Stephen John Tew (born ) is a New Zealand sports administrator. He was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

from 2008 to 2019.

Early life and family

Tew attended college at

Hutt Valley High School Hutt Valley High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. A total of students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) attend the school as of making the school one of the largest in the Wellingt ...

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most ...

and then graduated from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

with a master's degree in recreation and administration. Tew has three daughters with his wife, Michele, including Ruby Tew, who represented New Zealand in rowing at the 2016 Olympics.

Career

Tew's career in sports administration began in 1982 as secretary-general of the New Zealand Universities Sports Union. He served in that role until 1987, when he became the general manager of the

Hillary Commission Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) ( Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The ...

. From 1996 to 2001, he was chief executive of the Canterbury Rugby Union and the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. Tew joined Rugby New Zealand as general manager in 2001, and became deputy chief executive in 2003. He took over as chief executive from

Chris Moller Christopher John David Moller is a New Zealand businessman and sports administrator. He is a former chief executive officer (CEO) of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and former deputy CEO of New Zealand's largest company, Fonterra. Moller has also w ...

after the poor showing of the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...

. Under Tew's tenure, Rugby New Zealand suffered its worst financial result ever in 2009/2010, losing $15.9 million in 2009 due to the global economic recession and investments due to hosting the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, before taking steps to improve its revenues, including signing a five-year broadcast deal and securing a sponsorship with Adidas through to 2019. Tew stepped down from his position as CEO of New Zealand Rugby at the end of 2019. In 2020, he was contracted by Sport New Zealand to conduct a review of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional sports in New Zealand.

Honours

In the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

, Tew was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to rugby and sports administration.

References

External links

NZRFU Senior Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tew, Steve 1950s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Hutt Valley High School Victoria University of Wellington alumni