Keith Thomas to finish as PAFC CEO in 2020

[simba_]

thanx 4 the update casual

 

[Papa G]

They haven't even started the process. Haven't called in HR consultants, done job descriptions etc. The majority of the board wont do anything until the season starts up again and has a stability wait and see, don't rock the boat mantra.

I've been on record, that in a normal world you do a world wide search, get big recruiters like Egon Zender on board to do the search, not just SA specialists Hender Consulting. But forget an international candidate, the borders will be closed for 6 more months to international travellers who aren't Oz citizens/residents and aren't exempt workers. The best Oz candidate isn't going to leave a secure position when nobody knows when the full time salary can be offered again. Just promote Matthew Richardson. He hasn't been 2IC for 3 years to stay there 10 more years. Give him a 3 year contract. If Richo doesn't get the job, he probably walks so more corporate amnesia at the club, and we have seen the last decade or so the problems that generates. Give Chris Davies a greater role, football + extra admin stuff.

Let's hope they actually do a proper and diligent search for a CEO this time. I know in the past these processes have been a sham and consultants only hired to give that impression that they were searching far and wide.

 

[Joelg]

We don't need a lame duck CEO to hang around. We need someone prepared to take tough decisions and implement them thru to the end.

Spot on

 

[PropertySteward]

Spot on

Kevin Scarce is free.

 

[Joelg]

Who would be the best CEO successor to Casual- George Fiacchi, Roger Delaney or Bruce Abernethy?

All business guys and love the Magpies. Or do we need to think differently?

How much importance on Magpies heritage v business experience v top end sports knowledge?

 

[Schulzenfest]

Who would be the best CEO successor to Casual- George Fiacchi, Roger Delaney or Bruce Abernethy?

All business guys and love the Magpies. Or do we need to think differently?

How much importance on Magpies heritage v business experience v top end sports knowledge?

They don't necessarily need to be ex-Magpies. But they need to embody the same principles and ideals that made the Magpies so successful.

 

[chiwigi]

Who would be the best CEO successor to Casual- George Fiacchi, Roger Delaney or Bruce Abernethy?

All business guys and love the Magpies. Or do we need to think differently?

How much importance on Magpies heritage v business experience v top end sports knowledge?

I'd be happy with Matthew Richardson considering the lack of international candidates.

 

[El Zorro]

I'd be happy with Matthew Richardson considering the lack of international candidates.

Maybe the best approach given the current situation would be to have Richo as acting CEO until a proper recruitment process can be run. Richo should be able to apply of course.

 

[1954]

The cynic in me has a sneaking suspicion KT has offered to stay on due to a lack of offers for his services elsewhere, but be that as it may I can't see the point in keeping a `lame duck' ceo (thankyou REH) any longer than his original departure date.

I agree with those who have suggested giving Richo a try in an acting capacity to see if he is up to it.

 

[Chewy316]

With everything in flux right now, I would argue that now is actually the perfect time for KT to leave (ie at the end of the year as per the original agreement).

We know that footy is going to be going ahead this season. Sure, the clubs are going to suffer a hit, but they're going to be suffering a hit in 2021 as well. By the sounds of things, it appears as though we will be opting for someone who is already in the Australian market, so the logistics behind getting them into the state really aren't all that hard bar the 2 week quarantine period. As for said period, I suspect this will be gone within the next 8 weeks anyway. If the club was really creative, they could even organise a meeting with half a dozen prospective candidates in Victoria or New South Wales where isolation is not a thing.

If KT remains, what it means is that in all likelihood, you're going to keep the exact coaching lineup into 2021. He's not going to rock the boat regardless of how the club performs in 2020, because he's going to be out at the end of 2021 and then the new CEO can shape the club with the board after that. And that to me is a real problem.

Everyone is feeling like they're in a massive state of change right now. As it stands, we should ride this wave rather than resisting it because that will only further prolong any existing problems the club has after this season.

 

[Workingclass]

The cynic in me has a sneaking suspicion KT has offered to stay on due to a lack of offers for his services elsewhere, but be that as it may I can't see the point in keeping a `lame duck' ceo (thankyou REH) any longer than his original departure date.

I agree with those who have suggested giving Richo a try in an acting capacity to see if he is up to it.

Who would be the best CEO successor to Casual- George Fiacchi, Roger Delaney or Bruce Abernethy?

All business guys and love the Magpies. Or do we need to think differently?

How much importance on Magpies heritage v business experience v top end sports knowledge?

If the members of this forum (as have been observed for sometime) aren't happy with the current regime, then appointing from within won't help. Nor will a 'memory lane' appointment of any of the aforementioned ex-players or long-serving executive incumbents.

