New Zealand rugby league appoint Greg Peters as CEO

NEW Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) has announced Greg Peters as their new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) starting in June.

Peters will replace acting CEO and NZRL deputy chair Hugh Martyn, who has temporarily occupied the role since former boss Alex Hayton resigned in March.

With more than 20 years experience in sport administration, Peters has previously spent five years as the chief executive of SANZAR, four years at the helm of both the Hurricanes Super Rugby Franchise and Wellington Rugby between 2006 and 2010 and was General Manager for two years with Argentinean Rugby Union.

New Zealand Rugby League Chairman, Reon Edwards says Peters experience is key to success for NZRL and is confident he is the man for the job.

“When it comes to leading high-performance organisations to the top, Peters has the resume and experience to prove he is the one to lead the New Zealand Rugby League into a new era,” said NZRL Chair Reon Edwards.

“Our game requires a strong, resilient leader who understands the nuances of grassroots sports and the connection with our community while having the leadership qualities and commercial skills to grow the NZRL brand. Greg’s C.V. speaks for itself. He is a proven CEO with plenty of experience at provincial and international level. He’s now excited about the prospect of applying his vast experience to a game he follows as a fan and has huge respect for.

“With the recent appointment of Michael Maguire as Kiwis Head Coach, and now Greg Peters set to lead the organisation, I believe we have leaders with the capability to implement the necessary systems and processes that will drive NZRL into the future.

“Our rugby league community expect that we represent the NZRL values of integrity, respect, leadership, courage and passion to the highest standard, and Greg does so in the most humble fashion,” Edwards said.

As an avid supporter of sport and its societal impact, Peters understands that the success of a high performing sport organisation is the result of several different factors.

“High-performance sport is not just about what happens on the field – it’s the whole organisation from grassroots to the elite.

“While my experience has predominantly been in rugby union, the fundamentals of leading a sports organisation to succeed are transferrable and my focus now is getting the NZRL to reach new heights.

“I know New Zealanders are passionate about their rugby league and if we re-establish trust in the NZRL brand, we can re-position rugby league in the hearts and minds of the wider community.

Peters vision is to focus on driving the three C’s, Culture, Community and Commercial.