THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - TESTING THE ROLE OF THE RACING CEO IN THE MODERN ERA

By Graham Potter | Sunday, January 26, 2014

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily

The appointment of a new CEO at Brisbane Racing Club (BRC) with a vastly revised job description to any advert posted before will hopefully prove to be a massive step in advancing racing into the reality of the world of the entertainment / gambling dollar where competition is brisk, valued customer service and an enjoyable event experience is essential … and innovative ideas are constantly needed for any entity to secure its position in that marketplace.

I know that will sound like an optimistic wish-list to those who visit racetracks regularly where enthusiasm can get worn down by ordinary club offerings … but where there is a change, there is a chance.

And I don’t think the possibilities are merely restricted to the BRC. They might be the club currently shuffling the staff playing deck, but this might provide a welcome opportunity for all race clubs to take a leaf out of the BRC book and re-evaluate the roles of their CEO’s moving forward and refine that job description if necessary.

That might mean more work for the CEO, or perhaps the same amount of work with a more productive outcome for their club. In either case, being put on notice … not for their jobs, but for their performance criteria … wouldn’t do anybody already doing a good job any harm.

There is no doubt that the CEO is a pivotal position for any race club. He or she runs the club on a daily basis, they draft the agenda for committee meetings (ie have a say in deciding what to put in and what to leave out) and they make informed, recommendations on some issues put before the Board of Directors (which, more often than not, is agreed upon).

In other words the position is one of enormous influence. It might be one step below the actual power-base, but many of the switches are put on and off in the CEO’s office.

Equally, the CEO’s performance doesn’t only reach up the ladder. Collaboration with stakeholders on the ground and respect for the customer base, many of whom for too long have felt undervalued by most in authority, is paramount.

With clubs no longer charged with many of racing’s administrative functions the BRC’s appointment of David Whimpey to the CEO post with his ‘background in hospitality, events management and marketing’ and ‘with his proven track record of delivering results and events in customer-driven organisations,’ clearly points out the path that the BRC now intend to follow.

Maximising income return is an over-riding bottom line for big business but for any race-club to achieve that while living up to its responsibilities to the racing fraternity means it has to walk a fine line.

While the club must expand its income base in order to survive, it also cannot neglect its responsibility to industry participants, club members and customers.

Racing might not be the core business of the race club if more lucrative, alternative sources of income establish themselves, but if that helps the race-club thrive in its pure form, that change would be welcomed with open arms … but for that to happen, chances are a new, modern, streamlined Mark 11 version of the CEO must be ready to play its part.

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