Why Rangers’ CEO search is vital to fit new executive model
Former CEO James Bisgrove left Rangers earlier this year <i>(Image: Ross MacDonald – SNS Group)</i>
Former CEO James Bisgrove left Rangers earlier this year (Image: Ross MacDonald – SNS Group)
Rangers are not quite back at square one but just when it looked like enough steps forward had been taken, the Ibrox board find themselves retreating once again. From this point onwards, the progress must be positive.
The rebuilding job on the pitch has not been completed yet. The major one off it will soon get full sign off as the Copland Stand prepares to open for business once again. In the Director’s Box, seats remain vacant.
John Gilligan has filled the role of chairman on an interim basis but Rangers are still operating without a chief executive officer. That causes its own problems, of course, and feeds into wider conversations around the structure above Philippe Clement. Here, the Rangers Review looks at the process to appoint James Bisgrove’s successor and what sort of CEO is required at Ibrox.
What has happened since Bisgrove resigned?
As ever at Rangers, there have been plenty of talking points. Bisgrove’s decision to leave Glasgow to take up an opportunity in Saudi Arabia was the first piece of the puzzle to be put in place and the picture has not looked like being perfect for some time. John Bennett became executive chairman with the ambition of focusing on overseeing the summer transfer window, but his outlook changed a week later when he was informed that the Copland Stand would not be completed on time. From then on, Rangers have threatened to spiral out of control at times.
The search for Bisgrove’s replacement was put on the backburner as a huge burden was placed on Bennett’s shoulders. Ultimately, events of recent weeks have taken their toll, and he stepped down as chairman over the weekend. He did so just days after a move to appoint Jim Gillespie, the St Mirren vice-chairman, collapsed when it seemed certain that he would be putting pen-to-paper and moving along the M8.
(Image: SNS)
The process was never going to be a quick and easy one. There was always the very real possibility that the preferred candidate would have to work through a notice period and calls from supporters to have a new man in place to lead the transfer negotiations were never a realistic prospect. There is every chance that Rangers now won’t have a chief executive in place before the January window opens.
Bennett became the lightning rod for supporters. When performances and results then didn’t match expectations, there was a danger that emotions could spill over. It took little time for Rangers to go from a club with a fresh feel to one that was back in a familiar state. The hope for supporters now is that long-term damage has not been done by the club shooting themselves in the foot on and off the park.
Who will now lead the search for a CEO?
Gilligan returned to the boardroom on Monday after answering a call of duty from Rangers. Seven years after he left the top table and almost a decade on from regime change, Gilligan is back at Ibrox. He is being supported by George Letham, a well-known figure around Rangers and an experienced and successful businessman, and Graeme Park.
The other members of the RIFC plc board – Alistair Johnston, Julian Wolhardt, John Halsted and George Taylor – will also have a say in signing off the appointment. Whether it be a manager or a chief executive, the board must accept the plaudits or the criticisms as a collective. Sources have insisted that the directors and investor corps remain fully committed to the club.
Read more:
Who is John Gilligan and what is the chairman and CEO state of play?
Dave King Rangers boardroom bid update and and chief executive search timeline
Rangers have appointed a recruitment agency to bring names to the table. Some of the candidates that will be under consideration were involved in the process previously, while others will have the chance to throw their hat in the ring.
Adrian Bevington, a former managing director at the Football Association, has publicly spoken of his interest in the position. Bevington has also held roles at Aston Villa and Middelsbrough and his availability has caught the imagination of some supporters. Andrew McKinlay was linked several months ago.
Gilligan and Letham are going back to the drawing board and the recruitment of a chief executive is a more pressing matter than filling the position of chairman. Gilligan will hold that role for as long as is required. As the Rangers Review reported this week, Dave King’s aspirations of a return to the top table appear to have been dashed and it is understood that there is currently little likelihood of a call being made to South Africa. King still has a hand to play.
Many of the characteristics that a CEO must possess are also applicable to the chairman. The route that Rangers opt to go down will be telling and defining.
Both Bisgrove and his predecessor, Stewart Robertson, evolved into their berths as CEO and managing director respectively. Robertson was brought into the club in the aftermath of regime change and steadily saw his influence increase at Ibrox. Bisgrove, of course, was promoted from the head of the commercial department last summer. Rangers will not appoint from within on this occasion.
What key qualities must the successful candidate have?
As one source put it to the Rangers Review: ‘You don’t need to be Billy Connolly, but you need to have a strong personality and be a great communicator.’ Any candidate that cannot talk the talk will not get to walk the walk at Ibrox.
The chief executive will be the public face of the club and the go-to man behind the scenes. The next chairman will hold a non-exec role and, in theory, need not be as hands on as Bennett had to be or as King was for several years. Major decisions will naturally need boardroom approval, but a strong candidate will seek clearly defined approval lines to set his power limit and give him a base from which to operate.
The ability to lead individuals and teams is obvious. Given the nature of Scottish football, the need to make friends and influence people cannot be underestimated. It is not a prerequisite to have been a boyhood Rangers supporter but a knowledge of the game and relationships with key stakeholders at Hampden, Holyrood and in the media would give one candidate the edge if two potential recruits were delicately balanced.
The Rangers CEO must be politically astute and able to exert influence, but they do not need to be the smartest guy in every room they enter. As one source explained to the Rangers Review, a successful chief executive will employ people who are better at their respective jobs than they are, and the CEO must assemble a team in the same manner that a manager does.
The capacity to work under a range of pressure points – from financial to football, from Press to punters – is non-negotiable and the financial nous of a candidate who could take home a £500,000 salary should not be in doubt. The network of contacts and a track record in the game will help aspiring applicants stand out.
Will other changes be made to the executive team?
The merits of the football structure are there to be debated at present. The management team of James Taylor, Karim Virani, Creag Robertson and Nils Koppen continue to oversee their respective departments but the importance of the CEO cannot be understated. It is they who will set the tone and drive the demands at Ibrox and a wrong appointment can have prolonged negative consequences in both business and sporting perspectives.
Bennett was eager to give up-and-coming figures a chance to grow at the club. Taylor, Virani and Koppen were all hired, while Bisgrove and Creag Robertson were promoted during a period that saw the likes of Stewart Robertson, Andrew Dickson and Ross Wilson leave the club.
They were followed by Michael Beale and the faith put in the Englishman proved to be misplaced. Rather than putting so much power in the hands of one man, as Rangers did last summer, Bennett sought to trust a process this time around and implemented a more collaborative approach through the creation of the football board. One summer window is not long enough to write it off, but it is not long enough to fully convince of its merits, either, and the theory and reality are both grey areas right now.
Read more:
Dave King says ‘I’ll return as Rangers chairman’ amid investment opportunity
Dave King on John Bennett’s tenure, legacy and what’s going wrong at Rangers
The term ‘football man’ may be somewhat cliché but it holds a degree of truth and it could be argued that Rangers do not have enough powerbrokers with experience in the game at present. A return to Ibrox for Graeme Souness never materialised after lengthy discussions.
Board sources have reaffirmed the belief in Clement despite the Champions League exit to Dynamo Kyiv and defeat to Celtic. The wider structure should be there to assist the Belgian but not be defined by him and there looks to be a place for a sporting director within the current setup. Someone with an overarching responsibility for strategy and succession planning would help avoid a return of the rinse and repeat nature of Rangers of late.
Rangers are still operating without a head of academy after Zeb Jacobs left just a year in position. That was on Bennett’s to-do list as he conducted a review of the Auchenhowie system. It is another appointment that is crucial if Rangers are to have a long-term vision and a blueprint with both style and substance.
Rangers FC
John Gilligan
Football
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