It's one of the highest profile jobs in Wales and there will no doubt be considerable interest in the race to become the next chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union.

It comes after current incumbent Martyn Phillips recently announced he will stand down later this year after five years at the helm of what is the executive arm of a membership body for the game at all levels; from the national team and four professional regions down to the community game.

In the last financial year Mr Phillips was paid £351,000.

By the time his successor takes up their post later this year a deal with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for a 27% share of commercial income in the cross-border Guinness Pro14 league in return for a £120m investment, should have been bedded in.

The WRU is expected to receive around £35m from the deal, which it could then invest into all levels of the game over a period of a time.

Perhaps the WRU could have raised the same amount, or more, in a securitisation deal on future income from the Principality Stadium without the need for giving up future commercial income, but it is hoped that with CVC also having an interest in the English Premiership, it could lead to a British Isle League, in which the four Welsh regions would not only play in, but be highly competitive.

But there will continue to be plenty of WRU commercial deals to be done outside of any joint workings with CVC, including potentially a lucrative fund raising when some of the best debenture seats in the Principality Stadium are redeemed by the union.

Although the WRU has struck deals with many debenture holders to extend redemption periods, as it stands it faces a £400,000 repayment bill in 2021 and £9m in 2024.

With a reissue of debentures, it could bring a new lucrative source of finance for the WRU.

Trying to manage the politics and sometimes conflicting interests of the game at all levels, like for Mr Phillips and his predecessors, will go with the territory, whoever takes up the role.

As well as the future for the regions, creating a sustainable one for Premiership clubs, will continue to loom large at the top of the WRU.

Despite its huge profile, in a Welsh corporate context the WRU is not a huge player; with a turnover in its last year of £90.5m and a direct workforce of just over 350.

But rugby is at the heart of the Welsh nation and the WRU is the body that runs the game.

So, it is not like an under the radar manufacturing firm say on a Valleys industrial estate with similar revenues, but an organisation that rightly comes under intense public and media scrutiny.

Rugby also plays a key role in promoting Wales, so the chief executive of the WRU is also very much an ambassadorial role in helping to raise awareness of Wales as a tourism, business and investment location globally.

No doubt a headhunting firm will be appointed and will scour the world for the best candidates.

But here are some possible candidates who if they applied could be strong contenders.

 

 

Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

Crickhowell-born Mr Rhydderch-Roberts had a 28-year career in investment banking where he held a number of senior executive positions including those with Swiss Re, UBS Warburg, Schroders and Societe Generale.

Mr  Rhydderch-Roberts who played rugby for Pontypridd, Newport and Bath, has a true passion for the game and an acute awareness that Wales has to be smarter off the pitch to compete with the far greater player pool and commercial leverage of the game in England.

And he has been very much part of the financial transformation of Glamorgan Cricket, after joining as treasurer in a independent non- executive board role two years ago.

He also gets the public-private dynamic of the Welsh economy. The WRU is not alone in Wales in seeking to secure finance and support from other sources, such as the Welsh Government.

He is currently a director of the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport  - part funded by the Welsh Government - as well as a member of the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board, which advises the Welsh Government on inward investment projects.

He would not be afraid to speak his mind when required and could be a champion of the Premiership game where he believes that clubs like Pontypridd, Cardiff and Ebbw Vale, remain hugely recognisable brands with potential.

He recently joined a new executive board at Ponytpridd RFC to implement a long-term financial and commercial strategy aimed at creating a sustainable future both on and off the field.

Jonathan Ford

Jonathan Ford

Jonathan Ford is chief executive of the Football Association of Wales.

Instinctively getting the importance of sport in Wales, a move from one major sport to another could be seen as a natural one.

He has done a very good job, with his team, on the commercial side of the business, including its latest deal with online currency exchange firm Conotoxia.

Highlights include overseeing Wales' successful bid to host the UEFA Cup Final at the Principality Stadium in 2017 and an expansion of the women's game.

He has also managed well the internal politics of football in Wales, which would stand him in good stead for Welsh rugby politics.

Mr Ford has also overseen governance reform and restructuring with a new FAW executive board, which has streamlined decision-making and provided support for commercial activities.

This has also seen the appointment of the first non-executive directors for the FAW drawn from the world of business, including Sony executive Steve Dalton as its first independent chair.

With the national team playing at this summer's European Championships, he could sign off on a high if appointed the next WRU chief executive.

Amanda Blanc

Amanda Blanc

 

Originally from Treherbert, Amanda Blanc, is the new chair of the Professional Rugby Board, which represents the four professional regions and the WRU itself.

She has certainly impressed in all of her dealings with the board in just a short space of time. Her position has also seen her joining the board of the WRU itself.

