New CEO For V8Supercar???

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

I didnt proclaim them to be smart business people or not.

All I am saying is that it is impossible to make the impact you are suggesting within the 2 years of Archer's arrival.

There was never any sustainability around the deals V8SA signed under Cochrane.

The New Zealand races are a prime example of this - or are you suggesting this was also Archer's doing?

sure its possible to kill the golden goose in less than two years, you treat the sponsors and tv companies poorly and they walk away, which is what happened.

[dirtymacca]

Originally Posted by peckstar

two years to turn the series into a lemon. Thats a good effort by Archer

Not Archer... the value was never there. They did not do due diligence or/and got suckered by Cochrane and the over inflated value of the acceptance of the public of the category,(stupid attendance figures) TV deals, the income from street circuits and governments that had been suckered in by bullsh*t returns on the investment of PUBLIC money.

If I was Archer, I would be ****ed off!... If I was a licence holder I would also be a bit peeved!

Some say that TC lifted the sport to the current level.... But... at what price.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by dirtymacca

Not Archer... the value was never there. They did not do due diligence or/and got suckered by Cochrane and the over inflated value of the acceptance of the public of the category,(stupid attendance figures) TV deals, the income from street circuits and governments that had been suckered in by bullsh*t returns on the investment of PUBLIC money.

If I was Archer, I would be ****ed off!... If I was a licence holder I would also be a bit peeved!

Some say that TC lifted the sport to the current level.... But... at what price.

Yeah - Archer. They did a huge amount of due diligence when they bought into the business and of course offered what they felt was a fair purchase price, which ultimately put a value on the sport and it's potential at that time.

Pecky has it fairly right in the post above yours, so I'm told from several people I know still working in the main game. The feeling is that Archer has dramatically dropped the ball since they bought the majority shareholding - poor structure, wrong people employed in wrong roles, not enough attention / interaction on sponsors etc.

It takes a fair while to build up a business but it can be knocked over VERY quickly by poor management - two years is plenty of time to do that.

Sure, the sport wasn't perfect when they took over but what business ever is? There were definitely challenges but a whole raft of positive things as well.

Many of the poor structure / wrong people issues are now being addressed - Friday was a good example of that but jeez it should have happened well over a year ago (getting the structure right I mean).

There is plenty of work to do for Archer but in all honesty, some adjustment was to be expected when an organisation is moving from an entrepreneur driven mindset to more of a corporate one - it's a big change - let's hope that they get it right this time.

[formerf1champ]

D.R.T. and dirtymacca. They get it.

[peckstar]

so let me ask a question. We can all sprout TC's name and inititials because he was the face of the series and off the major shareholder. he was committed and passionate.

Who is the face of Archer and major shareholder. Do Archer even attend racers? Who has the skin on the line who is committed and passionate?

That in my opinion is why the series is struggling. We no longer have the figure head.

I've argued the same about HRT also (in the appropriate place)

[formerf1champ]

Dare I ask, who are you asking?

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by formerf1champ

Dare I ask, who are you asking?

anyone who wants to discuss it? or knows the answer

[Umai Naa]

Why?

[peckstar]

Why what?

[GTRMagic]

Our friends at the Fin Review are still looking for answers..

Originally Posted by AFR 23/4/13 P45, Features, 'Rear Window' with Joe Aston

Fancy a spin in the driver's seat

Archer Capital's Brad Lancken may have confirmed that David "Toenails" Malone was "stepping back" as CEO of V8 Supercars but all we can find out so far from our petrol head friends on the Gold Coast is that he will remain on the board in a "strategic advisory role." A spokesman also stuck by the line that James Warburton was "certainly a candidate" but not necessarily the "ultimate candidate". The former Ten Network boss has had plenty of gardening leave in recent years - we're assuming his front yard looks like the Chelsea Flower Show

[GTRMagic]

Mr Fogarty has an 'interesting' solution to the leadership 'crisis' at V8Supercar in AA this week...

To paraphrase... '... Sack the lot of 'em... The Archer guys, the team owners, all of them...'

It would be an interesting strategy to improve the series' leadership, by killing off ALL of the leaders...

