Taranaki Airs Appoint Puawai Waller as General Manager Ahead of 2026 Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Taranaki Airs Appoint Puawai Waller as General Manager Ahead of 2026 Season

New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand – January 2026

The Taranaki Airs have announced the appointment of Puawai Waller as General Manager, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the franchise as it prepares for the 2026 National Basketball League season.

An uri of Ngāruahine Rangi, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, and Te Whakatōhea, Waller steps into the role

with a deep personal connection to basketball, community, and culture, and a clear mandate to

rebuild the organisation from the ground up.

“Stepping into this role feels like the convergence of my life,” says Waller. “Sports has always been a space of possibility for me, a place where culture, community, creativity, and ambition meet. I’m excited about the possibilities that exist for the Taranaki Airs as we head into the 2026 season.”

With a background in cultural advisory, business consultancy and journalism, Waller describes her

career as being shaped by curiosity, problem-solving, and choosing alternative pathways, an ethos

she brings to her leadership of the Airs. Her appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the

franchise, following a challenging 2025 season that exposed underlying structural and performance

issues.

“We are entering 2026 at an inflection point,” Waller says. “What we owe our fans, community, partners, and stakeholders is not the comfort of pretending we didn’t fall short, but the courage to understand what that season revealed, and to change because of it.”

Central to Waller’s vision is repositioning the Airs as a culturally grounded, professionally run, and

commercially viable franchise, one that holds space for young people across Taranaki to imagine

themselves in the game.

“Our kids don’t have to look to the NBA as a faraway dream,” she says. “I want to build an organisation here where kids come to a game and think, ‘one day, that could be me.’ The dream of professional basketball already exists in Taranaki, my job is to hold that field of possibility open long enough for them to choose it.”

Waller points to basketball’s unique place at the intersection of culture, fashion, music, art, and socialchange and its accessibility as a sport as key to its power to build community and opportunity.

As part of the Airs’ 2026 reset, the organisation will undertake a comprehensive rebuild across all

areas of the business.

Fans and stakeholders can expect:

• A transformed fan experience designed to create lifelong memories

• A strong, authentic brand rooted in Taranaki identity and community

• A high-performing business that supports sustainable basketball pathways

“This rebuild won’t be rushed and it shouldn’t be,” Waller says. “Our 2026 comeback must show that something was learned, something changed, and that we emerged stronger because of it.”

The Taranaki Airs will share further updates on the rebuild, leadership team, and 2026 season

planning in the coming months.

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ENDS

Media enquiries:

Puawai Waller

puawai@taranakiairs.com