A passionate supporter of Welsh rugby, she is a former chief executive of Zurich Insurance Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

She has wide-ranging experience in the boardroom having chaired many organisations, subsidiaries and committees and sat on various regulated boards across Europe.

She is a former chair of the Association of British Insurers, a past president of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a former chair of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, a previous chair of the ABI’s General Insurance Committee and a past member of the UK Takeover Panel.

She has recently appointed a non-executive director at Aviva Plc

If interested she would be a strong contender, but if not the WRU should ensure she is on the selection panel.

Wayne Harvey

 

Senior partner in Wales for Deloitte Wayne Harvey

 

Wayne Harvey is senior partner of professional advisory firm Deloitte in Wales.

He has been at the forefront of the firm's major expansion in Cardiff over the last few years, which has seen its workforce rapidly expand from several hundred to more than a thousand currently and which will continue to grow.

He also leads the firm's tax practice in Wales with more than 30 years advising businesses globally in areas from acquisitions to business restructuring.

Partners of Deloitte have to retire aged 60. So, he will be available for a new role and challenge later this year.

With his strong business and commercial credentials, he would also relish the public profile and international dimension of the role too. He is also chairman in Wales of business membership body the CBI.

A former player for Bristol he understands the game and the commercial challenges and opportunities it faces in Wales.

Josh Lewsey

Josh Lewsey in his time as WRU head of rugby

The former English international is no stranger to the WRU, having been responsible for strategic and structural elements for the game at all levels as head of rugby.

During his three years at the union, he impressed in driving up participation levels at grassroots levels.

This included establishing school club-hubs, which it its second year had doubled to 93 participating schools.

Prior to joining the WRU, Mr Lewsey, whose parents are Welsh, worked in the City, with role including being head of advisory services for Citigroup, having also previously worked for PwC.

He is currently based in Hong Kong as a partner with professional advisory firm EY.

It could mean a possible pay cut, but the high profile nature of the job, his love of rugby, and its importance to Wales, could pique his interest.

Sarah Powell

 

Pictured is Sarah Powell Sport Wales' chief executive. Photo by Steve Pope

 

 

Sarah Powell is chief executive of Sport Wales, a role she took up in 2013.

The body is tasked with supporting a wide range of Welsh sports, up to elite level, but also more widely growing participation levels and championing the positive impact that a life long enjoyment of sport can bring.

A former Wales hockey captain, her role has seen her developed strong relationships with key organisations and decision makers from government and the public and private sectors; connections that she could leverage to positive effect at the WRU and with a proven track record of operating in a much tougher funding environment.

She would certainly bring a fresh thinking to the union not only around encouraging more girls and women to play the game, but their involvement too off the pitch; whether as spectators, volunteers, administrators or advocates.

Steve Phillips

WRU finance director Steve Phillips

Steve Phillips is the WRU's finance director and has played a pivotal role in negotiations for the WRU with the Irish and Scottish unions on the CVC deal.

He has also been at the heart of property development projects at the union, including its involvement in a new hotel next to the Principality Stadium on Westgate in a joint venture with the Celtic Manor Resort, property development firm Rightacres and financial services giant L&G.

He is a canny negotiator, with the ability to rationalise the thinking of those on the other side of the table.

He also has the respect of executives and board members in unions globally.

Would he want a more public facing role at the union? Well, if he does he would be a front running internal candidate.

Simon Halliday

Simon Halliday, the EPCR charirman, says the EPCR will review kick-off times and scheduling ahead of next season
Simon Halliday

Pembrokeshire-born Simon Halliday, is a former England rugby international, who after retiring from the game embarked on a successful business career in stockbroking and investment banking.

He is currently independent chairman of the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), which based in Switzerland, is the organiser of the Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup competitions.

He has the proven business acumen and energy for the WRU top role and would certainly not be afraid to speak his mind, but with a more subtle game too when required in getting the best outcomes from the game in Wales.

Richard Holland and Alun Jones

Cardiff Blues CEO Richard Holland
Cardiff Blues CEO Richard Holland
Alun Jones

Richard Holland, chief executive of professional rugby region the Cardiff Blues, no doubt has the ambition to be the next boss of the WRU.

And it would be a natural step up from running the Cardiff Blues too.

He is certainly media savvy and gets the dynamics of the other regions and the club scene at the Premiership level.

But what about his chairman in Alun Jones ? Well, perhaps he might think there is still work to be done having only taken up the role last year, but it could be a case of opportunities like this don't come around too often.

Welsh speaking Mr Jones has commercial and business credentials and as managing partner of one of Wales' leading law firms Hugh James.

Over the last few years, he has successfully steered the firm through a major expansion and a move into new 80,000 sq ft headquarters in the centre of Cardiff at Central Square.

Anyway, over to the headhunters.....