Impey signals end of reign
Brent Impey will step down as New Zealand Rugby chairman in the coming months, relinquishing a role he has held since 2014.
‘‘In December I advised the board that my intention was to focus on a succession plan for role of chairman of New Zealand Rugby, which I have held for seven years,’’ Impey told Stuff yesterday. ‘‘As such it is my intention to step down from the role in the coming months and a formal announcement will be at the appropriate time.’’
Impey has been on the board of New Zealand Rugby since 2012.
Speculation about his role has been building since he stepped down as chairman of Sanzaar in November and several well-placed sources told Stuff this week that Impey had been weighing up his future.
Impey received chemotherapy for cancer last year, as well as having to steer NZ Rugby through a turbulent period as Covid-19 turned the sporting world upside down.
NZ Rugby’s next annual meeting is in April, and it is advertising two board roles, one for an ‘appointed’ position chosen by the board and one for a ‘nominated’ position (Ma¯ ori representative), where candidates are put forward by the provincial unions or the NZ Ma¯ ori Rugby Board.
Both roles on the board are three-year terms starting at the end of April and after that process concludes, the board will then sit to appoint a new chair.
Although there were some hard words spoken between Impey and Rugby Australia last year, Stuff understands Impey remains well regarded across the ditch and at Sanzaar level, and his replacement will have to work hard to establish new relationships.
The former MediaWorks boss resigned from the chairman’s role at Sanzaar in November, a role he had held for five years.
‘‘In my view it is time for Sanzaar to make some fundamental changes which are best placed to happen under an independent chair,’’ Impey said at the time.
‘‘While there was no imperative for change it was appropriate to rotate the role, however I now believe that the role of chair of a national union as well as chair of Sanzaar is a conflict for any country.’’
Despite stepping down from the chairman’s position, Impey can remain at NZ Rugby till April, 2022, because he has a 10-year term limit.
As a result, Impey could relinquish the chairman’s role but serve as a director for one more year, providing a degree of continuity for NZ Rugby as it juggles weighty issues such as a potential private equity partnership and the future structure of Super Rugby.
NZ Rugby has been exploring the possibility of private equity investment for at least 12 months, while it is working through the potential inclusion of the Moana Pasifika franchise in Super Rugby from 2022 onwards.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster’s future will also be decided in 2021 as he enters the second year of his contract.
NZ Rugby has nine board members, including Impey.
The other eight members are Farah Palmer, Shaun Nixon, Stewart Mitchell, Bailey Mackey, Jennifer Kerr, Sir Michael Jones, Richard Dellabarca and Bart Campbell.
Any new chair is likely to come from that group, although NZ Rugby could seek an external candidate.