Opinion New CEO - Key Focus Areas

[Chief75]

After reading 125448 pages on the drafts, trade thread i got bored and started thinking about other North related stuff. Particularly the off field elements, primarily....

What should the new CEO (when they get here) should be focused on? We have come a long way off field, but still have much to do.

My view is that obviously the gig is at a football club, so success on the field is the goal for the CEO as it should be for every employee. Where the CEO comes into it is to grow the business side of things to enable / finance the success of the football team. Thus, areas of focus;

1. Stadium deal / Ballarat (2 games in Hobart is good, but securing some games in Ballarat with a clean stadium deal would help shore up our Victorian future).
2. Organic revenue growth (sponsorships, memberships, etc)
3. Alternative revenue growth (events, business ventures, etc)

Getting the correct candidate with the ideas, network and drive i feel will be vital to us as a club in the next few years. Keen to hear what others think around this.

 

[Deep We11s 1]

Agrre with all that Chief. The other one is to focus heavily on community engagement in Hobart, Ballarat, North Melb area and Craigeburn. Apart from that developing a professional winning culture across the whole organisation would be nice.

 

[LT Smash]

Why would we be looking at community engagement in Craigieburn? Is that even in our target area?

 

[Hard_to_Beat]

Put Vale in for 12 months and wait for the election.

 

[Luke72]

Why would we be looking at community engagement in Craigieburn? Is that even in our target area?

I am on the Craigieburn train line and there's heaps of Kangas supporters and a lot of new housing keeps going up so focusing here can't hurt. I would hope that they would spread the word further though. I think that furthering the work of the Huddle and engaging in parts of the community that aren't traditionally into football should be looked at. The African, Asian and Indian population are under represented at AFL matches.
Ultimately though I would like to hear some positive financial news, we seem to lack the 'white knights' that some clubs have that wipe out the large debts but some positive stories regarding finances would be a welcome change.

 

[Dickie Greenleaf]

<snip>

1. Stadium deal / Ballarat (2 games in Hobart is good, but securing some games in Ballarat with a clean stadium deal would help shore up our Victorian future).
2. Organic revenue growth (sponsorships, memberships, etc)
3. Alternative revenue growth (events, business ventures, etc)

Getting the correct candidate with the ideas, network and drive i feel will be vital to us as a club in the next few years. Keen to hear what others think around this.

The solidification of the Hobart arrangement (remaining at 2 games) would definitely be at or near the top I would think. This is a situation where we have guaranteed big coin that is making a huge impact on our bottom line, and with the benefit being immediate, it probably takes precedence over Ballarat for the time being.

I'm still a firm believer in working on the AFL and the state government to keep Ballarat at the forefront of their thoughts, but realistically the most pressure that can be exerted is at election time, which is still awhile away yet. With eugene being the champion of this initiative it will be interesting to see if JB and the board still have the drive to make this happen. Personally I hope they do.

Organic revenue growth should be a major focus as well, with the team on field likely to spend some time at or near the top of the ladder in the not too distant future. Unlike previous administrations, I've got faith in this admin's ability to take advantage of a likely membership growth on the back of on field success and the resultant boost in revenue can then lead into:

Exploring other ventures outside of footy as well as increasing our sponsorship $ (due to being more visible via tv exposure and finals appearances) should be fairly straight forward you would think. This should not be too hard a sell for a CEO with a good business acumen. Our relationships with local business has been a real strength of this admin through Eugene's involvement and with North Melbourne transforming into a popular livable inner city suburb, local business should thrive and we should be right there with them to take advantage.

That would be a pretty good start for a new CEO.

 

[Tas]

We must not increase our exposure in Hobart beyond 2 games or risk the Ballarat development.

 

[Saintly31]

The solidification of the Hobart arrangement (remaining at 2 games) would definitely be at or near the top I would think. This is a situation where we have guaranteed big coin that is making a huge impact on our bottom line, and with the benefit being immediate, it probably takes precedence over Ballarat for the time being.