One point of interest was that Mr Dane has been on or around the group selecting the CEO the last 3 times.. and if you didnt know better, you might wonder whether he sees that commonality of selector, and poor strategic personnel choice, and wonder if somehow perhaps, hypothetically of course, that they may be linked

[GTRMagic]

John Dunlop 'Boned'

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

John Dunlop 'Boned'

Bloody TC, he is really screwing the joint.

interesting that he is a another recent appointment
two dodgy appointments in a row

Not a fun place to work at the moment

[rik]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Mr Fogarty has an 'interesting' solution to the leadership 'crisis' at V8Supercar in AA this week...

To paraphrase... '... Sack the lot of 'em... The Archer guys, the team owners, all of them...'

At some point the board will run out people to sack/blame and they will have to take responsibility!

Also seems bizarre to have Malone on the board while choosing a new CEO, the role he has just been sacked from???

Although in reality Malone probably will never attend another board meeting, as it's simply a lame attempt at saving face.

No doubt the boning of 3 CEOs and the Chairman will deter some candidates from applying for the role.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by rik

At some point the faceless board will run out people to sack/blame and they will have to take responsibility!

No disagreement, just fixing up the word that i believe you left out

[rik]

Originally Posted by peckstar

No disagreement, just fixing up the word that i believe you left out

Couldn't easily find a list of the board members until I saw Fogarty's column...

Andrew Gray (Archer Managing Director)
Brad Lancken (Archer)
Roland Dane
Brad Jones
David Malone (former CEO)

So these are the guys who booted TC... wonder if Jones and Dane voted with the Archer guys on that one!?!?!

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by rik

No doubt the boning of 3 CEOs and the Chairman will deter some candidates from applying for the role.

Oh I dont know.. A $2m a year, 3 year contract sounds pretty good to me.
I mean if you can last the 'typical' 18-24 month lifespan, and still walk away with a decent severance...

A severance eating into the teams' REC income of course

[formerf1champ]

Archer were dumb for buying V8sc. Not the best day in the company's history. I wouldnt buy food off him, even if I was a starving man.

[peckstar]

does anyone remember how kerry packer sold channel 9 for a fortune and bought it back 3 years later for quarter of the price. Food for thought

[rik]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Oh I dont know.. A $2m a year, 3 year contract sounds pretty good to me.
I mean if you can last the 'typical' 18-24 month lifespan, and still walk away with a decent severance...

Might sound good if you're earning a lot less than that, but when trying to hire a top CEO who already has a similar paying job then it doesn't sound as fun if you have to move your family interstate etc for a much less secure job.

[eduardo1]

There's a real Ford v Holden, Liberal v Labor vibe in this thread which is odd. One side has TC as the root of all evil; the other is that everything is Archer's fault. Not sure how anyone justifies either approach (other than using blinkers on their one-eye).

It's both. Too many of TC's sales dramatically underdelivered. TV ratings, event attendance figures (the real ones as opposed to what V8SC trotted out). The problem with taking government money is the scrutiny that comes with it. And the stupidity of getting involved with Ian McDonald and his cronies defies belief.
Overseas expansion has been a dismal failure in every instance (excluding NZ). Texas is really their last chance to do this because if that fails then it's all over for international expansion. It's drawn rubbish crowds everywhere else.
The business model is based on taxpayer funding events, which given how much debt the states are in is a dire model indeed. It's fine if you run an event like Clipsal which actually makes money, not just 'generates economic activity', but Surfers, Homebush & Townsville are in real danger. For what it's worth, I think Surfers and Townsville actually have a sound economic rationale to them. Homebush was just a bad idea all round.

Also, something that wasn't apparent to me until this year was, in one driver's words, how 'stale' the series had become in recent years. Repetitive winners, same cars, same drivers etc. Last year was, quite frankly, one of the most boring on record. That was the climate that the TV deal was done in, not to mention they had a bad timing issue. Not just the AFL, NRL & FFA deals being done, but more because Cricket has not been completed and everybody is bidding for that. C10 wants a piece of it and it won't commit much money elsewhere as it can't afford two premium sports on its roster. So no serious cash from C10 = no bidding war = current TV deal.

