Peter Conde leaves Australian Institute of Sport to join Rugby Australia as Chief Performance Officer

February 25, 2022

Announcing what it describes as “three key appointments to its executive team” Rugby Australia has announced that Peter Conde has taken on the role as its new Chief Performance Officer- joining the body after a five-year term as Chief Executive of the Australian Institute of Sport that culminated with the outstanding performance of the Australian team at the Tokyo Olympics.

The other two appointments are Marissa Pace, who join Rugby Australia as its new Chief Marketing Officer, and James Durbin, who becomes the sport’s new Chief Commercial Officer.

Conde, a former elite sailor who returned to sport in a high-performance role following an extensive business career as a strategy consultant, comes to Rugby Australia following more than a decade working in elite sport as Performance Director of Australian Sailing and then in his leadership role at the AIS.

Pace, joins Rugby Australia with extensive knowledge of the sport, having spent the last three years as Chief Marketing Officer with World Rugby. She also has more than 15 years’ experience in the sports industry and is an internationally recognised marketing and broadcast executive that has worked in Formula One, NFL, NASCAR and the PGA.

Durbin joins Rugby Australia with 20 years’ experience in the sports industry, most recently as Chief Executive of UK-based Madison Sports Group. Having commenced his career in Australia in, firstly with NSW Suburban Rugby Union and then as the General Manager of Eastwood Rugby Union, Durbin then moved to the UK, where he has worked as Commercial Director with the London Irish and as Chief Executive of Powerboat P1 and Madison Sports Group.

Commenting on the appointments, Rugby Australia Chief Executive, Andy Marinos stated “I am pleased to be able confirm these significant appointments to my Executive team as we embrace an exciting new era for rugby in this country.

"Marissa, James and Peter all join Rugby Australia with exceptional qualifications. They are industry leaders and I am excited to work with them as we deliver a huge year for the game in 2022 and prepare for a number of significant, game-defining moments over the coming years.

“We have a number of strategic projects earmarked for 2022 where our new executives along with my existing team will play a critical role in how we structure and prepare ourselves to capitalise on this exciting decade of significant international rugby opportunities in this country both on and off the field.”

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