If Thomas moves on at the end of his departure date, we should 100% march on with a national recruitment search and not run the risk of an automatic, incestuous internal/formerly laced-up appointment. There's plenty of talent out there, and PAFC isn't the rock bottom basketcase it was when KT stepped in. We owe it to ourselves to look beyond Adelaide and bring someone in who will also buy into the club's rich heritage.

 

[PowerLil]

KT did not step in to a basket case. The Adelaide oval deal was already brokered, the plans for a sustainable future were in place, the one club movement was in full swing. Our membership numbers are pretty bloody good. I'd like to know why we are in so much debt when we generate a fair amount of income each year. Coupled with the Hinkley extension, i think he's done a less than average job.

 

[PatientMental]

KT did not step in to a basket case. The Adelaide oval deal was already brokered, the plans for a sustainable future were in place, the one club movement was in full swing. Our membership numbers are pretty bloody good. I'd like to know why we are in so much debt when we generate a fair amount of income each year. Coupled with the Hinkley extension, i think he's done a less than average job.

Because we're forced to compete with the teams that make 10s of millions of dollars of profit after they pay for everything.

We barely scratch a profit without fudging numbers.

 

[S.Patrol.G]

Because we're forced to compete with the teams that make 10s of millions of dollars of profit after they pay for everything.

We barely scratch a profit without fudging numbers.

...and forced to compete with clubs that aren't being bled dry to prop up a state league. The Crow and Port bankroll the SANFL.

 

[JUSTWORK]

KT did not step in to a basket case. The Adelaide oval deal was already brokered, the plans for a sustainable future were in place, the one club movement was in full swing. Our membership numbers are pretty bloody good. I'd like to know why we are in so much debt when we generate a fair amount of income each year. Coupled with the Hinkley extension, i think he's done a less than average job.

Having one of the worst stadium deals in the country for a start, like needing to draw in 35k to break even...

A fairly poor board who have made some really poor decisions (Paying Hinkley Clarko tier money for example)

Add to that we aren't on a level playing field as the big vic clubs given the coverage we get in prime time slots (like how can the biggest rivalry in the AFL have never been on a Friday night ???) which in turn plays a big role in drawing in sponsors.

Oh and there is the SANFL leaching as much money as they can to keep themselves alive.

A club that has been around the top 8 for attendance and membership for as long as we have (since 2014) shouldn't be in debt like we currently are.

 

[Workingclass]

KT did not step in to a basket case. The Adelaide oval deal was already brokered, the plans for a sustainable future were in place, the one club movement was in full swing. Our membership numbers are pretty bloody good. I'd like to know why we are in so much debt when we generate a fair amount of income each year. Coupled with the Hinkley extension, i think he's done a less than average job.

I disagree - our reputation at the time (whatever anyone supporting the club or otherwise thinks) was that it was a basketcase, and reputation matters.

But if we assume that the club wasn't a basketcase and that the current state of the club is the result of those running the joint now, I'd say that backs my argument to bring in fresh blood from outside of Alberton.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

KT did not step in to a basket case. The Adelaide oval deal was already brokered, the plans for a sustainable future were in place, the one club movement was in full swing. Our membership numbers are pretty bloody good. I'd like to know why we are in so much debt when we generate a fair amount of income each year. Coupled with the Hinkley extension, i think he's done a less than average job.

The bold bit isn't accurate, if you mean the deal the club received from Adelaide Oval. KT came onboard officially either the Monday before or the Monday after the AO game against Melbourne on 4th September 2011.

Rann announced that the SACA and SANFL would explore an AO proposal in December 2009 to neutralize it as an election issue for the March 2010 election. The 2 parties had to agree to basic term and conditions by August 2010, which they did. So AO was given the big go ahead in August 2010 when an agreement was signed.

The basic financial modelling was done by August 2010, but all parties kept on negotiating it and a deal with the 2 AFL clubs wasn't finalized until a few days before the first game in late March 2014.

The second bold bit has two answers. Firstly we would have a better idea if the club didn't piss its pants and produced fuller financial results for members like the Vic clubs do. Port like to argue it is more like a Vic club than the manufactured non Vic clubs, but the surrent leadership doesn't give its members full disclosure like Vic clubs.

Secondly the club generates a lot of revenue with virtually no net margin. Probably $12 million with maybe $750k profit in 2019. $3m community programs from government and corporate grants which are fully expended. Our 2 venues generate $7m in revenue and only make about $300k profit because unlike Qld where max pokie bet is $100 and Vic pokies is $20 or $50 whereas SA is only coins. Then there is China. The game costs about $5m to put on and its break even. So as its a JV with the AFL, $2.5m of revenue and expenses go thru our books. Supposedly we made a $400k profit out of China in 2019 but it was from around the game.

Take out that $12mil from our revenue total and we are in line with the smaller Vic clubs, a bit more but not a lot more. But those smaller clubs get between $3mil and $6mil more than us from the AFL and that has no cash expenses associated with that extra AFL distribution.

