Lauren Quaintance and Melissa Davies appointed to Board

Matatū and the Crusaders are pleased to announce the appointment of two new directors to our Board. 

They are Lauren Quaintance and Melissa Davies, joining Chairman Grant Jarrold, Deputy Chairman Brent Francis, and Directors Mike Lay and Scott Ford. 

Thanks also go to our two directors who are stepping down – Simon Forrest and Natalie Thain. Their contribution to the Board in recent years has been hugely valuable.

Lauren Quaintance is an experienced entrepreneur, marketer and media executive. She has decades of experience in the media industry, and was Co-Founder and Managing Director of Storyation, a digital content marketing company. Storyation has teams in Sydney and Auckland and was acquired by NewsCorp in 2019.  

She has won multiple awards as a journalist, working with Fairfax Media (now Nine Entertainment Company) in Australia where she held numerous senior positions including General Manager and Managing Editor. She also spent time writing for The Sunday Times in London. 

She brings a fresh perspective on professional sport, marketing and storytelling. Quaintance is also Emerging Director for NZX-listed Turners Automotive Group. 

Melissa Davies has a wealth of experience as a Senior Sales and Marketing Executive for several large listed entities across Australia and New Zealand, and more recently as an entrepreneur and director. She founded Holdmine in 2020, a Software as a Service company providing encrypted digital storage, is a current Professor of Practice at the University of Canterbury’s Business School, and has been a director of strategy consulting organisation Silver Delta for more than a decade. 

She holds directorships with Motus Health Ltd and the Canterbury A&P Association. Of particular note is her time working for New Zealand Rugby as part of their Commercial and Technology Board Sub-Committee, finishing up with them in late 2022. 

Grant Jarrold, Board Chairman, said it was “an exciting time for professional rugby and fan engagement”, and he looked forward to what the future held. 

“With the incredible opportunity of a new covered stadium in Christchurch, the second season of Super Rugby Aupiki, and the immediate future of Super Rugby Pacific now locked in, our experienced Board will continue to strive for success on and off the field,” Jarrold said. 

 “Lauren and Melissa bring immense skill and capability to the group, and I look forward to the contribution they’ll make to our decision making and future direction.”