Power 100 THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN AUSTRALIAN SPORT

From negotiating the biggest broadcast deals in sporting history to being a global face of football, women are leading the way for Australian sport. Insight Sport identifies the most powerful names shaping the future of sport in Australia.

1 SAM KERR MATILDAS CAPTAIN

The first woman ever put on the global cover of the FIFA video game alongside Kylian Mbappe last year, such is her star power. Kerr, 29, has a $2 million contract with English club Chelsea, a $1 million endorsement deal with Nike and is the most influential female footballer Australia has ever produced. The scoring whiz has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or award as the world’s best player four years running, has netted more goals for the Matildas than any other, is the only female to have won the Golden Boot on three different continents and has been

awarded an Order of

Australia Medal for services to football. With this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup being staged in Australia, there is no bigger name or more recognisable athlete in Australian sport ahead of what is shaping up to be a once-in-ageneration opportunity for the star.

2 GAI WATERHOUSE HORSE RACING TRAINER

Racing’s first lady is a household name who commands considerable power and influence. When Waterhouse shoots from the hip in her no-nonsense style, racing administrators listen. The daughter of legendary trainer Tommy Smith is a former actor who started her training career more than three decades ago and has since won almost every race worth winning. Inducted into racing’s Hall Of Fame in 2007 and the Sport Australia Hall Of Fame in 2018, the much-loved Waterhouse remains as flamboyant and forthright as ever. Currently training in partnership with Adrian

Bott, Waterhouse’s headline horse is Alligator Blood, who has racked up Group 1 wins for fun. A trailblazer for women in racing, Waterhouse has the ear of all of the most powerful types and those who make things happen in the sport of kings.

3 KATIE PAGE CEO, HARVEY NORMAN

Page and her husband Gerry Harvey bought into the Magic Millions in 1996 and have since transformed the company into the sales and racing powerhouse it is today. Now the Gold Coast Magic Millions race day and associated events are an iconic fixture of Australian racing, with vision of the week broadcast around the globe. Like Waterhouse, Page has been a trailblazer for women in racing. She has worked overtime trying to increase female participation in the sport with initiatives including lucrative bonuses for horses owned only by women on the rich Magic Millions race day. Page has been a prominent voice in Australian sport since becoming the first female on an Australian sporting board when she was involved in rugby league administration. As CEO of Harvey Norman, she has seen the company put more money into Australian sports than almost any other major sponsor over many years, helping to fund initiatives across many codes and supporting the likes of Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus and surfing star Sally Fitzgibbons.

4 CATE CAMPBELL SWIMMER, AOC BOARD

A champion swimmer who is not only the public face of Australia’s most successful Olympic sport, but is also making waves outside of

the pool. Highly sought-after by sponsors and broadcasters, Campbell is becoming an important voice in boardrooms, as Chair of the Australian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission and a spokeswoman on a wide range of important issues.

She bravely spoke up for women’s rights when she addressed World Aquatics on transgender issues last year.

5 SIOBHAN McKENNA CHAIR, FOXTEL GROUP

As chief executive of broadcasting at News Corp Australia, McKenna is responsible for negotiating all the big TV deals for Fox Sports across every major sport. She is well respected in the sporting world and the broader business landscape having served on the board or as chair of several major companies including Woolworths, Nova Entertainment, NBNCo and Australian Productivity Commission. Last year she was also appointed chair of Australia Post.

6 ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK QUEENSLAND PREMIER

No state politician in the country has more influence over sport than the Queensland Premier. Although she needed an early reminder of what not to do when she brought her boyfriend to an important International Olympic Committee meeting, she has the power to transform the Sunshine State into the epicentre of Australian sport for decades to come.

7 ASH BARTY RETIRED TENNIS CHAMPION

The three-time grand slam champion’s influence will live on for decades and retiring as world No.1 after breaking the local drought at the Australian Open only further enhanced her legacy. Barty’s reach is already significant, providing opportunities for Indigenous kids in sport and education while a coaching partnership with Tennis Australia will see her influence the next generation of players.

