Stewart Mitchell was appointed the new chair of NZ Rugby on Monday. Photos / Getty Images, Photosport
Stewart Mitchell was appointed the new chair of NZ Rugby on Monday. Photos / Getty Images, Photosport
Newly-elected New Zealand Rugby chairman Stewart Mitchell has stated his top priority is helping resolve the messy Silver Lake saga within the next month.
Mitchell was elected to replace Brent Impey as chairman at a tense NZ Rugby board meeting on Monday night in Auckland.
The process involved three candidates– East Coast president and Pango Productions founder and chief executive Bailey Mackey and former North Harbour chairman and Blues director Shaun Nixon the others – presenting to the nine-person board which was followed by questioning.
Nixon is believed to have presented strongly but was eliminated in the first round of voting, with Mitchell and Mackey then going head-to-head for the chairman role.
While no one can be certain how the second round played out, as it was conducted by secret ballot, it is understood Mackey secured at least three votes, including from Jennifer Kerr and Bart Campbell, with conjecture surrounding who Dr Farah Palmer supported.
Impey is believed to have favoured Mitchell, with the accountant and management consultant gaining at least five votes to secure the chairman role.
Palmer has been appointed Mitchell's deputy chair – a role rejected during Impey's seven-year term.
Of the three chairman candidates, the 69-year-old Mitchell's promotion is seen as the least risky option and a vote for stability – a nod to his 30 years' experience in governance. That extends to roles on the Crusaders board, as Canterbury chairman and being involved in three constitutional NZ Rugby reviews including the respect and responsibility report post the Chiefs' so-called stripper scandal in 2017, and chairing the McKinsey optimisation review before Covid-19 hit.
Mitchell's appointment is, however, a short-term decision. As with every NZ Rugby chairman, the Cantabrian is only guaranteed one year in the role with a vote to reappoint him taking place at the annual general meeting next April. Mitchell can only serve as chairman for two years before his maximum nine-year term on the board is reached.
Despite the tight vote, Mitchell is confident he has full board backing as he prepares to confront one of the most challenging periods in NZ Rugby history.
"No one knows the outcome of the vote as it was a secret ballot undertaken by our president and vice-president assisted by a constitutional lawyer," Mitchell told the Herald. "There's been plenty of speculation but no one knows what the outcome was. There were a number of contenders for the role but at the end of the day, I've been assured of full support.
Stewart Mitchell and former Crusader rugby player Tim Bateman bring the Super Rugby Aotearoa trophy onto the field. Photo / Getty Images.
"My total term expires in two years' time so I'll be looking to make an impression and make progress in that time if I'm elected in the second year with a diverse and progressive board.
"My job is to pull the levers to make sure we provide good direction and communication with our management team. We've got a lot of change coming up in front of us. There's certainly a lot on our plate."
Mitchell's immediate priority will be attempting to mend the deeply-fractured relationship between NZ Rugby and the Players' Association over the proposal to sell 12.5 per cent of NZR's commercial rights for $387.5 million to US technology investment firm Silver Lake.
The Players' Association, through their collective bargaining agreement, have blocked the deal and instead tabled an alternative proposal in partnership with investment company Forsyth Barr to sell a five per cent stake in NZ Rugby's commercial rights via a public share float that would raise between $170m and $190m.
"I haven't been in the front row of that but I've been part of a board that has been unanimous in its support for Silver Lake after a thorough exercise to get to that point. That's been backed up by the 26 provincial unions and the Māori board," Mitchell said.
"I will be more fully involved now. I intend to clearly be in personal contact with the Players' Association people and hopefully develop a relationship with them.
"I'd like to think we can sort this out within a month. It's not doing rugby any good dragging on so we need to try and find a solution with the Players' Association as soon as possible and I'm sure we can.
"We need to find an answer, no question about that, for the whole of rugby."
Mitchell cited sorting a global international calendar, next year's Super Rugby format and ongoing concussion challenges as other issues to tackle and believed he and Palmer, the first female deputy chair, will form a solid team.
Palmer's nine-year term on the board concludes in 2024, leaving her an unlikely candidate to fill the chairman position if Mitchell is retained next year.
"One of the thoughts was to look at the workload so once I was appointed and Farah didn't have her hand up for the chair role I got past that hurdle and said to the board I think it would be appropriate to consider a deputy role," Mitchell said.
"I recommended Farah to assist me with that which passed unanimously. Apart from myself and Brent she is the most experienced board member. We've worked together for four years. I've got a lot of time for her skills and contribution around the board table and I think we complement each other well in a variety of ways both in networks and she's North Island, I'm South Island, so I'm looking forward to working with her."
