the local community.

“This is a uniquely diverse business, encompassing the grassroots and community sporting level, the success of West Coast Fever as part of the elite national competition, and the incredible outcomes of the Shooting Stars program.

“Netball in Western Australia enjoys enormous goodwill and support at every level, and I look forward to building on that strong platform to capitalise on some of the incredible opportunities that lie ahead,” Hansen said.

Netball WA president, Grant Robinson, said Hansen’s appointment was an exciting one for the sport in Western Australia.

“Simone’s resume speaks for itself – she’s an incredibly accomplished businesswoman, and an innovative and outcomes-focused leader,” Robinson said.

“She brings with her key strengths in stakeholder engagement, financial and commercial acumen and getting the very best out of her teams by empowering them to be the best they can be.

“We’re very fortunate to have secured a leader of her calibre to take the helm of our great sport in Western Australia,” he said.

The announcement comes as Netball WA renewed its partnership with Komo Digital, with the digital engagement business set to remain Netball WA’s fan engagement partner ahead of the West Coast Fever’s 2021 Suncorp Super Netball campaign.

As part of the deal, Netball WA will use Komo’s platform to drive fan engage in-stadium and digitally and to better commercialise their digital assets, according to a statement.

Netball WA partnerships manager, Lauren Movick, said: “We are thrilled to have renewed our partnership with Komo for the upcoming Suncorp Super Netball season.”

“We look forward to continuing to provide an innovative fan engagement experience both in-stadium and across our digital channels.

“Komo is enabling us to speak to our fans in an authentic way while capturing valuable first party data,” Movick said.

Komo CEO, Joel Steel, said: “The West Coast Fever are a team with a passionate fanbase, that has a strong connection with their supporters, and we are proud to announce that West Coast Fever has extended their partnership with Komo.”

“Our mission is to provide an innovative solution for businesses to deepen their connection with customers and capture first party data in a non-intrusive manner.

“I’m excited to see how West Coast Fever will put our platforms full range of features into action this season, seeing the reaction from fans and the benefits from West Coast Fever’s key sponsors,” Steel said.