NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson Photo: Martin Hunter/ActionPress
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson has resigned and will leave the organisation at the end of the year.
Robinson has been in the position for six years and has led the organisation through some difficult times.
During his time New Zealand Rugby had to deal with the Covid pandemic, the drawn-out Silver Lake negotiations when the US private equity firm invested in the game here and the debate over the organisation's governance.
Robinson acknowledged that there have been challenging times during his tenure, which brought with it significant scrutiny.
"The past six years have been a period of rapid change, or unprecedented challenges through the pandemic, and significant evolution across commercial, competitions and structures," Robinson said in a statement.
"I will reflect on that as I get closer to stepping away, but I firmly believe the foundations of our organisation are extremely strong and the game is well-placed for the future.
"I have had the privilege of leading an amazing group of people at NZR who have a huge amount of care for the game. There's a deep hunger to get better every day no matter how well we think we are doing and that drive sits right across every person working for NZR, our competitions and our national teams."
"We remain focused on implementing a new financial model for the game in New Zealand and completing the remaining work on what will be an exciting future international calendar."
Robinson's family has been based in Australia for the last few months.
NZR chair David Kirk acknowledged Robinson for his contribution over a six-year period.
"Mark has driven significant change, both in New Zealand and internationally, and the Board believes the organisation is well-placed to capitalise on this. Of note was his leadership through a global pandemic that saw the game deal with an unprecedented crisis.
"We also understand Mark's desire to relocate to Australia where his family are now all living. He will go with our best wishes when he moves there at the end of this year. Mark will continue to lead for the remainder of the year as we conclude key projects, and the Board will now commence recruitment for the new role."
Robinson played nine tests for the All Blacks between 2000 and 2002.
He was on the NZR Board for seven years before taking over as chief executive.
-RNZ
