Tennis Northern Board Members

Tash Bartlett – Board Chair
Charlie Bartlett
Angelique Blom
Jacqueline Ironside
Wendy McNeely
Dr Herbert Sima

Tash Bartlett – Board Chair

Tash Bartlett comes from a banking and finance background having completed a BA/BCom at Auckland University. She has held senior roles at Carter Holt Harvey and within the banking industry, both in NZ and Australia. After having her children, she trained as a Personal Trainer and ran two businesses, personal training and a children’s fitness business. In more recent times she has held finance, strategy and events management roles. She is currently working in wealth management.

Combined with her passion for tennis, this varied background provides her with a wide knowledge of business principles, processes and experiences that adds value in her Board role.

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie comes from a sports, construction, and finance background. He started playing tennis at a young age and quickly fell in love with the game. Growing up in a community rich in tennis opportunities, Charlie played at a high regional level in England. After high school, he received a tennis scholarship in Nashville, Tennessee, where he competed in the NAIA Division while earning a BA (HONS) in Business Studies with Marketing. Following graduation, he served as the men’s and women’s assistant tennis coach at Cumberland University for two successful years, leading both teams to the National Championships. In 2007, he earned his Masters from Cumberland University.

Currently, Charlie is focused on his career in construction but still enjoys coaching tennis part-time, continuing to share his passion for the game.

Angelique Blom

Angelique is passionate about growing tennis, breaking down barriers to entry and developing the player experience for people at any stage of the game.

A late starter to tennis, Angelique has thrown herself into all aspects of the sport. For several years she has held the position of co-President, Secretary, and key fundraiser at the Beach Haven Tennis Club. She enjoys participation and development in this sport as a player, interclub team captain, and club leader and is also a qualified Court Supervisor and an ASB Classic volunteer.

After completing a BA at Auckland University, Angelique travelled from NZ and spent 25 years working for a UK based multinational. Gaining professional accountancy qualifications (CIMA), she undertook a broad range of Finance, Performance, Governance, Management, and leadership roles including 4 expat positions over 7 years in very culturally diverse global locations. Along with this strong corporate background, Angelique brings a positive, logical, problem-solving approach, has good process, systems, and communications skills, and relates well to people at all levels.

Jacqueline Ironside

Jacqueline has a wealth of experience from which to draw, having held senior business advisory roles in accountancy firms such as KPMG, Ernst and Young, as well as accountancy roles within other industries. The experience of working with many people and industries over time, as well as the added insight of completing MBA studies, gives Jacqueline a huge amount of wisdom around what works and what doesn’t within business.

Jacqueline is a past President and long time member of the Whangaparaoa Tennis Club. Volunteering is also a big part of Jacqueline’s life. As well as the One Warkworth Business Association, she is on the board of Tennis Northern, Best Prevention Services Rodney and a founding Trustee of the Child Rescue Charitable Trust NZ.

Wendy McNeely

Wendy comes from a sporting background…. Just not tennis!

She has worked in the health sector for most of her working career and has just recently entered the sport sector. In the corporate world her strengths lie in finding solutions for challenges; these days those often faced by people wanting to get physically active. Her role as a Monitoring and Evaluations advisor enables her to see the big picture but also the details required to make a plan that will collect appropriate data along the way to ensure milestones are met to help achieve the strategy in place.

Wendy represented Great Britain as a sprint hurdler in a career that spanned 20 years and so has experience as a junior and senior competitor. With that comes a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding the need for development pathways and the commitments required of both athletes and coaches. Wendy was one of the top female football referees in New Zealand and also sat on the NRF Referee Committee.

After retiring as an international competitor and migrating to New Zealand she experienced the importance and pleasure of social sport.

Dr Herbert Sima

Dr. Herbert Sima is a Digital Strategy Researcher specialising in social media, digital marketing, and artificial intelligence. His research explores how digital strategies can transform customer engagement, strengthen brand interactions, and foster marketing ecosystems that not only drive business performance but also create positive societal impact.

In addition to his academic expertise, Dr. Sima is an experienced business practitioner with active involvement in both New Zealand and international business practice. He has served on the boards of Campbells Bay School, Research Association New Zealand, Raffles University, and the Early Education Group, contributing his governance expertise to education, research, and business sectors.

Dr. Sima is currently the Director of the China Studies Centre at the New Zealand Asia Institute, University of Auckland. He has also been a Business Mentor with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Business Mentors New Zealand since 2022, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in achieving sustainable growth. He holds a Certificate of Specialisation in Strategy from Harvard University, with a focus on disruptive strategy, sustainable business strategy, and strategy execution.

Beyond his professional and academic pursuits, Dr. Sima is a passionate tennis player who enjoys the game both for fitness and as a way to stay connected with the community.