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On Monday, 12th July, Bruno Cullen announced he is stepping down as the CEO of the Brisbane Broncos as of the 31st December of this year.
With all his knockers, myself sometimes included, he has undoubtedly been a long term servant of the club (since 1989). But with this impending change the question is asked, “Who should be the next Broncos CEO?”
Many people will put their hand up, myself included, without looking at the ramifications of the job.
First of all, the Broncos have the greatest profit out of any club in the NRL – which is still not a great profit in comparison to the other organisations and sports clubs of the world.
So one must be able to keep the profit in the positive and also greaten these profits in the coming future and possible coming Global Financial Crisis Mach II.
Another important part of the CEO job is making the Broncos noticed around the local community (Brisbane and SE QLD), the broader community (QLD and Australia), and the world (both the Rugby League World and the non-Rugby League World, just as the EPL has).
The final component that is vital to the CEO’s job for the Broncos is its image – this is in all areas.
They need to ask the Marketing Manager to step up their game. They need to make sure the Website is easy to follow, looks great, and take ideas from other companies and sports clubs (i.e. Everton, New Orlean Saints, etc.).
They need to make sure they can keep the players presentable and out of trouble as much as possible, along with the rest of the club (aka Alfie Langer).
This is the extent the new CEO should be going to to address the need to be a fully functional sporting team in the 21st Century.
So with these things to be addressed, the question comes back to: “Who should be the next Broncos CEO?”
I believe one of the best people to choose from are those amongst the fraternity of those who love the game to see it move ahead – a player. But I also believe in objectivity and this really can only be offered by those outside of the circle of Rugby League, and possibly Australia.
But for argument’s sake here are some nominations.
Kevin Rudd – No, I am not talking about the former P.M. although I think he could offer some results (as he let us know in his farewell speech).
I am talking about Kevin Rudd formerly of the RLEF.
In his tenure as the CEO, he saw the game expand into more countries than ever before, he also saw the expansion of professional and semi-professional clubs into France and Wales, with Lebanon to follow suit shortly.
He also saw the start of European Cups, Shields, Under 21’s, 18’s and 16’s, MENA cups and much more. During his time, Rugby League has seen more interest than ever before.
Mikhael Shammas – He has the talent, the love for the game and the degree behind him to do the job.
He has a B.A. in Social Behavioural Sciences a M.Sc. in Sports Leadership and an ALM in International Management from Harvard (specialising in the construction of a cultural legacy through sport).
He founded the Wolves RLFC in Lebanon and is now founding the Boston 13’s RLFC in the AMNRL. He has previous experience and is a young and forward thinking person who can take the Broncos to the next level.
Laura Sankey – She is the SVP (Senior Vice President) of Marketing and Sales of the Green Bay Packers, she has a proven track record and the Green Bay Packers are a globally known sports team from a single country game.
The interesting point here is that she would know how to increase sales (especially of tickets) as the Green Bay Packers have sold out their stadium for more than 70 years. The stadium (since 1957) seats 72,928, whereas Green Bay only has 282,599 residents (as of 2008).
She would also be the first female CEO in the Australian football codes.
This, I think is negligible, but it would still be noticed.
There will be others.
But, if I was on the selection board for the Broncos, I would be looking at these three. They all offer forward thinking, and all have track records.
They also seem to be able to ask the hard questions when needed, and this is a necessity for the new CEO of the Brisbane Broncos RLFC.
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