Kate Palmer appointed to Athletics Australia Board

Athletics Australia has announced the appointment of former Sport Australia Chief Executive Kate Palmer to its Board of Directors.

Advising that the appointment of Palmer to its Board of Directors will further strengthen its diverse and skilled Board expanding the area of sports governance, Athletics Australia President, Mark Arbib stated “we are delighted to welcome someone of such an outstanding calibre to our Board.

“Kate has held multiple senior leadership roles in Australian sport. In each role Kate has been an instigator of positive change.

“Athletics Australia is an organisation focussed on growth in high performance, participation and commercial and we know Kate’s expertise in these areas will give Athletics Australia the boost it needs to get to the next level.”

A highly credentialed sport administrator, Palmer (pictured) became the first woman to head Sport Australia when she became Chief Executive in January 2017.

She was Chief Executive of Netball Australia from 2007 to 2017.

During her three-year tenure at Sport Australia, Palmer led the rebranding of the organisation, governance reform among national sports organisations and put in place safeguards to protect children in sporting environments.

Over her 10 years at Netball Australia, Palmer maintained the game’s status as the highest participation sport for women and oversaw the introduction on its national league, Super Netball.

Palmer said she was honoured to accept the role and is looking forward to contributing to shaping the future of Athletics in Australia, commenting “it’s a wonderful opportunity to be on the Athletics Australia Board. The Athletics community is one that has always inspired me.

“Being a director is a really important role, and for me I’m really delighted that Athletics Australia is so ambitious about its future. It has a highly capable Board and Executive Management Team and I’m looking forward to adding value and contributing to this sport and playing a role in achieving the organisation’s strategic objectives.”