Aspeq’s new Head of Client Services

From an early age, Sally’s life has centred around teams and teamwork. Her father is the legendary cricketer John Morrison, and she took up the sport as a child. By 16, she was Karori Cricket Club’s Club-Captain and one of its most diligent volunteers. Alongside a competitive streak, her childhood instilled in her a dedication to teamwork and serving others.

“I didn’t think much about what I wanted to be when I grew up, all I knew was that I wanted to make a difference in the world. And I still have that aspiration.”

Though it’s miles away from where she ended up in her career, her first qualification was as a nurse because she wanted to see the world. After travelling around and nursing for nearly a decade, cricket brought her back home to Wellington.

Sally jokes, “I was selected for the Wellington representative cricket team but the coach spotted my real talent and made me team manager instead. I needed to leave nursing and get a job that allowed me to work regular hours.”

Realising she had a knack for understanding the component parts of an organisation and improving how they worked together, Sally began her successful career in the public sector

A career in service

She quickly rose from Project Coordinator to Operations Manager in the large Litigation Group where she managed the largest civil lawsuit in New Zealand at the time. “The IRD was taking New Zealand’s five biggest banks to court over tax avoidance, in what was the largest civil settlement in history.”

Sally’s handling of the work kick-started her reputation as an exceptional strategist who was equally adept at getting things done.

Over the last two decades, Sally has been working behind the scenes to deliver some of New Zealand’s most significant programmes. This includes programme managing the response to the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission, establishing a governance system for MBIE and developing, at pace, the MBIE COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

“I’m fundamentally a relationship manager. I believe the world is relational. If we don’t take care of the relationships in our lives, the world will simply not turn.”

While working, Sally also became a Master of Strategic Studies from Victoria University. “I passed with distinction, which was a miracle given that I was 8.5 months pregnant at the time I handed in the first - and what I assured my supervisor would be the final - draft of my research thesis,” she laughs.

Following a number of senior leadership roles at MBIE, Sally’s latest stint was as Chief Advisor to Carolyn Tremain, MBIE’s Chief Executive. There she was part of the Senior Leadership Team that worked with 15 Ministers and oversaw 20 ministerial portfolios, a multi billion dollar budget, and over six thousand staff.

“It’s an incredible job with hugely busy days and quite a bit of risk. There is always so much going on with so many moving parts and relationships across government, and New Zealand. I’ve had a huge amount of fun and learnt a lot but I’m excited for a new leadership challenge.”

One for all

Throughout her busy career in the public service, Sally has remained deeply committed to empowering people and building communities through sport. For 15 years, she has contributed her governance experience through serving on the boards of several high profile sports organisations.

“I love being on boards because boards are always a team effort with a really clear set of objectives for our communities,” Sally explains.

Her service has earned her much recognition, including Kiwibank's Local Hero Medal in 2019, Wellington's Top Sports Leader Award and the Women in Governance Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. In 2022, she was also a finalist in the NZ Women of Influence Awards in the Board and Management category.

Sally was the first woman to chair a district, major or national cricket organisation in New Zealand, when she became the chair of Cricket Wellington in 2016 after a decade of serving on its board.

She went on to chair the Wellington Hockey Association and Wellington Rugby League, where those Boards sought to build and deliver sustainable organisations that grow accessible, inclusive participation - including for young women who are often not provided for like the boys.

For the first time in years, Sally isn’t chairing a board, but she remains committed to serving her community. She shares her knowledge through mentoring, contributing to conferences, and lecturing at her alma mater.

“What I love about sport is that, when we put our communities at the centre of decision making, it is a major contributor to enhancing the mana and hauora of our people - the notion of mental, physical, spiritual wellbeing and self belief. Sport brings communities together and can do so much to build confidence, resilience, relationships, and other aspects that contribute to wellbeing.”

Building Communities

Given how much cricket has shaped Sally’s life so far, it’s fitting that the sport has also led her to Aspeq. Her interest in Aspeq was sparked when she connected with Hamish Findlay, its CEO, at their local cricket club.

As someone driven by purpose, Sally was immediately struck by the organisation’s value proposition. “It’s clear to me that Aspeq plays a fundamental role in society. I mean, we’d hate for planes to fall out of the sky because someone sat a dodgy exam!”

Sally takes over from Mike Lynskey, who is retiring from Aspeq after nearly 30 years with the organisation. “Mike is a legend at Aspeq and in the industry. It’s hard to overstate his contribution to growing the company, almost from the beginning, into the successful organisation it is today.”

Sally plans to build on Mike’s legacy of putting people first. “Like Mike, I’m absolutely committed to delivering the best service and value for Aspeq’s clients. I take a human approach to relationships - it’s about people first.” 

Sally is equally excited to support Aspeq’s people towards further success in her position in the Senior Leadership Team. “Leadership is about empowering people to reach their potential in the ways that suit them best and ensuring we are all paddling the waka in the same direction, clear on where we are going and how we will get there. I am big on culture and I am big on living and holding up our values.”

“When I work with people, their success is my success. I’m one thousand percent ambitious for this organisation, our kaimahi (people), our clients and the value we can bring to New Zealand and the world. My ambition will always be about the difference we can make together.”