I'm still a firm believer in working on the AFL and the state government to keep Ballarat at the forefront of their thoughts, but realistically the most pressure that can be exerted is at election time, which is still awhile away yet. With eugene being the champion of this initiative it will be interesting to see if JB and the board still have the drive to make this happen. Personally I hope they do.

Organic revenue growth should be a major focus as well, with the team on field likely to spend some time at or near the top of the ladder in the not too distant future. Unlike previous administrations, I've got faith in this admin's ability to take advantage of a likely membership growth on the back of on field success and the resultant boost in revenue can then lead into:

Exploring other ventures outside of footy as well as increasing our sponsorship $ (due to being more visible via tv exposure and finals appearances) should be fairly straight forward you would think. This should not be too hard a sell for a CEO with a good business acumen. Our relationships with local business has been a real strength of this admin through Eugene's involvement and with North Melbourne transforming into a popular livable inner city suburb, local business should thrive and we should be right there with them to take advantage.

That would be a pretty good start for a new CEO.

Saved me typing it myself - 100% spot on....apart from the Hobart deal. (even though it is a big priority)

It is definitely expected to be above 2 games in the very near future. Tas will find a new "business" partner to move it to 4, or most likely 3 at this stage, so it will be interesting how that plays out and whether NM remains a part of it in coming years.

 

[Dickie Greenleaf]

Saved me typing it myself - 100% spot on....apart from the Hobart deal. (even though it is a big priority)

It is definitely expected to be above 2 games in the very near future. Tas will find a new "business" partner to move it to 4, or most likely 3 at this stage, so it will be interesting how that plays out and whether NM remains a part of it in coming years.

Yeah it will be interesting times, definitely.

I can see 3 to 4 being workable as well as palatable to the majority of the membership base.

Anything more and we're playing with fire though.

I'd hate to see us having the scenario where a new AFL CEO with a slightly different agenda to Vlad engineering a relocation push, due to us foolishly agreeing to some god forbid, 7 game arrangement.

 

[Saintly31]

Yeah it will be interesting times, definitely.

I can see 3 to 4 being workable as well as palatable to the majority of the membership base.

Anything more and we're playing with fire though.

I'd hate to see us having the scenario where a new AFL CEO with a slightly different agenda to Vlad engineering a relocation push, due to us foolishly agreeing to some god forbid, 7 game arrangement.

Yep, for sure about it being interesting.

Without wanting to hijack the thread on one topic, but being Tas based I have a huge self-interest in wanting more games here - despite that, any more than 4 (even then a stretch) is majorly playing with fire and I wouldn't support it. NM is indeed, NM.

7 games was madness, and that surely would only be with relocation as the next step. I don't think the club should or will go that way - however, as alluded to above I am aware that if NM doesn't increase from 2 games then they will find a new partner (likely to be WB, but could be Melb) so the new CEO certainly needs to make the partnership a huge priority.

 

[Grogg]

Thought this thread could get a little pat on the bum now.

Any more ideas from the bigfootyites on here for our new CEO?

 

[Hard_to_Beat]

Peter Siddle?

 

[Dan]

Peter Siddle?

Hat trick against England does look good on the resume.

 

[Luke72]

Thought this thread could get a little pat on the bum now.

Any more ideas from the bigfootyites on here for our new CEO?

How about getting the Ballarat boutique stadium thing up without major government funding. It would be nice if the government was a bonus rather than critical part of this project, and with the inroads already made it would be a shame to let it all go backwards. It would also be good to get something done without other morons claiming it is propped up by the AFL.

 

[Roo-Boy]

Maybe also play a home game in Mumbai just like St.Kilda is in New Zealand on Anzac day.

 

[Kimbo]

How about getting the Ballarat boutique stadium thing up without major government funding. It would be nice if the government was a bonus rather than critical part of this project, and with the inroads already made it would be a shame to let it all go backwards. It would also be good to get something done without other morons claiming it is propped up by the AFL.

