We've got a new Chief Executive.  Assume that this aligns with Danny MacDonald moving more into the development side of things.

 

Quote

 

Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC is delighted to announce the appointment of a Chief Executive to provide strategic leadership and advice to the Board of Directors as the club restructures and looks to become a more community-focused club.

Mrs Yvonne Crook is an experienced consultant whose skills in business development, branding and marketing are seen as hugely valuable assets as the club strives to attract new investment and operate in a more business-like and sustainable way.

Mrs Crook is the owner of View Marketing and a founder and director of Good Highland Food Ltd, which she runs with her husband Mike. She has also held strategic advisory positions for several destinations and visitor attractions in Scotland including Loch Ness by Jacobite as well as Perth Racecourse.

 

Sounds like she's got a lot of experience in relevant areas.

Edited, as I got her name wrong.

Edited May 24, 20187 yr by ictchris

Here's wishing her well as it isn't an easy job.

17 minutes ago, ictchris said:

We've got a new Chief Executive.  Assume that this aligns with Danny MacDonald moving more into the development side of things.

I gather that it emerged a few months ago that SPFL rules prevented Danny from being in charge of Project Brave and associated footballing matters whilst also being COO. At roughly that point, Danny ceased his COO activities, Jim Oliver became Commercial Manager and Yvonne Crook took on marketing and related responsibilities on a consultancy basis.

Now it appears that the COO function has been upgraded to this CEO post and Danny continues in his football development related post, with Jim as Commercial Manager.

I would imagine that one answer to inevitable questions as to why the club has this number of "high ups" might well be that this now gives the potential for many of the things some fans historically complained weren't being done..... to be done.

9 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

I gather that it emerged a few months ago that SPFL rules prevented Danny from being in charge of Project Brave and associated footballing matters whilst also being COO. At roughly that point, Danny ceased his COO activities, Jim Oliver became Commercial Manager and Yvonne Crook took on marketing and related responsibilities on a consultancy basis.

Now it appears that the COO function has been upgraded to this CEO post and Danny continues in his football development related post, with Jim as Commercial Manager.

I would imagine that one answer to inevitable questions as to why the club has this number of "high ups" might well be that this now gives the potential for many of the things some fans historically complained weren't being done..... to be done.

Does this Project Brave generate a lot of revenue for the club?

Edited May 24, 20187 yr by caleyboy

I wish her all the very best in this post. We need as much business experience, acumen and knowledge as possible as ICT face the future where budgets and income are bound to be tight.

I would have preferred this post to have been advertised externally. However, now that her appointment has been confirmed, I wish her well in what will be a challenging role especially while we remain outside of the Premiership without access  to the revenue streams available in that division.

One priority should be better communication which has remained very poor despite undertakings given many months ago..

Her husband is the Chairman's cousin. I'm not making any judgement on that, just putting it out there.

As CB said, now there is a Commercial Manager and a Chief Executive, from a marketing background, - especially destination marketing -  so there should be an improvement on the match day experience.  The season tickets and strips were handled quite well I thought (no major feathers ruffled - result) and we'll see how the sponsorship, advertising, community & business involvement, preseason friendlies, hospitality, food & beverage, communication, fan engagement, attendances, and all the other things involved go.  

 

 

I wish her well, and we now seem to be very adequately covered at 'the top end' business wise which I hope will provide long term stability.   I'm assuming we are sorted on the football management side too, although I'm not sure how long Brian Rice's contract is for.  So, maybe just the playing side to be firmed up on, with one or two suitable new signings, or loanees, and we should be well prepared for the new season, and be able to have a concentrated crack at promotion right from the start.  

I feel a lot more confident about 2018/19 than I did a year ago.  If we can keep the momentum going which we discovered in the last third of last season, there is no reason why we shouldn't do well, despite the Championship now being considerably stronger than it was in 2017/18.

Onwards and upwards

1 hour ago, caleyboy said:

Does this Project Brave generate a lot of revenue for the club?

I'm taking that as a rhetorical question caleyboy! 

However, the "answer may ultimately actually be "yes" if a few more Ryan Christies emerge. I wasn't all that convinced by the SFA's central belt-focused overall approach to it (sorry if that is decreed to offend people in the central belt ?) but this could be very different at ICT level and any costs involved to the club could well be more than recouped if, apart from generating marketable commodities, it also creates a lower cost, local route toward putting together a first team.

2 hours ago, Caley Stan said:

Her husband is the Chairman's cousin. I'm not making any judgement on that, just putting it out there.

Whilst I am always wary of nepotism, if its the right fit then its the right fit. Will judge her on initiatives or results that are achieved. 

With this appointment it will hopefully focus on creating more funds for the club. This is a positive move by our directors, and I am looking forward to a club with a strong future, not something I felt six months ago. Good luck to Yvonne and her team.

1 hour ago, Charles Bannerman said:

I'm taking that as a rhetorical question caleyboy! 

However, the "answer may ultimately actually be "yes" if a few more Ryan Christies emerge. I wasn't all that convinced by the SFA's central belt-focused overall approach to it (sorry if that is decreed to offend people in the central belt ?) but this could be very different at ICT level and any costs involved to the club could well be more than recouped if, apart from generating marketable commodities, it also creates a lower cost, local route toward putting together a first team.

i hope i aml wrong Charles but most sfa schemes tend to fall flat and end up costing clubs a fortune. from what i hear the costs are huge and i can't see us fielding a locally produced team in my lifetime. i really do hope i am completely wrong.

Lets face it - we have been needing a feckin crook fer years.

Good luck Yvonne!

17 hours ago, caleyboy said:

i hope i aml wrong Charles but most sfa schemes tend to fall flat and end up costing clubs a fortune. from what i hear the costs are huge and i can't see us fielding a locally produced team in my lifetime. i really do hope i am completely wrong.

I tend to be sceptical about SFA type schemes as well. That’s partly motivated by many years’ experience of similarly half-baked national “initiatives” in education - which seem to be continuing with the Curriculum for Excellence.

I found, along with many others, that the best way to get round the crap was to seem to go along with it , but in reality go your own way.

Disturbingly, I see one or two parallels - with alarming woolliness to the fore - between Project Brave and the CFE. With any luck, much of the crap Caleyboy rightly hints at can be avoided and at least a team that’s significantly local  can be developed.

Applogies if I have further dragged off course a thread about the appointment of what we hope will be a successful CEO.

Edited May 25, 20187 yr by Charles Bannerman

Best of wishes in your new post, Yvonne - it's actually good to see progress being made behind the scenes to make the club more 'professional' in it's running...vital if we are ever to entertain any notion of being a Premier league club again..

 

Seems to be a good positive step, fresh energy and much needed sound business acumen in the boardroom - I wish you all the very best in your new role Yvonne.

On 5/24/2018 at 5:45 PM, Caley Stan said:

Her husband is the Chairman's cousin. I'm not making any judgement on that, just putting it out there.

Mackenzie Crook?

any relation to ralph and chris crook?

You can tell by her hair that she isn't.

11 hours ago, caleyboy said:

any relation to ralph and chris crook?

married to Mike apparently. 

28 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

married to Mike apparently. 

is he related to ralph and chris?

Edited May 26, 20187 yr by caleyboy

Just now, caleyboy said:

is he related to ralph aond chris?

Yes. Brother 

Given that background, I suppose that we can expect some cuts.

Not got enough crooks behind the scenes already what next forans mrs popping up in the ticket office