Board of Directors

The Netball Australia Board is responsible for the governance and strategic leadership of Australian netball. The Board comprises of three elected Directors and six Directors appointed by the Board. The Board meets at least six times each year, and works to guide netball’s future growth and to uphold the overall strategic vision of the organisation. The Chair is appointed by the Board.

LIZ ELLIS AO | CHAIR
Liz Ellis AO was a member of the national team from 1993 until 2007, including the last four years as Captain of the Origin Diamonds. She is the most capped Diamond, and is a member of the Netball Australia Hall of Fame, the Sports Australia Hall of Fame and is a Legend in the NSW Netball Hall of Fame.

Ms Ellis played in the 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Championships and the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games. She was named Australian Netball's Most Valued Player on four occasions – 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2006. She became captain of the Sydney Swifts in 2000 and captained the team to the 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007 premierships.

Director appointed April 2024

WENDY ARCHER AM | DIRECTOR
Wendy’s lifelong passion for netball started in her days as a junior player, and her achievements in senior ranks include being awarded the National A standard in umpiring and excelling in administrative roles. Wendy is currently the patron and a life member of her local association, a life member of Netball NSW and a director of Netball Australia.

Wendy’s strong leadership has been recognised through being named Sportsperson of the Year within the Port Stephens LGA and as a finalist in the Administrator of the Year category in the NSW Sports Federation Awards.

In 2005, NSW Governor Marie Bashir, AD, CVO, made Wendy a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to netball. Wendy’s vision during her time as president of Netball NSW included working closely with the NSW Swifts, and the creation of GIANTS Netball.
Wendy received a Parliamentary commendation for her outstanding service to netball and her work helping to establish the state of the art Netball Central in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct.

Wendy is currently the executive director of InteRisk Pty. Ltd., ComplyNet Pty Ltd and Australian Rescue Management Pty Ltd.

A passionate sports follower with strong community values, Wendy believes in the power of sport and community to create a sound environment for the nurturing of young people.

Director elected April 2018

PETER LEGG | DIRECTOR
Peter Legg is a Chartered Accountant who has spent over 20 years as a Senior Finance executive in the sporting industry. Starting as the Chief Financial Officer for Sydney Turf Club, then one of Sydney’s two metropolitan horse racing clubs, from 1998 and leading to his current role as the Chief Financial Officer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL competition. The Sydney Turf Club as well as being a sporting club was a major venue operator and Peter was part of building and refurbishing two racecourses, including grandstands and exhibition spaces. He was then the Merger Integration Executive tasked with combining Sydney’s two racing Clubs into one, forming the Australian Turf Club.

After 13 years in Racing he became the Chief Finance Officer for the NRL at the time of the formation of the new Commission structure which now runs the game of Rugby League in Australia. His time at NRL included the game’s first billion dollar broadcast deal. Peter has spent the last seven years at the Rabbitohs helping the Club to being profitable and highly competitive on the field. Peter’s passion for netball comes through his daughter’s involvement at grass roots level. Peter is a member of the Audit and Risk committee since his election and is currently the Chair of that committee.

Director elected April 2019

TODD DEACON | DIRECTOR
Todd is a Managing Director of Techstars, leading SportsTech investments for their venture capital fund. Techstars is one of the most active venture capital investors globally, making approximately 500 new investments every year in predominately seed stage start-up companies across the world.

More recently, Todd formed Wildcard Ventures with Tennis Australia as Managing Partner. Wildcard Ventures is the venture capital investment arm of Tennis Australia focused on SportsTech investments. Prior to Techstars, in 2013 Todd founded Unscriptd, a sports technology start-up that was acquired in 2018 by US based media company The Player’s Tribune. 

Prior to founding Unscriptd, Todd had a long career in management consulting specialising in the sports and entertainment industry with clients such as Tennis Australia, Netball Australia, Cricket Australia, National Rugby League, Australian Sports Commission, Adidas, Quiksilver and Nike. 

Director appointed May 2021

GABBI STUBBS | DIRECTOR 
Gabbi is an executive strategist and business advisor with over 20 years of senior experience in media, technology, and digital transformation. She currently leads Product Strategy and Product Marketing for data management and AI solutions across APAC for Adobe.

Gabbi's experience extends from corporates to small business and start-ups working extensively through the Australian media industry, including at News Corp, Nine Entertainment Co and the ABC. She is a trusted, private sounding board for founders, C-suite executives and boards, and further advises and mentors students, women in business, social enterprises and start-ups spanning sport, media and advertising, data and analytics, AI, and the future of education, work and communities.

