Friday 28 March 2008

Top PSA job advertised after Briars leaves post

The requirements state that you need "strong communication and people skills" and "a consultative style of working", amongst other things ...

No, it's not the application form for The Apprentice.

The PSA is recruiting, and they're after a new Chief Exec ...

The job is large and demanding, with the position stating that the incumbent must look after management board administration and support; tour marketing; business, brand, media, finance and sponsorship management. Salary is not specified.

Within this remit, a couple of responsibilities that stand out for me are:

- Create and maintain quality control for all events to ensure that they are organised and marketed at a level concurrent with their status.

- Take prime responsibility for the management and development of all media outlets that actively promote the World Tour, with special emphasis on television and the new media.

From the point of view of a squash fan in the UK, these two require particular attention. Respondents to articles on this website have complained that they never knew a squash event was happening, even though it was on their doorstep, and a co-ordinated strategy for getting squash covered on TV and new media is long overdue.

Speculation about who - or at least what kind of candidate - should fill out-going PSA Chief Executive Gawain Briars' shoes seems to be split between those who favour someone from "inside" the game who has good relations with all stakeholding groups (such as a retired player), and those who would like to see someone with a track record in business/sports management apply their experience in the squash field.

Squashblogger's preference is for someone with proven experience in international business, as the growth regions within the sport (north America, the Middle East, India) require someone who can empathise with the different cultures represented by the global game and negotiate within them at an appropriate level (i.e. those "strong communication and people skills").

Ideally they should have a proper understanding of marketing, and have the foresight to see how using the media is crucial to successfully promoting their "product" to a public who are increasingly discerning when choosing how to spend their leisure time.

Briars' departure

I've resisted writing something about the recent departure of PSA Chief Executive Gawain Briars (on the left in the photo) as the only comments on his departure available have been via the press release from the PSA themselves.

The recent unease felt be some quarters with the way the recent PSA board election was conducted suggested to me that it was worth waiting to hear how others greeted the news.

Howard Harding's PSA press release highlights Briar's achievements, including turning a US$1.5 million men's tour into a US$3.2 million venutre, the introduction of PAR scoring and the introduction of web streaming of events.

PSA Chairman Mark Chaloner is equally glowing in his send-off:

"Under Gawain's steady stewardship the Association has reached a point now where its resources and broadcast vision provide us with our best opportunity to harness the appeal of the men’s game as the most exciting spectator sport"

A few days on from the announcement, others in the squash community were having their say ...

Jonathan Power is quoted on Squash360.com as saying "This is a great time for squash. Here is an opportunity for healthy change. I hope for our sport that the right person, with the right motives, becomes CEO."

John Nimick - also quoted on Squash 360 - added:

"To his credit, the PSA World Tour grew tremendously under Gawain's tenure as Chief Executive. Personally, I always found Gawain to be trustworthy and highly professional in our squash dealings. I wish him great success in his next endeavour and, as a promoter, thank him for his steady stewardship of men's professional squash."

As to my potential thoughts about the job, I haven't any at this time. I think the sport is poised to break out of its poorly recognized condition and this is the right time for the right person to make that happen."

I suspect further insight into the Board election and Briars' departure will come out after the new Chief Exec is appointed. Watch this space ...

In the meantime, Ted Wallbutton, former CEO of the World Squash Federation, is acting as interim CEO until a candidate is found.

View the job advert
View the job description
PSA

1 comment:

  1. But what about this pic? I dont understad it... cheers

    ReplyDelete

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