8 JOSEPHINE SUKKAR AM CHAIR, AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION

Likes to keep a low profile, but wields enormous power behind the scenes at the Australian Sports Commission. Sukkar is also the president of Australian Women’s Rugby and the driving force behind the creation of Super W, which recently announced a new $2 million pay deal for players.

9 GINA RINEHART CHAIR, HANCOCK PROSPECTING

Australia’s richest person is also one of the most generous in helping out our elite athletes. Hancock Prospecting is a major partner of a number of key sporting bodies, including the AOC, rowing, synchronised swimming and volleyball. She also privately supports a lot of Australia’s leading Olympic swimmers.

10 ANIKA WELLS FEDERAL SPORTS MINISTER

Queensland Labor minister who replaced Richard Colbeck last June. While it’s unlikely she’ll still have the sports portfolio when the Brisbane Olympics and Paralaympics roll around in 2032, what she does now will lay the foundations for the Games and create a legacy for Australian sport.

11 ASH GARDNER CRICKETER

The first new-era superstar of women’s cricket after landing a record $558,000 contract in the inaugural Women’s Premier League competition in India (for effectively three weeks work). At 25 years of age, Gardner is now not only the highest paid athlete in the game, but is the future of the Australian team. A proud Indigenous woman, Gardner is a vocal and brave advocate for Aboriginal issues, including Change The Date.

12

KYLIE ROGERS EGM CUSTOMER AND COMMERCIAL, AFL

Started at the AFL in 2017 after stints at Mamamia and Network Ten, and now oversees all commercial operations, including the league’s valuable corporate partnerships, advertising and membership portfolios. Every dollar the league makes from fans falls under Rogers’ watch. Very highly rated by the AFL.

13 CHRISTINA MATTHEWS CEO, WACA

Outstanding operator who deserved an opportunity to run Cricket Australia. No-nonsense, plainspeaking chief executive who gets in front of big issues. Hasn’t been afraid to stand up to big names like Dennis Lillee and already boasts a tremendous legacy in West Australian cricket.

14 EMMA McKEON OLYMPIC SWIMMER

Australia’s greatest Olympian, McKeon is a reluctant superstar who has grown accustomed to the spotlight and is in high demand from corporates all over the country because of her pristine image and impeccable behaviour.

15 CINDY HOOK CEO, BRISBANE 2032 OLYMPICS

The former boss of Deloitte AsiaPacific, Hook beat more than 50 candidates to be appointed as the first CEO of Brisbane 2032. The American’s biggest challenge is to keep a cap on spending and avoid the massive cost blowouts that plague almost every Olympic Games.

16 KATE JONES ARL COMMISSIONER

The well-credentialed Jones is seen as a possible successor to Peter V’landys as ARL Commission chair. She is a director on the board of Paralympics Australia and had more than eight years as a

Queensland government minister, overseeing portfolios that included delivery of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

17

MEG LANNING CRICKET CAPTAIN

Captain of Australia who has held the job for a decade prior to a recent break. During the sport’s stunning growth of recent years, Lanning has been a commanding figure and the leader. As a batter, she is without question one of the best to ever play the game and she’s not done yet after leading Australia to a sixth T20 World Cup title last month.

18 KELLY RYAN CEO, NETBALL AUSTRALIA

Took over the role in mid-2021 as netball continued to battle Covid shutdowns and spent her first 18 months putting out fires, from the dire financial position of the sport to the ultimately doomed Hancock Prospecting sponsorship and Visit Victoria deal. Righting the ship financially while maintaining the professional players’ position as close to the best paid in Australian sport loom as major challenges that will ultimately shape her legacy.

19

STEPHANIE BELTRAME EGM BROADCASTING AND COMMERCIAL, CRICKET AUSTRALIA

In the high-octane, alpha male world of TV rights, she’s the cool, calm and collected executive who has signed off on Cricket Australia’s past three broadcasting deals – the cornerstone for how the game operates. Started off working under Malcolm Speed and has blossomed into one of the game’s most respected and important executives.

20

TRACEY HOLMES JOURNALIST, ABC

An award-winning senior reporter with the ABC who has connections to a lot of the biggest hitters in international sport. Australia’s first female host of a national sports program, Holmes specialises in sports politics and governance and has a reputation as a fearless reporter, unafraid to swim against the tide.