KEY POINTS:
Sport Auckland boss Simon Peterson was today named new chief executive of Rowing New Zealand (RNZ).
He replaces former RNZ chief executive Craig Ross, who resigned in September last year.
Ross was convicted in July this year on nine charges of knowingly using forged documents to gain almost $370,000 worth of charitable grants for RNZ.
In September, High Court Justice Paul Heath overturned the fraud convictions, set aside the $10,000 in fines, but ordered Ross to pay $15,000 towards prosecution costs.
Peterson, who has been chief executive at Sport Auckland for eight years, has also been chairman of Paralympics New Zealand since 2002.
RNZ chairman Bill Falconer said he was delighted to have secured the services of Peterson after a "long and closely scrutinised search".
"We have always believed the choice to be a critical one for the future of the sport," he said. "We've had some excellent candidates, but nobody who ticked all of the boxes on our ideal candidate list.
"Simon does that and importantly for the sport, has committed to being based at our brand new high performance centre five days a week. If we are to take the sport of rowing to the levels we are hoping for, that has to be an important factor."
Falconer also paid tribute to interim chief executive Luke van Velthooven, who he said had done a "stunning" job in the role on a part-time basis from Blenheim. He will continue in the role until Peterson takes up his position in March.
- NZPA
