The four new Board nominees have received a mixed reaction, but the notable point is skill deficits remain on the FFA Board
It was interesting to see the reaction to journalist Vince Rugari of Fairfax revealing the names of the four nominees for the two positions to the FFA Board. Much of it has been around whether they're worthwhile nominees or not.
The four nominees and their nominators/seconders are:
Background & Qualifications | Nominated | Seconded | |
Robyn Fitzroy | Business consultant specialising in governance; former Executive Director Macquarie Bank and current director of two superannuation-related organisations. Winner of Women in Management Award, 1992 Quals: Arts, diplomas in IT & marketing | Tasmania | Queensland |
Shane Healy | Media & Comms Advisor, Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne; formerly long-term General Manager in radio industry in Perth and Melbourne. Quals: Education | Newcastle Jets | Melbourne Victory |
John Marinopoulos | Business owner expert in infrastructure delivery; former (short-term) partner at PwC. Quals: Mathematics/Statistics | Victoria | New South Wales |
Carla Wilshire | CEO, Migration Council; former Advisor to Kate Lundy MP. Quals: Economics/International Relations | Victoria | South Australia |
People such as journalist John Stensholt who covers Australian business in his role with The Australian had one view.
Not sure that’s exactly an all-star cast there — John Stensholt (@JohnStensholt) November 15, 2019
Some have focussed on the lack of 'football experience' amongst the nominees. Rugari states that football experience is not necessary because there are already “plenty of 'football people' on the board”, that is: current Chairman Chris Nikou, deputy Chairman Heather Reid, and Board members Mark Bresciano, Amy Duggan and Remo Nogarotto.
But have the nominators plugged the gaps in the Board's skill set?
'Qualifications Matrix'
Last year, we did a comprehensive analysis of the Board nominees and assessed their skillset against the qualifiations matrix set by the Congress Review Working Group (remember that?!). To jog your memory, that qualifications matrix comprises:
Legal qualification
Accounting qualification
Knowledge of elite football as a player, coach or official at NPL level and above
“Exceptional” governance and/or administrative experience in football or another professional sport
Business experience, MBA qualification or senior management experience
Technology experience or qualification
Marketing/communications experience at a senior level
Government relations or international experience at a senior level.
It is worth re-visiting the matrix to assess whether the new nominees' background complements those of the current Board members (based on publicly available information about the nominees).
Of course, if the FFA Congress votes to remove Reid – and reports suggest that will not happen – then the two women, Fitzroy and Wilshire, have to be elected for the FFA Board to meet the 40/40/20 requirement – not that it bothers most of the members of the Congress.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Nikou | ✓ |
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| ✓ | ✓ |
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Reid |
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| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ |
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Bresciano |
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| ✓ |
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Carrozzi | ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ |
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Duggan |
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| ✓ |
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Nogarotto |
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| ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ |
Fitzroy |
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| ✓ | ✓ |
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Healy |
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| ✓ |
| ✓ |
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Marinopoulos |
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| ✓ |
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Wilshire |
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| ✓ |
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| ✓ |
Based on the CRWG's qualifications matrix, it is doubtful that the nominators or seconders of the nominees asked themselves what skills gaps amongst existing Board members needed to be plugged. Have the nominators and seconders met the individuals they are nominating? Do they have an understanding of what they would bring to the FFA Board?
What the FFA Board lacks is someone with a depth of accounting knowledge and experience; someone with a depth of knowledge in technology from both a business, digital and consumer perspective; and a depth of knowledge in the marketing, communications and media industry.
The other aspect of the nominees that many armchair and other commentators find to be no different from the 'Lowy era' is the implicit assumption that you can't be a 'football person' and have the necessary skill sets required to be a Board member.
Rugari is right to say that football isn't the missing skill set on the Board. However, it's wrong to assume – as Congress members apparently do – that a 'football person' wouldn't have the missing, or equally as valuable, skill sets.
Without trying too hard, here are ten people (five women, five men) who are just as well qualified as the four current nominees, but who could also be considered 'football people' to varying degrees.
No doubt there are many more people out there.
Mike Cannon-Brookes, Sydney – founder/director of Atlassian; 'soccer dad'
Gary Marocchi, Perth – founder/director of Marocchi Engineering Group, Perth; former Socceroo; NPL club chairman, AAFC Board member
Linda Norquay, Sydney – chief finance officer of Illyria Pty Ltd (Lachlan Murdoch's company); 'soccer mum', A-League club member (nominated last year)
Jamie (Rosman) Robertson, Brisbane – founder/director of City Desktop Training; former Matilda
Name withheld, Adelaide – academic accountant and finance specialist; former NPL (state league) player, grassroots coach
Name withheld, Canberra – cross-cultural communication consultant, former senior executive in Prime Minister's department; 'soccer mum', grassroots club committee member
Name withheld, Gold Coast – forensic accountant, former Managing Director level with major broadcaster; A-League club member
Name withheld, Hobart – small business owner with multiple retail outlets; NPL club committee member
Name withheld, Melbourne – senior business process/strategy specialist working for a multinational firm with international regional responsibility; grassroots coach and 'soccer dad', NPL club member
Name withheld, Sydney – senior health economist with PhD, former 2IC of large government department; 'soccer dad', grassroots club committee member, A-League club member.
What's happening next week
The Congress meets for the annual general meeting on Thursday 21 November and will elect the two new Board members. The newly consituted Board will then elect the Chairman and then, presumably, come to a decision about the CEO role.
Other items of business include the 2018-19 financial statements which resulted in a surplus of $435,000 from total revenue of $132 million. Major revenue items included Broadcasting ($62.5 million) and Sponsorship ($28.6 million), followed by national registration fees ($11.4 million).
It was encouraging to note that executive management costs reduced to $3.7 million from $4.4 million in 2018 and can be expected to reduce further as a proportion of total revenue once the new CEO and executive team are in place. Travel costs also declined from $16.2 million in 2018 to $13.2 million in 2019.
The major increases in costs came from Marketing and Media at $18.9 million (+$4.1m) and Consulants at $4.3 million (+$1.1m).
The Professional Referees' Association is also seeking Qualifying Member status of the Congress.