MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia (CA) Wednesday named Kevin Roberts to succeed James Sutherland as the board’s new chief executive officer (CEO) after a comprehensive international search process.
Roberts will take over on 25 October, the day when CA will conduct its annual general meeting (AGM) where Sutherland will formally step down from the top job that he was entrusted with, back in 2001.
It bears noting that Roberts led the pay war dispute against the Australian Cricketers last year, which resulted in the players falling out of contract in July 2017.
As the head negotiator in pay talks last year, the ACA refused to cooperate with Roberts, who was pushing a percentage pay model that had been in action since 1997.
During the stand-off, the Australia A tour of South Africa was cancelled, denying many upcoming state players an opportunity to push their case for Test selection.
Cricket in Australia is going through a topsy-turvy run at present with the national men’s team’s performances on the downslide after the ball tampering crisis earlier this year in South Africa which not only saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft being banned but also the resignation of the then coach Darren Lehmann. The episode also prompted the initiation of a wide-ranging culture review of practices within the men’s team and CA more broadly, which is expected to be completed in coming weeks.
However, the women’s team’s performances continue to draw awe. Off the field, Cricket Australia announced another record year of participation numbers at community level, supported by attendance records and a record-breaking domestic broadcast media rights partnership as well as new sponsorship deals.
Roberts’ immediate challenge will be to provide grassroots cricket with improved facilities and to provide more personalised experiences that connect with fans. Cricket continues to be kept on its toes significantly by other forms of sport and entertainment in the country.
However, Sutherland and the CA chairman David Peever feel he is the right man for the job, having served as the COO of the board since May this year and his experience of two decades in the corporate world, being the MD and the global senior VP of sportswear giant, adidas in Germany and Australia respectively.
Roberts has also previously held non-executive director roles at Netball Australia and the Australian Sporting Goods Association. He has also been a former professional cricketer who represented Australia at the youth level, having played 23 first-class matches for New South Wales and worked as a development officer and a coach.
Peever commented: “Kevin is the best candidate for our organisation and has been given a clear mandate by the Board to deliver our strategy to ensure cricket maintains a strong and sustainable foothold in sport locally and globally.
“Given the complexity of the role and the increasing challenges facing our sport, the Board concluded that an internal candidate with first-hand experience driving strategic transformation and engagement at CA would be best placed to help ensure continued success for Australian cricket.
“Kevin’s vast corporate leadership experience within Australia and overseas, his leadership of the development and implementation of our strategy, his demonstrated ability to lead change through the One Team transformation, and his deep pedigree in cricket both on and off the field, outline why Kevin was identified as the best candidate from a very strong list.
“Kevin will continue to focus on the implementation of our multimillion dollar investment in community cricket, along with leading our commitment to create the best participation experiences to be the leading sport for women and girls.
“It is a great opportunity for a new chief executive officer to lead the organisation through its next exciting phase.”
Outgoing CA CEO Sutherland opined: “I am confident Kevin is ready to lead Australian cricket through the sport’s next stage of growth. He has been a key member of our Executive Team over recent years and provided terrific support to me in my role. I congratulate him on his appointment and wish him the very best.”
Roberts expressed delight at the announcement: “It is a great privilege and responsibility to lead and serve the cricket community as CEO of Cricket Australia. I thank the Board for this opportunity and look forward to commencing in the role.
“One of the many things I love about cricket as our national sport is its ability to bring people together and inspire us, regardless of our age, gender or cultural background. Our success is made possible by the hard work of Cricket Australia employees, players, coaches and State & Territory Cricket Associations, along with the contribution of volunteers who are the lifeblood of our game in the community. I am inspired by the many people who give so much to cricket in paid and unpaid roles and I am passionate about helping them achieve ongoing success.
“It’s also true that the game and Cricket Australia have faced some difficult times recently, but we will bounce back, just as our organisation has overcome challenges on and off the field many times in its proud history. Under my leadership, we will be deeply committed to providing the best experiences of cricket to everyone who watches the game or plays the game, and we will work closely with our broadcasters and commercial partners to deliver on that commitment.”
