Rob Waddell

Rob Waddell is one of New Zealand's highest-profile and most respected sportspeople. Rob has a string of top New Zealand sporting honours to his name including being a two-time World Rowing Champion and Olympic gold medal winner. Rob has a longstanding involvement at all levels in the New Zealand sports sector.  

He was the first recipient to win the Sportsperson of the Year Supreme Halberg Award for three consecutive years, a feat only shared by one other person. It's these stellar performances and his personal attributes that led to his selection as the Chef de Mission of the New Zealand Olympic team where he led them into the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, followed by the Olympics in Rio in 2016. 

As Chef de Mission, Rob leads the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams. This leadership role sees Rob responsible for setting standards of excellence, overseeing the planning and preparation of the games management teams and ensuring the athletes and their NSOs have what they need to achieve within the complex Olympic and Commonwealth Games environments.