But, with COTF, despite all its problems, is producing fantastic racing, new winners and far more interest and energy in the series. If this keeps up throughout this year and next, then the series will be offering a far better product and, hopefully, increased attendances at events.

The other side of the coin - Archer. No question, they overpaid. No question, they bear a lot of responsibility for what has gone on. They are also having to deal with many legacy issues such as those listed above, but their choice of personnel has been questionable to say the least. Malone was a failure, Warburton is unlikely to do much better. They could/should bring in a Smith or Demetriou style CEO (like they intended with James Strong) and put a strong motorsport-experienced structure around him or her - as Smith has done this week with the NRL. When the V8s lost SEL with the Archer buyout, they lost a lot of marketing nous - which is obvious from the departure of sponsors. Granted, some of these are natural attrition - law of diminishing returns means sponsors leave after a while - but they haven't replaced enough of them.

Fogarty has a point - there needs to be a thorough cleanout, including the board. The problem is, who chooses the board replacements? That is who has failed V8SC the most. The board should be implementing the correct structures and filling them with the right people. They've failed to do so.

[GTRMagic]

More in the Fin Review today...

Originally Posted by AFR 290413, Marketing & Media, P38

V8 Supercars owners accelerate shake-up
"Warburton expected to take over within weeks"
By John McDuling & John Stensholt

V8 Supercars’ private equity owners have made further management changes at the sport as they push ahead with plans to appoint former Ten Network boss James Warburton as chief executive within two weeks.

V8s commercial and marketing director John Dunlop stepped aside on Friday to pursue new opportunities after several years with the sport.

"John played a key role in the conmercial and marketing areas of the business and I personally thank him for his commitment to the sport," acting chief executive Peter Trimble said in an internal email. "We look forward to working with John during this transition phase and extend to him our best wishes for the next stage of his career."

The exit follows that of former chief executive David Malone

The former Fox Sports boss stepped down earlier this month after The Australian Financial Review revealed Mr Warburton had been approached about the role. Mr Malone will remain a director of the V8s and assist the business in strategy and development.

Mr Warburton has been lined up by the majority owner of the V8s, private equity firm Archer Capital, after he was sacked by Ten in February

Sources close to the sport said he was the only candidate for the top job and expected the appointment to be confirmed within the fortnight.

A potential hurdle is whether he needs to secure an early release from a non-compete clause with his former employer. However it is understood that Ten is not opposed to Mr Warburton taking on the role. A spokesperson for Ten declined to comment.

The V8s suffered a blow when it was forced to sign a new broadcast deal with Seven earlier this year at a price that delivers about $10 million less cash up front for the car racing circuit than the previous deal with Seven, Telstra and FoxSports.

Mr Warburton's appointment would not be the first major executive change in the sport since Archer paid Sports & Entertainment Ltd $180 million for a 60 per cent stake in May 2011.

Last September, long-time executive chairman of V8 Tony Cochrane stepped down after a disagreement with Archer over negotiations on broadcast rights.

Seven Network agreed earlier this year to pay less than $18 million in up front annual fees to broadcast the V8s on free to air television. That was down from the $28 million it paid annually under the previous, six-year deal. It was believed to be the first time the sale of new sports broadcast rights led to less revenue for the host body.

But Seven lost its first and last rights after the two-year deal expires, and new broadcast negotiations are expected to begin later this year.

The V8s last month unveiled a subscription-based, digital streaming service for personal computers, tablets and mobile phones. The bundle package costs $49.95 annually while the V8 and Dunlop series cost $39.95 and $14.95 as standalone packages

[GTRMagic]

From Mr Dunlop's twitter on Friday...

[GTRMagic]

Looks like Mr Warburton has been appointed... the V8SC app provided a link to the story, yet isnt on the main site

Mr Gray of Archer and Mr Dane of 888 are each quoted as saying that this is a major appointment, that Mr Warburton is a smart/capable/credentialed/love of the sport

Start date.. 1 June 2013.

Remember this day, and the comments in around a years time.. they may be poignant

EDIT: Article Here

[GTRMagic]

More from FoxSports