Gabbi is a Director of the Confident Girls Foundation, a member of Netball Australia’s Audit and Risk committee, and the Netball Australia board representative on the SOTG Digital Transformation Working Group.

Director appointed May 2021

MO'ONIA GERRARD OAM | DIRECTOR
Mo'onia is a former international netball player with a strong passion for the growth of Netball at both a grassroots and professional level. Mo'onia is currently involved with the game across a number of areas including playing, coaching and mentoring both domestically and internationally. As the nominated Athlete Director, Mo'onia uses her experience to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure that all elite athletes in the game are provided the environment that offers opportunities for continual growth and support.

Mo'onia's professional playing career spanned 14 seasons having started with the Sydney Sandpipers in 1999 and included seasons with the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Sydney/NSW Swifts winning four championships across two teams. During this period, Mo'onia also amassed 68 tests for the national team including two world championships, one Commonwealth Games silver medal, an Australian International Player of the year award and a Liz Ellis Diamond award.

During Mo'onia's playing career she held several leadership positions and overcame a number of significant injuries to return and play at the highest level.
Away from netball she is a proud Australian Tongan and mother of four children who enjoys living a healthy and active lifestyle with her family.

Director appointed March 2023 

CHERYL KICKETT-TUCKER AM | DIRECTOR
Professor Kickett-Tucker AM is a highly respected Traditional Owner, research academic, community development practitioner and children’s fiction author. She is a proud Wadjuk Noongar Aboriginal from Western Australia with traditional ties to Ballardong and Yued peoples.

Cheryl has competed in elite level sports as a member of the Australia National Women’s Basketball League, WAIS Rockets and the Western Australian State Basketball League as a player and coach for 20 years and has been a Western Australian representative in the Australian National Junior Basketball Championships. She has been inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at Governor Stirling Senior High School where she attended as a student.

Cheryl has worked with Australian Aboriginal people all her life in the fields of education, sport and health and is very passionate about using her research to make a real difference to the lives of Aboriginal children and their families.

Cheryl’s commitment to community development is important to her as she currently is a Director of Koya Aboriginal Corporation, a local not for profit 100% Aboriginal controlled and owned community organisation in Midland, WA. She is also a Director of Healthway and BasketballWA.

As well as completing her PhD (Education) (Edith Cowan University, Perth), Cheryl also has a Master of Science (Exercise and Movement Science) (University of Oregon, USA), a Bachelor of Applied Science (Sport Science) (Edith Cowan University, Perth) and an Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Sport Science) (Edith Cowan University, Perth).

Currently, Cheryl is an Australian Research Council Research Fellow at Curtin University. She is also the chief editor and co-author of award winning text book Mia Mia Aboriginal Community Development: Fostering Cultural Security published by Cambridge University Press. Professor Kickett-Tucker was recognised for her significant service to tertiary education and the Aboriginal community and was awarded the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours as a Member of the Order of Australia. In 2019, she was recognised as the 2019 Australian of the Year WA Local Hero for her community sports program for Aboriginal and vulnerable children and youth.

Director appointed April 2023

KIRRILY ZIMMERMAN | DIRECTOR
Experienced netball administrator Kirrily Zimmerman is a member of the Netball Victoria Hall of Fame and Legends of the Game committee, and is an international netball bench official.  
Kirrily has decades of experience in netball at the grassroots level and creating strong pathways to the elite.

Director elected May 2024

HON GABRIELLE UPTON | DIRECTOR
Respected business and community leader the Hon Gabrielle Upton has a combined 30 years of experience as a lawyer, banker, government minister and Deputy Chancellor.

Gabrielle serves as a Non-executive Director of The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and is a Strategic Advisor at King Wood Mallesons and Proto Axiom, a medical biotechnology investment fund. She also serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Biotechnology.

From 2011 to 2023, Ms Upton served in senior NSW Government roles including as the first female NSW Attorney General, Minister for the Environment, Local Government and Heritage, Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Sport and Recreation.

Her career began as a corporate lawyer with legal firms Herbert Smith Freehills and DLA Piper and as a banker with Deutsche Bank and Toronto-Dominion Bank in New York. She served on the Corporate Markets and Advisory Committee to the Federal Government and as Legal Counsel at the Australian Institute of Company Directors from 2000 to 2010.

Ms Upton has a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Business Administration from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business and graduated in 2022 from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program 203. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and of the Royal Society of NSW.

Director appointed March 2024