news

Further to the recent announcement of the impending retirement of Life Members and longstanding employee’s Van and Mary Kailis, the Wanneroo Basketball Association is pleased to announce that it has secured two outstanding candidates to drive the growth of basketball in the northern corridor.

“It was always going to be a tough ask to replace Van and Mary, so the focus of the Board was to start the process as soon as possible”, said Ryan Hunter, President of the Wanneroo Basketball Association.  “But within days of advertising for an Executive Officer the response was overwhelming, with high quality candidates from many different sporting codes across the Country expressing their interest in joining the Pack in the next phase of its growth”.

Given the quality of applicants secured, the Wanneroo Basketball Association has proceeded to engage both a Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, to ensure that the Wolfpack delivers on its objective to be the Centre of Basketball Excellence in Western Australia. 

The role of Chief Operating Officer will be held by Ryan Thompson, a 280 game veteran and Life Member of the Geraldton Buccaneers Basketball Association. 

Ryan brings a sound understanding of and passion for basketball to the role, which will focus on the strategic delivery and growth of the Associations existing programs and competitions.  Ryan brings a wide ranging skillset to the role, holding a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from Deakin University, as a current Director of the Mid West Academy of Sport, and having established a wealth of experience in his position as the Sport and Recreation Club Development Officer with the City of Greater Geraldton, a role he has held since 2008.  It is through this role that Ryan focussed on building the capacity of not-for-profit sporting organisations, assisting on wide ranging issues such as strategic planning, governance, club marketing, grant funding, facility development, policy development and club administration.  

In addition to the appointment of Ryan Thompson, Cameron Britt has been engaged in the role of Chief Executive Officer.  Possessing strong leadership credentials, Cameron joins the Wolfpack from the role of Head of Community with the Essendon Football Club. Prior to commencing with the Essendon Football Cub, Cameron was the National Program Manager for Good Sports, a program of the Australian Drug Foundation, which works with around 6,000 community sporting clubs nationwide to provide safe, healthy and family friendly sporting environments whilst focussing on building the capacity of these clubs to increase revenue, membership and the attraction of female and junior participation in sports.

A strategic thinker with strong stakeholder management experience, Cameron is a highly regarded professional who holds a Bachelor of Business (Sports Management) from La Trobe University and an MBA from Deakin University.  Cameron was recently a Non-Executive Director of The Long Walk, a charity inspired by former Indigenous AFL start Michael Long, and in 2014 was selected for the Australian Institute of Managements ’30 under 30’ list, which identifies 30 outstanding managers under 30 years of age who have excelled in their chosen careers and left their unique mark on the management profession.
Cameron will join the Wanneroo Basketball Association on 26 October 2015, and will commence work on the overall management of the Association including the development of new partnerships and programs, as well as the extensive stakeholder management, strategic planning and governance development that will be required through the Associations move to HBF Arena Expansion in 2017.  
The Board of Wanneroo Basketball Association officially welcomes Ryan and Cameron to the Wolfpack Family, and encourages all members to stop and say hello when you see them at the stadium in the near future.

Ryan and Cameron bring a wealth and experience and a high degree of professionalism to the Wolfpack, which will ensure an exciting future for the Association as it pursues aggressive growth targets and continues to drive towards the Associations objective to be the Centre of Basketball Excellence in Western Australia.

The Strength of the Wolf is in the Pack!

Ryan Hunter
President
Wanneroo Basketball Association