Footy Clubs : Who is more influence, CEO or chairperson?

[shanegrambeau]

…I have never understood how the machine works.

Does the CEO ‘call the shots’ so to speak?
Or is it the Chief or Chairperson?

How much influence do the Board of Directors have?

Is the Director of Football just a communication conduit between coaching and admin, or does he/she make calls?

I assume the members vote for a ‘gang’ so to speak, and that gang selects these roles?

So when GT a wants to support a mate to get on the board what road blocks are there? If the members have no power here?

[sunsaint]

There is a division of duty
That generally stays separate
The board does have final say on the major heads of the football department so they have direct influence there
I do remember back when Ross Lyon wanted Cousins, the deal was blocked by the Board at the 11th hour

[B.M]

The board oversees and has final say on the appointments of the staff

But the running of the footy club is done by the Administration

[Vortex]

Can come down how strong and controlling an individual is, for example if Thomas is on the board he will want to run everything.

However there are many people sitting on AFL boards who are there solely for the status and access the postion brings.

AFL boards are like no other corporate board when it comes to significant social and business access privileges gains by such a postion.

These types usually defer to others when it comes to operational decisions as they are not fussed with such trival matters such as who and how the barn yards are kept.

[casey scorp]

A very experienced former AFL club CEO once told me that very astute business(men) lose all of their business acumen as they walk through the front door of an AFL club as a Board member.

[casey scorp]

A very experienced former AFL club CEO once told me that very astute business(men) lose all of their business acumen as they walk through the front door of an AFL club as a Board member.

[saynta]

From memory Ian Drake was more influential than Huggins in the day to day running of the club, but Huggins controlled the money and the committee made all the big decisions. Don't think there was a board in the days of the saints most successful period

[evertonfc]

It all depends on that Club, and the way power is structured.

Clubs typically prefer to keep fans in the dark in the way the sausage is made; largely in case things go wrong.

It can, and does - Carlton being the best recent example. The board felt the CEO was too closely aligned with the coach and punted them both. I think it's fair to say that the new President there wants to be deeply involved in the football side of things.

But most operate with a degree of separation, which is interesting. I actually think they've become too much a quasi-flex of the business community, and because many of them don't bring elite sports management expertise to the board, they end up getting hoodwinked by some smooth-talking staff who say the right things. We've suffered from that.

We actually have a football director, Dean Anderson, but it's not really clear how much power he has, what he does or what is the sporting philosophy that we have. It seems like he's very hands off. Personally, I'd view the football director as somebody who sets the agenda for the way the Club plays, recruits and develops and reports this to Members so we can see exactly how it unfolds. Sporting directors in Europe who do this well have incredible success because they stop clubs from falling into the trap of chasing short-term success whilst steering to long-term visions.

In terms of governance, and the setup that we have, it would make sense that this role exists. I'd actually make it a co-opted board/staff role, and remove the GM of Football role, which sits only with the staffing space. That way, you're keeping the board connected to the goings on of the football department, and keeping the Members connected by proxy.

At the moment, it's a real bubble inside the Club. Everyone is siloed away from each other and it seems a bit disjointed - nobody knows what the other is doing.

[saynta]

It all depends on that Club, and the way power is structured.

At the moment, it's a real bubble inside the Club. Everyone is siloed away from each other and it seems a bit disjointed - nobody knows what the other is doing.

Is that just your opinion or do you have a set of facts to back you ? Just asking.