After the 'help' the AFL have given us with Etihad, I'm more than happy to take any and all assistance in getting a clean, boutique stadium with a relatively low break-even point. I don't care what 'they' say; we get a ground we make, rather than lose, money on, and we're laughing.

Realistically, it's going to need government funding; wouldn't happen without it you'd think.

 

[Luke72]

After the 'help' the AFL have given us with Etihad, I'm more than happy to take any and all assistance in getting a clean, boutique stadium with a relatively low break-even point. I don't care what 'they' say; we get a ground we make, rather than lose, money on, and we're laughing.

Realistically, it's going to need government funding; wouldn't happen without it you'd think.

You are right of course, but it would be nice if they could make a statement along the lines of stating it will go ahead either way. It appears in danger of sliding backwards.

 

[Kimbo]

You are right of course, but it would be nice if they could make a statement along the lines of stating it will go ahead either way. It appears in danger of sliding backwards.

It's about political and electoral cycles.

 

[hotham]

The Ricky Ponting Foundation joining with the Royal Childrens Hospital to receive a donation from each person attending a North Melbourne home game on Good Friday night.

 

[Gasometer]

I would forget about Ballarat Stadium altogether.

Believe me, travelling from country to city (3.5 hour round trip) is a biatch and when it comes to TV/Pay games against the gate, the former wins.

I cant honestly see Eastern or South East suburbs fans travelling up to Ballarat or Gippsland pple. Northern Victoria where there is a strong base that use the convenience of the Hume at 110kmhr will struggle to make the slower journey across country to Ballarat.

I just think it is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

I would forget about Ballarat Stadium altogether.

Believe me, travelling from country to city (3.5 hour round trip) is a biatch and when it comes to TV/Pay games against the gate, the former wins.

I cant honestly see Eastern or South East suburbs fans travelling up to Ballarat or Gippsland pple. Northern Victoria where there is a strong base that use the convenience of the Hume at 110kmhr will struggle to make the slower journey across country to Ballarat.

I just think it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Personally don't like it either. I wish we played more him games at the G

 

[King Corey]

I would forget about Ballarat Stadium altogether.

Believe me, travelling from country to city (3.5 hour round trip) is a biatch and when it comes to TV/Pay games against the gate, the former wins.

I cant honestly see Eastern or South East suburbs fans travelling up to Ballarat or Gippsland pple. Northern Victoria where there is a strong base that use the convenience of the Hume at 110kmhr will struggle to make the slower journey across country to Ballarat.

I just think it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Tend to agree. Playing AFL games out of a stadium in a regional area like, say, Corio would never be viable.

 

[Gasometer]

Tend to agree. Playing AFL games out of a stadium in a regional area like, say, Corio would never be viable.

Having lived in a variety of regional Vic towns over the past 25 years, there is a mindset of Melbournites that travelling past Pakenham, Werribee, Gisborne or Kall Kallo is 'too far' out of town, yet it its not 'too far' for us to travel to Melbourne.

The novelty of Ballarat will be that.

How many are going to drive to Ballarat in mid July (10 degrees) on a Sunday afternoon to watch V Port or GWS....seriously??

 

[nmfc_always]

only about 8-10k will travel. the other 5-7k will be locals, getting to about 15k which will make serious coin for the club. or we can keep getting 15-20k vs port at etihad (or the G) & write a massive chq out for the 'honour' of playing there...

Having lived in a variety of regional Vic towns over the past 25 years, there is a mindset of Melbournites that travelling past Pakenham, Werribee, Gisborne or Kall Kallo is 'too far' out of town, yet it its not 'too far' for us to travel to Melbourne.

The novelty of Ballarat will be that.

How many are going to drive to Ballarat in mid July (10 degrees) on a Sunday afternoon to watch V Port or GWS....seriously??

 

[Gasometer]

only about 8-10k will travel. the other 5-7k will be locals, getting to about 15k which will make serious coin for the club. or we can keep getting 15-20k vs port at etihad (or the G) & write a massive chq out for the 'honour' of playing there...

5-7 K locals?