Our Team

20+ experience in the business of education and sport, from grassroots to professional sport Jamie is a coach, teacher, Dad, sports speaking tech geek and strength and conditioning coach. Brought onto the waka early in the piece by Malcolm Gillies and Kevin Melville, Jamie has helped to bring their vision to life through his experience and network in sport. Previous roles include Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Black Ferns, HPSNZ, Black Sox and White Sox softball, Wellington Firebirds Cricket, Pulse Netball, NZ U21 Netball and NZ Rugby Referees. S&C and Sport Science support roles include Quiksilver, Red Bull, Ch9 Cricket, UK Super League, Australian National Rugby League, Top League Rugby (Japan) and Top 14 Rugby (France).

Jamie has also held the role of NZ Women’s Rugby Head of Athletic Performance, is a founding member of NZ Strength and Conditioning Association, a committee member for the International Society of Performance Analysis of Sport for Oceania, and a Manaaki Expert Advisor. With a business background as a founder of XLR8 Sports training for online speed and agility courses and S&C and Sport Science Consultancy, and a co-owner and Director of VX Sport athlete monitoring systems Jamie supplies over 30 countries and 250+ active teams with GPS, heart rate and inertia movement sensors.

As General Manager and Director of the Performance Institute Jamie and his team have built a home for Wellington Rugby, the Hurricanes and the Wellington Phoenix to Eat – Train – Sleep – Repeat!

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Belinda has an extensive background in executive level management with multiple leadership roles spanning the UK and NZ over the past three decades. As Managing Director of the largest teacher recruitment company in the UK, Belinda led a team of 150 staff based in Canada, South Africa, Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand and the UK with 3000 contract teachers placed each year in state, private and international schools around the world.

Belinda has successfully planned and managed the start-up, growth, and exit of four separate companies working globally within the education sector, and locally within hospitality, selling her last business in 2014. This experience led to a natural progression in business consultancy and brokering, working with business owners preparing for sale within a variety of industries. As a lover of sport, and all things netball, Belinda has coached a number of Wellington premier and representative teams over the years and holds a Performance Coach Award through Netball New Zealand. Governance roles include board member and interim Chair with Netball Wellington Centre as well as previous board roles with Whitireia Hospitality and Tourism Faculty and the Porirua Chamber of Commerce.

Along with her team of exceptional individuals Belinda is excited to grow and develop the business creating a Centre of Excellence at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport!

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After studying Physical Education at Otago University, and Law at Victoria University; Toni started working in gyms while she was at University. Majority of that time has been spent with Les Mills here in NZ, as Club Manager for LMNZ - initially in Christchurch (unfortunately during the Christchurch earthquakes) and then more locally in Wellington. After living in Christchurch, on returning to Wellington – her involvement with Les Mills extended to a Project Management role, where she worked on the development of Les Mills Hamilton and securing the “Green Tick” for all Les Mills Clubs nationally.

After welcoming the first child to the family, Toni made the switch to NZ Rugby – and has remained with NZR for the last 8 years (and one more child!). As “Contracts and Relationship Manager – for Women’s Rugby”, her role involves managing the employment arrangements for professional women’s players in NZ (negotiating and overseeing their relevant MOU’s), and also contracting all professional players in NZ (Black Ferns, Black Ferns Sevens and Super Rugby Aupiki players) in conjunction with the Coaches at the helm of each of those Teams. She has left that part of the role behind though, to join NZCIS as Operational Manager. Currently, she is committed to NZR still in the role of “Super Rugby Aupiki Competition Manager”, overseeing the women’s Super Rugby competition as it heads into the 2023 season, featuring the top 112 female players in NZ.

With a long history in business development Sheena is a multi award-winning professional with a vast array of sales experience gained through roles at Lion Nathan, Pub Charity, Fisher and Paykel and DePuy Synthes. Working with hospitality and accommodation operators throughout her career has given Sheena the ideal background to lead the commercial team at NZCIS.

An expert multitasker, Sheena utilises her business skills overseeing all commercial aspects of the campus covering accommodation, dining, conferencing, housekeeping, client liaison, and staff management. In addition to this Sheena is busy identifying and developing potential future opportunities working with clients from all over the world who are keen to experience our unique campus.

Lauren brings a wealth of experience from her background in advertising, design, and managing large-scale events. Her professional journey includes collaboration with diverse groups, ranging from government and tech to advertising agencies. With a strong skill set in client service and production management, Lauren adeptly oversees operations, ensuring a seamless and on-track workflow. Outside the professional realm, Lauren has proudly represented New Zealand at the NABBA World Body Building Championships and is an avid enthusiast of Muay Thai. She thrives in fast-paced environments and enjoys taking on challenges.

With a background in hospitality and healthcare, Danni is an experienced housekeeper with a deep understanding of the levels of hygiene management expected in a high-performance environment. As Housekeeping Manager, she ensures her team is equipped with the necessary training to ensure all campus accommodation, training and meeting facilities meet and maintain the exemplary standards expected at NZCIS.

Danni is committed to upholding the values that embodies our dedication to innovation and excellence. Her meticulous attention to detail and inclusive management style are instrumental in guaranteeing every individual who steps onto the campus encounters an welcoming environment conducive to peak performance and wellbeing.

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Elodie is our ‘go to’ person for all things admin. With two little people at home and a husband who frequently travels with rugby, Elodie is a supreme organiser and is your classic multitasking working Mum! Covering everything from guest enquiries to bookings to marketing and events Elodie handles requests from all divisions of the campus – all delivered in her unflappable style. 

With a background in Tourism and Events Savannah is our bookings superstar juggling guest and team enquiries whether it’s requests for accommodation and catering or coordinating events at our conference centre. Having worked with clients at Expressions Whirinaki Arts and Entertainment Centre, the Upper Hutt iSite, Positively Wellington Tourism, and the Wellington Racing Club, Savannah has a wealth of local knowledge and is happy to advise guests on the best things to do in the Greater Wellington region. Savannah is an expert at keeping cool under pressure and manages to keep a smile on her face no matter what challenges are thrown her way.

Maddy completed a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation at Auckland University of Technology in 2020 while working on placement in a range of sports facilities and gyms. Majoring in Health, Physical Education and Sport Management her passion to work with athletes led to a Personal Training qualification and the past two years have seen Maddy working as a Personal Trainer in Auckland before making the move down to Wellington in late 2022.

Having played a variety of sports including representative and Maori netball Maddy now competes at CrossFit loving the variety of training that CrossFit offers – gymnastics, heavy lifting, and testing the lungs with cardio. Maddy’s role along with the rest of the team is to look after the athletes and management who train in the Performance Institute, offering insight and advice on equipment and managing the schedules of all our Foundation Member teams. 

After graduating from the University of Otago with a Degree in Sport Management & Development in 2021, Henry moved back home to the Wairarapa and joined the team here at NZCIS. The past year and a half has seen Henry working in concussion research in Dunedin and at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Auckland. As someone who has experienced a few concussions playing rugby, it’s an area of sport that is of serious interest to him. Outside of work Henry is a massive sports fan whether that be rugby, cricket or football and as a Tottenham Hotspur fan has learned patience and resilience!