Newly appointed Netball New Zealand boss Jennah Wootten will be tasked with leading the sport out of a turbulent 2025 – dominated by the Dame Noeline Taurua coaching saga.
Wootten was confirmed as NNZ’s new chief executive on Thursday, taking over from Jennie Wyllie, who resigned in December after a drama-filled past year for the organisation. Wyllie had been at NNZ for 16 years and chief executive since 2016.
Her appointment means four of New Zealand’s largest sports, who were all looking for chief executives, have found their new leaders. Steve Lancaster (New Zealand Rugby) Geoff Allott (New Zealand Cricket) and Andrea Nelson (New Zealand Rugby League) have all been confirmed over the past month.
Wootten joins NNZ from Aktive (an Auckland sport and recreation charitable trust), where she has served as chief executive since 2021. She brings experience spanning some of New Zealand’s most significant sporting events, including chief executive of the World Masters Games 2017, which featured 28,000 participants across 28 sports.
She has also served as general manager of partnerships and communications at Sport New Zealand, a director of Cricket 2021 for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, and played a leading role in delivering the Rugby World Cup 2011 programme in Auckland.
