There has been solid online comment since the announcement of Kristina’s appointment over the weekend. While Sportspeople was not involved in the recruitment process we were following the appointment with some interest as the Basketball Australia role was one of a number of key sport management roles on the market.

While I can’t comment specifically on the quality of the candidate group I know that if Kristina Keneally’s CV came across my desk it would certainly have my attention.

Having been involved in the recruitment process for over 120 CEO roles in sport in NZ and Australia, I have seen my fair share of aspiring CEOs and have a strong view on what are the core qualities of a successful CEO. Leadership is high on this list. Leaders create trust ... facilitate strategy ... drive change ... build teams... and simply get things done. Sure, there are all the other qualities such as management – financial, policy and strategic and being able to represent and drive the organisation; but for my money everything else comes in behind having a strong, effective leader out front responsible for the future of an organisation.

So, while Kristina may not have a pedigree as a sport management professional she certainly has some impressive credentials that should come in handy for her and Basketball in the future.

And, in a profession where women are so poorly represented at CEO level, another woman in the corridors of power in sport is not a bad thing either!

RM - Sportspeople Recruitment
First Published 2012