Brisbane Broncos to scour market for CEO options amid speculation a left-field choice will land job
Ben Ikin has been widely touted for the Brisbane Broncos chief executive role, however the club is far from settled on its preferred option. Here’s why a ‘left-field’ choice could lead the club.
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The Broncos have widened their search for the club’s next chief executive, fuelling speculation they could make a left-field choice.
The Broncos have received a significant number of high profile applicants for the job including NRL360 host Ben Ikin, a club old boy and one of the game’s most respected voices, who has been widely touted as the best person for the job.
However, the club has asked recruiters to go back to the market to see whether there was any outstanding option who could be suited to the job who has not applied.
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If so, they may be encouraged to do so.
There is a feeling that with the club in such a parlous state on the field the new person must have the football smarts needed to rewire the club which is why Ikin appeals as such a logical choice.
Master coach Phil Gould, a former boss of Penrith, said the chief executive’s role at the Broncos, held by Paul White for the past decade, would be a massive challenge.
“The Broncos business has grown so big,’’ Gould told News Corp.
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“I imagine it is too big for one person to have their hands all over the commercial and football side of the business as well.
“Commercially the Broncos have been brilliant and they are a $50 million organisation now. But there are a lot of things that go with that so that man in charge could not possibly have his hands over the football department as well.
“It’s a big job to run the Broncos commercially. Their business is three times bigger than anyone else’s.’’
The Broncos have been forced to shed about 30 per cent of their staff due to the COVID crisis.
As a publicly listed company their cuts came sooner and went deeper than many rival clubs.
They are, however, in a strong position for next season with most of their major sponsors signed up and a robust membership core.