The Commission's board chair Don Mackinnon was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit CNZM on Monday 2 June, for services to sports governance. Don has led the way in championing integrity in New Zealand sport for many years, and this honour is well deserved.

He says; “It’s very humbling - I feel incredibly fortunate to do work I absolutely love and to work with loads of amazing, talented and passionate people - that’s reward enough. But I am very grateful for the recognition.”

Don chaired the Sport and Recreation Integrity Working Group which led to the formation of the Sport Integrity Commission. He has also been the Chair of The Blues since 2019 and before that was a director of Netball New Zealand for nine years, the last three years as Chair.

He has been a director of several other organisations, including Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand and New Zealand Cricket. He is involved in the governance of international sports as Chair of the Integrity Vetting Panel of World Athletics. He has also conducted several significant independent reviews on sports-related matters, including a 2015 review of the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand, processes at High Performance Sport New Zealand, and a 2020 review into the future of Super Rugby New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Don's work has contributed significantly to making the sport sector safer and fairer for participants at all levels.

Read more about Don's vision for integrity in sport: Towards greater safety and integrity - A Q&A with Don Mackinnon.