New Illawarra Hawks COO Nicole Walker outlines growth vision ahead of new NBL season
Nicole Walker told the Hawks in Business breakfast how the club’s dual-COO model will drive sustainability, growth, and stronger community ties.
She’s been hard at work behind the scenes over the last few months, but as the NBL season prepares for launch, Illawarra Hawks Chief Operating Officer (Commercial) Nicole Walker has stepped into the spotlight to share her vision for the club’s future.
Speaking at the Hawks in Business breakfast series at the Sage Hotel on Friday, Walker laid out her ambitions to build on the momentum of last year’s championship-winning season while ensuring the club’s long-term stability.
Walker’s appointment was announced in March 2025, following the stepping down of CEO Stu Taggart.
She brings elite sports and business experience, from launching the Big Bash League as the inaugural Perth Scorchers GM and a decade with WA Cricket, to consultancy, and more recently as marketing manager at Wollongong Golf Club.
In place of a CEO, the Hawks adopted a dual-COO structure: club legend Matt Campbell oversees basketball operations, while Walker leads the commercial arm.
The model has been in place for several months, but Friday’s event was the clearest articulation yet of how the approach will underpin the Hawks’ next phase of growth.
“We don’t have a CEO role in the Hawks anymore,” Walker said.
“We have two COO’s. Matt does a fantastic job as always looking after basketball, and I’m charged with taking care of all things commercial.”
“A Really Big Job Ahead of Us”
In front of sponsors and co-captains Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling, Walker acknowledged both the challenges and opportunities facing the club.
“As a team, we have a really big job ahead of us off the court,” she said. “And that is to grow the financial opportunities for the Hawks and work on our sustainability as a business.
“It’s our job now just to really bed down, make sure that this championship sets us up for the next 10 years of success on and off the court.”
Walker set out her commercial priorities for the season, which included growing membership and ensuring Hawks home games are “the must-attend events in Wollongong where our philosophy for event presentation is arrive with excitement and leave with a smile.”
She added that they are expanding sponsorship opportunities, including international partnerships and are strengthening community connections through initiatives like the championship trophy tour.
“Our focus is on growth. The growth of membership, growth of the broader fan audience, both physical and virtual,” she said. “Our reach goes far beyond our postcode,” she said.
“Partnering with the Hawks gives our local businesses the opportunity to elevate beyond the 2500 postcode and into a national and international spotlight, and we position ourselves alongside an internationally, nationally recognised team, our events and all of our campaigns.”
Stronger, Louder, Together
Last season’s rallying cry, We Rise Together, helped drive the Hawks to 11 sell-out home games and their first championship in over two decades. For 2025, Walker unveiled the club’s new campaign slogan: Stronger, Louder, Together.
“We’ve reached the pinnacle, so the natural evolution of our campaign is to now proudly declare that we are stronger, louder together,” she said.
“So, that’s the slogan you’ll be seeing all over the town soon.”