A leading sports executive who resigned from Golf NZ was endorsed to head a new global golf entity by the same board that fielded multiple complaints over his conduct.
Former Golf NZ boss Dean Murphy was last month appointed chief executive of the national body’s technology services company, DotGolf.
The move followed the announcement of a multi-million dollar equity deal with The R&A – one of golf’s main rule-makers – which acquired a 50% stake in DotGolf.
The deal has been hailed as a financial boon for Golf NZ, helping secure the future of the sport.
But within Golf NZ’s Auckland headquarters, staff are counting the cost of the deal, with one accusing their board of putting “money and egos” ahead of employee welfare.
In a press release accompanying the DotGolf deal announcement, one line in particular grated with staff and former employees: “The current chief executive of Golf NZ, Dean Murphy, will step down from that role to become chief executive of DotGolf”.
Officially, Murphy’s resignation from Golf NZ had come months earlier, in March.
Staff at Golf NZ were under the impression he’d been “removed” from his position after as many as 17 employees came…
