Netball Australia appoints new chief executive

Serving as interim chief executive since December, Stacey West has been permanently appointed to Netball Australia's top job.

West took over from Kelly Ryan, who oversaw the most tumultuous time in the sport's history before stepping down late last year.

While at the helm there was a long-running and bitter pay dispute with the players, the collapse of a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal and the decision to sell the grand-final location without consultation with the players.

With 13 years experience at the organisation, West was executive general manager of performance for four years and responsible for talent pathways and keeping the Diamonds as world No.1.

West said she was thrilled to take on the CEO position on a permanent basis.

"It's an incredible role, a role of significance for the sport, and that's not lost on me," she said.

"I've loved the sport for a long time, so for me to take a different role within the sport is truly exciting and I'm excited about what this sport does next.

"The focus of Netball Australia is growing participation beyond our current 1.2 million participants, continuing to enhance our competitions, working closely with governments, and growing our commercial partnerships to guarantee the financial sustainability of the game into the future."

Chair Wendy Archer said West had proven her strong leadership skills as interim CEO and has a clear and exciting vision for the future growth of netball in Australia.

"Stacey is from our sport, and she knows our sport,'' Archer said.

"Stacey's extensive netball experience and passion for the game, combined with a strong strategic focus and ability to build and maintain strong relationships, makes her the ideal appointment to this position."