http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...9/news-story/701bfe6d9be962c92f8b557508655b53
Eels chairman Max Donnelly says he’s staying on until new stadium is built in 2019
NICK TABAKOFF, EXCLUSIVE, The Daily Telegraph
February 24, 2017 6:02pm
PARRAMATTA Eels chairman Max Donnelly says his work is far from over — despite finally announcing a completely new board of business heavyweights to take the club into the future following its tumultuous 2016.
In an exclusive interview with The Saturday Daily Telegraph, Donnelly indicated he would be staying on the Eels board until the opening of the new Parramatta Stadium in April 2019, which will provide huge opportunities for the club to grow its membership base.
“I will be staying on for 12 months as chairman, to check the board is working properly and find my successor, and another 12 months as a director.”
When Donnelly first came on board in July last year after the unprecedented government-sanctioned sacking of the entire Eels board, he had indicated that he would depart by the start of the 2017 season.
But he now says the reputational damage for the Eels has been so great from last year’s salary cap scandal _ exposed by The Daily Telegraph _ that he now needs to stay on to steward the club as it repairs its damaged brand.
Despite this, Donnelly has made it clear the club is open for business, and has never been more squeaky clean _ following Friday’s announcement of the new board _ full of heavyweight executives from Australia’s top five companies _ and a new constitution.
“We’re looking through the windscreen, not the rear window,” he said. We’ve got a good coach, a good roster, a good CEO and a good board. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win a comp, but we’re giving it every chance.”
The Eels unveiled what CEO Bernie Gurr described as “one of the most reputable boards of directors in Australian sport”.
The full new board is:
*Sean McElduff, Westpac’s chief operating officer for financial markets;
*Anthony Shiner, executive director of digital for Telstra;
*Colin Robertshaw, who until recently was the Commonwealth Bank’s head of property finance;
*Michael McRitchie, former CEO of Centrebet before it was taken over by the Sportsbet empire;
*Vicki Leaver, an executive director at Legal Aid NSW;
*Jim Sarantinos, partner at financial restructuring firm Ferrier Hodgson, and;
*Donnelly himself.
The new board cannot come soon enough. The club has just disclosed a staggering $12 million loss for the 2016 season, amid a collapse in revenues from sponsorship, visual advertising and merchandise _ the latter of which saw alleged fraud still being investigated by a police strike force.
The club’s two major sponsorships, the front and back of jersey, are still on the market, after Dyldam and financial services company Infinity both departed the club last year.
Donnelly says he needs to stay at least in the interim to help the club to prove to prospective sponsors it is once again a strong and viable commercial proposition.
“The club’s got a damaged brand, and it hasn’t got a major sponsor,” he said. “That has a major financial consequence. But I’d like to think if people understand what’s going on, we’re not going to give it away, and we want someone reputable.”
But he said the club was living well within its means _ a factor that leaves it well positioned to make major player acquisitions. “I can confirm we’re within the salary cap, and we’re not going to be outside of it while I’m drawing breath,” he said.
Donnelly said he was leaving the massive fraud investigation underway at the Eels largely to the police.
“The fraud squad will do what the fraud squad will do,” he says. “There’s the police investigation, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and the ATO investigation. That’s not the new board’s problem _ they’re here to move the club forward. I’ll be here to assist them as much as necessary.”
Donnelly expects he will stay around for even longer as chairman of the Parramatta Leagues Club, the Eels’ parent company. It is understood State government and regulatory authorities are keen for him to stay around to manage the club through both the opening of the new Parramatta Stadium in 2019, and of an adjacent, redeveloped $120 million Parramatta Leagues Club by 2020, including a massive new facility and hotel complex.
He will look to introduce electronic voting for the Leagues Club board in coming years. “It means you might get 10,000 votes for a board election, rather than a few hundred. It will make it harder to stack meetings.”
Donnelly said he had a total of 90 applications to join the Eels board, of which 32 were given an interview and 10 received a second interview. “There were a lot of people who were great who didn’t make it because the standard was so high,” he said.
