Tigers propose change to board electionsJake Niall
December 7, 2011RICHMOND is attempting a major reform of its board structure, asking the club's members to allow it to appoint, rather than elect, three of the club's nine board directors.
The Tigers say this would enable them to hand pick the best available person to fill a particular need. The remaining six would still have to be elected by the members.
Richmond president Gary March contends that some highly capable people have been reluctant to take a place on the club board because they do not want to face an election.
The proposal, which requires a change in the club constitution, will either be ratified or opposed by the members at the club's annual general meeting on December 21. Some members have already voiced opposition to the change, but March said he believed they were ''a vocal minority''.
''We just want to attract the best people to the Richmond board,'' he said.
March said, under the proposed change, the appointed directors would have a limit of two terms, while those elected would have no term limits.
March said, if adopted, the new board system would be in line with other clubs, such as Essendon and most of the interstate clubs, which have appointed directors. The change would not take effect until next year and would be ''phased in''.
Many clubs have the capacity to appoint a director to fill a casual vacancy, as the Tigers recently did when they seconded ex-Cricket Australia boss Malcolm Speed and accountant Carl Walsh to fill vacancies. Speed and Walsh have been elected unopposed, along with football director and former captain Tony Free.
The club board has been in regular contact with Sydney-based Mark Nelson and James Carnegie, successful in investment management and venture capital respectively, and has sounded them out about possible involvement ''down the track'', as March put it. ''I think they have an inclination to get involved at some time in the future.''
March said the change gave the club the chance to pick high calibre people who filled ''a specific skill set'' rather than having a board that could, theoretically, be filled with ''eight ex-footballers or nine lawyers''.
But March said it was up to the members to decide on the change.
''At the end of the day, it's the members' decision. If they don't like what the board's proposing, they'll vote against it and things will stay as is. We think it's what the club needs, but it's their decision.''
The members can vote by proxies prior to the AGM and have already received information about the change in the mail.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-propose-change-to-board-elections-20111206-1oh4s.html#ixzz1flwiHudJ
