Appointed IWG Secretary General and Chief Executive of its delivery agent, Women in Sport Aotearoa, in September 2018, Rachel brings considerable global experience to the dual role.
A senior commercial communications strategist, over the past 18 years Rachel has collaborated with numerous international sporting bodies, including FIFA, FIA, IPC and World Rugby, as well as working extensively with many high-profile global brands and rights holders across in Formula 1 and other motorsports, football, rugby and Paralympic sport. Major clients have included Allianz (Mercedes F1; FC Bayern Munich), Shell (Ferrari F1 and Ducati MotoGP), NTT DoCoMo (Renault F1) and Ford (Champions League). Rachel also has extensive experience in grassroots communications and in the charity/CSR sector.
In 2012, Rachel undertook an activation programme during the London 2012 Paralympic Games on behalf of her client at the time, Allianz, the world’s largest insurer. She often talks about being truly inspired by the experience, and it triggered her passion for and career redirection into sport for social development.
Most recently, Rachel was commercial and marketing director for Paralympics New Zealand (2014 – 2018), with a brief to raise the profile and income for kiwi Paralympians around the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. She led the development of the award winning “Spirit of Gold Initiative” and the team that developed long-term partnerships with Toyota, ACC, Cadbury, Harvey Norman, Visa, Sanford and Tower Insurance. Her core focus was on reshaping public understanding of disability, encouraging them to focus on the person, before the impairment. Her team won the 2017 New Zealand Sport & Recreation Award for Commercial Partnerships and 2016 New Zealand Not-for-Profit Marketing Award in recognition of this programme.
As IWG Secretary General, Rachel’s key responsibilities include coordinating:
* Development, management and implementation of the IWG Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022
* Delivery of the 8th IWG World Conference, Auckland 2022 – the world’s largest gathering of experts on gender equity in sport and physical activity
* Relationship management with global governmental/non-governmental agencies and organisations (Ie. UN Women, UNESCO, WHO)
* Promoting and monitoring the IWG Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration and adding value to the work of the global Signatories – currently over 550+
* Responsibility for management of all IWG external and internal affairs, globally, including overnight of research programmes and the Insight Hub
* Day-to-day support for the IWG Global Executive and IWG Global Network
