Raelene Castle joins Bulldogs as NRL's first female CEO

I spoke to someone high up in the Bulldogs organisation this morning who painted an amazing picture of the woman who will today be confirmed as the club’s new chief executive.

From what I was told it sounds like the appointment of Raelene Castle will be a fantastic one, both for the Bulldogs and the game at large.

It is easy to focus on the appointment because of the fact a woman has been given the job – and it is a watershed appointment – but I think that novelty value of it is going to be forgotten very quickly as Castle moves into the role.

She was quite obviously the best candidate for the job – male, female, or Martian – and that is all that matters.

The Bulldogs backed a winner when they appointed Todd Greenberg as chief executive in 2008, and now that he is moving on to the NRL it looks like they have backed another as his replacement.

“It is clear Raelene was the outstanding candidate,” the Bulldogs source told me. “She has been running netball in New Zealand and it’s the second-biggest sport in the country – it goes rugby, netball, cricket and league.

“She has negotiated multi-million-dollar TV deals and major sponsorship contracts, worked closely with high-performance athletes, and because she has also worked for a telecommunications company she is right up to date with the multi-media and digital marketing space.”

It emerges that Castle’s services were being keenly sought by other, very significant groups as well, which makes it a real coup for the Bulldogs to win out.

“She had been offered the role as general manager of marketing and commercial with the New Zealand Rugby League, which is effectively the number two role behind (chief executive) Steve Tew,” the source said.

“And she was down to the last couple in the running for the NRL job as head of digital, marketing and content, which is yet to be appointed. But she was really interested in running a football club, and she was ecstatic when told she had been appointed.”

Castle was born in Wagga, but brought up in New Zealand. Her father, Bruce, captained the Kiwis’ national league team in the 1960s. She obviously hasn’t had a direct involvement in league management until now, but that isn’t seen as a problem by the Bulldogs.

“Our board includes some very experienced former players, like Paul Dunn and Andrew Farrar,” the source said. “And then there are, of course, people like (coach) Des Hasler and (recruitment manager) Noel Cleal, who know everything there is to know about football.

“Raelene’s major role will be to continue to grow revenue, and grow the base, and continue to take the business forward. She will come to grips with the football issue side of things as she needs to. The point is there is no lack of expertise to cover all areas at the Bulldogs.”

The only previous female chief executive in rugby league in Australia is Liz Dawson, who ran the Adelaide Rams in 1997-98.

The Bulldogs have designs on being as big as Collingwood in the AFL, and the appointment of Greenberg’s successor was always going to be a critically important one for the club – and the league.

The appointment of a female wouldn’t have been done for any purposes other than that Castle was the best candidate, but it is still a momentous decision for a club that used to have a poor image.

“A female wouldn’t have applied for this job five or six years ago,” the source said. “So it shows how far the Bulldogs have come when a female with the fantastic credentials of someone like Raelene Castle does apply for the job.

“There were a couple of other tremendous candidates as well, but the board felt Raelene was the best candidate, and they obviously don’t make appointments like this half-heartedly. A lot of thought went into it, and everyone at the club is delighted with the appointment.”

The appointment will be officially announced at a media conference today.

Castle’s Biography (via AAP):

Born: Wagga Wagga, NSW

Age: 42

* Chief executive of New Zealand Netball since 2007.

* Played a key role in the establishment of the trans-Tasman netball championship and of securing a naming rights sponsor for the international competition and broadcast rights in New Zealand.

* Director of Netball New Zealand, trans-Tasman championship, the International Netball Federation and chair of the NZ National Sports Organisations’ leadership group.

* Telecom, Fuji Xerox and Bank of New Zealand are among the corporate organisations Castle has served in marketing and business leadership roles.

* Received the prestigious Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award in 2011.

* New Zealand Lawn Bowls champion and has played netball and tennis at representative level.

* Father Bruce played for the Kiwis 1961-67 and was captain in 1967.

* Mother Marlene was a New Zealand Bowls Representative for 16 years, and competed at four Commonwealth Games winning one silver medal and two bronze. She also won the World Indoor Singles.

* Begins with the Bulldogs on July 15.