Steve Tew - The makings of one of NZ sport's best leaders

These days Steve Tew is a director with High Performance Sport New Zealand, but he’s best known for being the CEO of New Zealand Rugby from 2008-2019.

He was the boss when New Zealand held all four World Cups (men's, women's and two sevens), he guided the code through the Respect and Responsibility Review, inked critical sponsorship deals with Adidas and AIG, as well as a 5-year broadcast deal. In short, his administrative legacy in rugby in NZ may be unmatched.

In this episode we talk about his relationship with Steve Hansen and that time they discovered Richie McCaw, court-sessions in the 90s and how he connected with players, observations of the Professor Wayne Smith, lessons in leadership and all the best stories in between.

Steve has been very careful to stay away from commenting on rugby since leaving his pressure post and has refused all interviews on or off record when issues have arisen. His view is that ex-CEOs are just that, ex, and should not be heard, so we didn’t touch on today’s current hot-potato issues like the NZR governance spat or the future shape of professional rugby competitions.

But this was a cracking chat, and an exclusive insight into the makings of one of NZ sport's best leaders.

Steve is ultra Kiwi-authentic, whip-smart and as comfortable in the All Blacks dressing room as he was in World Rugby’s board.

You’ll love this one.

Best Laugh: Trying to work out where Steve Tew would have been in the uni games boat race team / Imagining Steve Tew cycling home from work in full lycra.

Best Insight: The simple leadership lessons we can all subscribe to.

Biggest Surprise: Steve Tew protested against the 1981 Springbok tour after completing a thesis on sporting relations between New Zealand and South Africa.

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