Mat Jensen has been appointed Chair of the Rowing New Zealand Board, taking over from Jane Davel following the organisation’s Annual General Meeting in June. The selection comes after Georgina Earl (née Evers-Swindell) joined the Board as a newly elected member, triggering the formal process for choosing new leadership.
Jensen brings deep roots in New Zealand rowing. Since joining the RNZ Board in May 2021, he has shaped some of the sport’s most significant recent decisions, including the constitutional changes and Rule of Racing proposals that came into effect in 2025. His fingerprints are all over the Board’s work on safeguarding and integrity, areas where he has driven the development of sport-wide disputes and disciplinary frameworks that affect clubs and rowers nationwide.
His rowing experience stretches across multiple levels. He has competed as an athlete, coached at high-performance level, and served on committees ranging from club to regional to national. That breadth matters. North Shore Rowing Club recognised his contributions by naming him a Life Member. He also chaired the Auckland Regional Performance Centre and the Auckland Rowing Association before stepping into the RNZ role.
Away from the water, Jensen works as a qualified actuary and business leader in the insurance sector. He holds Commerce and Science degrees, is a Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Actuaries, and sits on the Institute of Directors. That background has already proven useful; he chaired the Board’s Audit, Finance and Risk Committee, giving him hands-on experience with the governance side of running a national sports organisation.
Davel’s tenure concluded at the AGM after serving both as a Board member and Chair. Her departure leaves the Board in Jensen’s hands at a time when rowing continues to rebuild its international standing and manage the complex demands of elite competition, grassroots participation, and safeguarding across the sport.
The newly constituted Board holds its first meeting on 19 June in Auckland, giving Jensen the chance to set the tone for his period as Chair and introducing Earl to her first Board meeting. What happens in that room will shape the direction of New Zealand rowing over the coming years.
