Steve Lancaster: Why New Zealand Rugby chose Crusaders man as CEO after global hunt
NZ Rugby's new CEO Steve Lancaster. Photo / SmartFrame
When New Zealand Rugby’s board set out last August to appoint a new chief executive it’s unlikely that any of the directors imagined that the global search would lead them to the incumbent manager of the community game.
But after 10 months of trawling the world for a proven world-class leader with the capacity to shift the game into the digital world and re-imagine its commercial possibilities, NZR has elevated former Crusaders lock Steve Lancaster from general manager of community rugby to chief executive.
The global search, which was conducted by recruitment agency Sheffield, ended up on NZR’s own doorstep and has left the wider rugby community partially surprised, but mostly underwhelmed.
For the third successive time, NZR has appointed a chief executive whose rugby grounding, belief systems and view of the world was forged at the Crusaders.
And for the third successive time, NZR has appointed a chief executive with no experience managing large, complex organisations, or someone who has operated much outside of sports administration.
This is why the market reaction to Lancaster’s promotion has been muted, because stakeholders, and indeed NZR staff and executives, were expecting the process to unearth a heavyweight – a proven force in big business or the entertainment industry with credible corporate experience and a valid connection to the community game.
The initial job brief was to drive NZR’s digital strategy, build and globalise brand All Blacks, and make rugby the undoubted first-choice game of Gen Z.
With the greatest respect to Lancaster, his name was not one being bandied around by stakeholders last August as a potential candidate.
NZR’s own board presumably didn’t see him as a credible candidate either. In March they put out a press release confirming that Lancaster – who was elevated to interim CEO in November last year – would be moving to a newly created role of chief rugby officer “at the conclusion of his appointment as interim CEO”.
NZR chair David Kirk says the appointment process was deliberate and strategic, and that Lancaster has been given the job after winning the trust of the board through the way he has conducted himself since November last year.
In Lancaster’s time as interim boss, he oversaw the appointment of Dave Rennie as All Blacks coach, the high-performance restructure that has led to Don Tricker returning in a revamped role, and the arrival of two key, senior executives (chief financial officer and chief commercial officer).
It was a six-month audition in which he did enough to persuade the board that he was more than a safe pair of hands – more capable than being someone with the singular remit of holding the fort until a better candidate could be found.
But the rugby fraternity – both domestic and international – didn’t appreciate he was a serious contender to be permanently appointed and there is a sense that his promotion is as much a result of a failed process as it is the successful impression he has made in the last six months.
In late October last year, it is believed that current Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison reached preferred candidate status.
The Englishman, however, is understood to have been spooked by discussions in the USA with select board members where it was heavily emphasised that he would be expected to show his face in clubrooms across New Zealand and be a visible presence around the grassroots game.
It is believed that remit jarred with his desire to live in Australia and fly in and out of New Zealand, and with his pay demand of $1.5m being more than the $1.1m NZR was willing to offer, negotiations collapsed.
Early this year, the search then became more nuanced and targeted, with the Herald having been told NZR was looking for an older, experienced, high-achieving business figure who was maybe looking to get out of the corporate world.
The plan was to shoulder tap – to wine and dine even – and persuade well-considered candidates that the job was right for them.
The names that kept coming up were former Air NZ CEO Greg Foran, former Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell, current One NZ CEO Jason Paris and current Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.
Whether these and other big names were approached and said no, or whether the board, having seen Lancaster in action, decided he was ready after all to do the job permanently, is not known, but it’s probable that both things happened.
It’s also likely that the board rescoped the role after appointing Chris Kinraid as CFO and Chris Brown as CCO in February.
With these two on board, the executive team has a skilled financial manager who understands the complexities of NZR’s accounts, and a proven salesman who can be trusted to lead negotiations on sponsorship and broadcast agreements.
The CEO could therefore be more focused on rugby – from the All Blacks to grassroots – which was essentially the job Lancaster was readying himself to do.
He’ll obviously do more than that as he’ll be the face of the organisation, the man to front big media events, run point on the relationship with Silver Lake and provide sponsors and all other stakeholders with the confidence that NZR has a clearly defined strategy and vision.
It seems that the high command will operate as an executive trio, with Kirk’s strong oversight adding to the leadership mix. While this set-up was perhaps not what anyone imagined, the limited evidence to date suggests it could deliver the results the organisation wants.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.