Associate Director

David has worked in the recreation and sport sector for over 40 years, with almost 30 years as a consultant sport and recreation planner, mostly leading the team at Global Leisure Group. Prior to consulting, David held key management roles with the Hillary Commission (Funding and Kiwisport), the Health Sponsorship Council, and Sport Tasman (CE). He was seconded to the Minister for Recreation and Sport for a year including the lead up to the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.

David has been at the forefront of planning for the sector from development of strategic plans, network plans for aquatic, indoor sport, and community spaces and places through to feasibility studies and establishing hubs. David has worked closely with Richard Lindsay on several projects while Richard was with Sport NZ including developing a recovery plan for recreation and sport facilities following the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 plus the Facility Development Guide in 2015.

David was an early graduate of Parks & Recreation Management at Lincoln. David is committed to the development of sport and recreation profession in New Zealand. He served on NZRA (now Recreation Aotearoa) National Executive for four years. Recently he initiated the Hub Collective within Recreation Aotearoa. He convened the highly regarded 2011 National Seminar for Recreation Planning. He has also presented several papers at national conferences and seminars.

David is married with 2 adult sons and lives in Nelson. He has played and enthusiastically followed many sports over the years. He is community minded. Volunteering came with children, coaching sports teams, holding governance roles in sports clubs, the Kindergarten Committee, School Trustee (and chair). David enjoys fly fishing, playing golf and pickleball and walking with his wife and dogs, plus DIY projects in his ‘shed’ and gardening.