Parramatta Eels set to bring financial high-flyer Bill Moss on board
Greed isnt good. Premierships are. Bill Moss made millions for himself, and billions for others, as a Macquarie Bank executive but if his fortune was represented by Parramattas success in the past 25 years he would be all but bankrupt.
Its a lean spell the former financial high-flyer is keen to help bring to an end. A self-confessed Eels diehard for more than 50 years, Moss ties with the club could be made official as soon as next week if Eels chairman Steve Sharp has his way.
Moss name was on Thursday supplied to members as the chairmans nomination for the proposed eighth independent seat on the Parramatta Leagues Club board that runs the Eels.
The mooted addition is one of several resolutions to be put before members at Mondays annual general meeting - another is to extend the terms of future board to three years - as the Sharp administration seeks to provide stability to a club riven by factionalism and in-fighting in recent years.
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Im a tragic. I used to sit on the hill at Cumberland Oval and Ive followed them through a lot of gloom and a little bit of boom, said Moss, who was raised in Guildford.
I was at all those grand finals [in the 1980s]. I lived every minute of that and enjoyed it. Unfortunately it didnt go on until the 90s, thats the great shame of it. Im just happy if I can help in any way to get that great club back to its former glory, then Ill do it.
Sharp says Moss celebrated financial record - he set up a global business that filled the pockets of investors, shareholders and Macquarie Bank staff before retiring from the so-called Millionaires Factory with a payout of $40 million in 2007 - makes him the sort of board candidate the Eels should be desperate to have involved.
However, while his credentials cant be questioned his ascension to the the directors room will not be straightforward. At least 75 per cent of members must vote for the resolution at the AGM for the extra seat on the board to be approved, and then if that passes Moss must get the green light from the existing directors.
That could be a hurdle with it emerging on Thursday that four of Sharps six colleagues on the board were understood to have not been made aware of the letter about Moss sent out to members and due to land in letterboxes on Friday.
Sharp, however, vehemently rejects any claims the attempted addition of Moss to the board is a bid to stack the numbers of a divided board in his favour.
It was my suggested nomination, thats all, Sharp said. The letter clearly states that im urging the members to get to the meeting to support the resolutions. If the resolution was successful, Id nominate from my perspective Bill Moss to be considered.
But I clearly state in the letter its for the board to ratify. Its definitely not a number stacking thing. Its about putting somebody who can add great value to the club with expertise in sporting management - he used to own the Sydney Kings - and obviously his expertise in business in undeniable.
Sharp has been in an awkward position. He says he wanted to give Moss name to members for the explicit reason that many were worried the proposed extra seat on the board would simply go to a lackey for voting purposes.
However, its a situation that could potentially result in embarrassment for the chairman, and a flow-on Moss himself if his appointment is voted down by either the members or the board. The ex-banker, for his part, insists he will not be owned by one faction or another.
He said he was invited to meet Sharp over dinner last November as part of an Eels strategy to reach out to known supporters with reputations for their business nous.
Im my own person. I pride myself on that. If the members want me Ill be doing the right thing for the leagues club, Moss said. I think not only at Parramatta but in the whole league we should have a higher level of governance, and have more people that understand how to run football as a business. I think thats where the AFL leads us many times over.
The club has to get some stability. Theyve got so much potential. The reality is western Sydney is a dynamo of growth. Its going to boom and the beneficiaries can be sporting teams, and that includes Penrith as well. If rugby league is going to be successful and is going to grow its critical that the heartland of the sport does very well, both on and off the field.
Moss comes from the same world as NRL chief executive Dave Smith, who was previously a top executive at Lloyds Bank and said he was behind the Eels endeavour. "We support the appointment of independent board members because it gives clubs improved governance and a strong future," Smith said.
Having an independent board helps ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the entire club so it is encouraging to see the Parramatta Eels move in this direction."
His days are over of getting himself and others filthy rich, Moss runs his own foundation for medical research in muscular dystrophy, of which he was diagnosed at the age of 27.
Like many Eels supporters, his loyalty was tested by consecutive wooden spoons and interminable off-field turmoil, but unlike most of them he can rightfully say he has the skills to help turn the sleeping giant into the powerhouse it should be.
My life has been around winning, Moss said. I like to win.