 

[PowerBaz]

The bold bit isn't accurate, if you mean the deal the club received from Adelaide Oval. KT came onboard officially either the Monday before or the Monday after the AO game against Melbourne on 4th September 2011.

Rann announced that the SACA and SANFL would explore an AO proposal in December 2009 to neutralize it as an election issue for the March 2010 election. The 2 parties had to agree to basic term and conditions by August 2010, which they did. So AO was given the big go ahead in August 2010 when an agreement was signed.

The basic financial modelling was done by August 2010, but all parties kept on negotiating it and a deal with the 2 AFL clubs wasn't finalized until a few days before the first game in late March 2014.

The second bold bit has two answers. Firstly we would have a better idea if the club didn't piss its pants and produced fuller financial results for members like the Vic clubs do. Port like to argue it is more like a Vic club than the manufactured non Vic clubs, but the surrent leadership doesn't give its members full disclosure like Vic clubs.

Secondly the club generates a lot of revenue with virtually no net margin. Probably $12 million with maybe $750k profit in 2019. $3m community programs from government and corporate grants which are fully expended. Our 2 venues generate $7m in revenue and only make about $300k profit because unlike Qld where max pokie bet is $100 and Vic pokies is $20 or $50 whereas SA is only coins. Then there is China. The game costs about $5m to put on and its break even. So as its a JV with the AFL, $2.5m of revenue and expenses go thru our books. Supposedly we made a $400k profit out of China in 2019 but it was from around the game.

Take out that $12mil from our revenue total and we are in line with the smaller Vic clubs, a bit more but not a lot more. But those smaller clubs get between $3mil and $6mil more than us from the AFL and that has no cash expenses associated with that extra AFL distribution.

Is there a simple way to argue the case for more money from game day, less to others and more to us, this whole issue has surely been exposed from recent events.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Is there a simple way to argue the case for more money from game day, less to others and more to us, this whole issue has surely been exposed from recent events.

If it was simple, it would have been done by now.

 

[Smithy7]

If it was simple, it would have been done by now.

Have been thinking if Port said stuff Adelaide oval and played several games at Alberton. Members fees adjusted for same. Would Port loose any money doing this. All monies would go to Port, fees for the game and all catering. In other words only sign up for 9 games at Adelaide Oval when spectators are allowed back ... just a thought ..

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Have been thinking if Port said stuff Adelaide oval and played several games at Alberton. Members fees adjusted for same. Would Port loose any money doing this. All monies would go to Port, fees for the game and all catering. In other words only sign up for 9 games at Adelaide Oval when spectators are allowed back ... just a thought ..

If it was that simple, it would have been done by now.

 

[TeeKray]

We were the definition of a basketcase when KT arrived, on and off field. Sure, there had been some good work done by previous administrations to open up pipelines on stuff like One Club, AO, etc, but he still had to follow through. He also dealt with a change of coach, change of board and the death of a player in his first full year in the job. Regardless of what you think of his recent performance, KT's first few years were absolutely faultless.

 

[PowerBaz]

If it was simple, it would have been done by now.

I don’t think there is a better time to ta me it than now. With Whicker and Olsen at the helm nothing was ever going to happen, however, this whole episode has exposed the shortcomings of a key tenant and revenue raiser being held to ransom by feeding the mouths of others first.

Where is KT on this one? It’s like Albo at a Federal level, seems a bit ineffective at the moment.

 

[1954]

KT did not step in to a basket case. The Adelaide oval deal was already brokered, the plans for a sustainable future were in place, the one club movement was in full swing. Our membership numbers are pretty bloody good. I'd like to know why we are in so much debt when we generate a fair amount of income each year. Coupled with the Hinkley extension, i think he's done a less than average job.

My take on KT is he is one of those senior managers ( and there are plenty of them in the corporate world ) who come into an ailing business, make some positive changes ( some of them can be extremely obvious) and then they either sit back and bask in the glory, run out of ideas, or a combination of the two.

As a regular attendee in the upstairs members' area for Alberton oval games I noted for the first 3 seasons or so of the 3K trilogy he was always there for about 30 minutes or so before the main game mingling with supporters, and he was always very well received.

Maybe it is/was due to his work load, but I haven't seen him do that now since late in the 2015 season, so I suspect it also may have something to do with the gloss coming off that aforementioned trilogy.

 

[Quadzilla]

Who would be the best CEO successor to Casual- George Fiacchi, Roger Delaney or Bruce Abernethy?

All business guys and love the Magpies. Or do we need to think differently?

How much importance on Magpies heritage v business experience v top end sports knowledge?

Has David Hutton been discussed as KT's successor now he's back at the club?

Rowing SA CEO as experience in a like role