Sharks Chairman Steve Mace in updating various aspects of business conducted by the Board of Directors and the various sub committees for the first quarter of 2023 and following Wednesday night's Annual General Meeting.
Dear Members,
Welcome to our first quarterly Chairman’s Address for 2023, coming on the back of a well-attended Annual General Meeting and an outstanding result in the local derby against the Dragons .
Your Board of Directors continue to work closely with Management and our Developments partners in relation to our Leagues Club re-opening later this year, while our investment strategy progresses with another significant acquisition that will be detailed below.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Shark Members for yet again having confidence and trust in your Directors as we enter 2023, with an uncontested election seeing Mark Deutsch and David Blackett re-elected for a further three years, giving us stability and continuity in the Board room.
Thanks also goes to Mark Deutsch who will remain serving as a Director however due to increased work and travel commitments has decided to step down as Vice Chairman. His considerable skill set will still be of immense benefit to our Board moving forward and we are appreciative of his contribution as Vice Chair.
Some of you were in the room at Sharks at Kareela on Wednesday night this week when we delivered the 66th Annual General Meeting for both our Leagues and Football Clubs. It was pleasing to see the attendance on the night, with Management presenting a comprehensive update on the 2022 Financial Year and business highlights, in addition to detail also provided on the Leagues Club and Woolooware Bay Development.
In exciting news, you may have seen the release announcing the Sharks have acquired 94 Cronulla Street, the former Westpac building in Cronulla. The building will provide office accommodation for our administration staff and we will place our merchandise store in the heart of Cronulla, the first time the business has ventured down this path. The announcement was well received at the AGM on Wednesday and is something which offers financial security for the future.
Also announced at the AGM, a small working group comprised of Board, Management and key external stakeholders will kick-off the development of a 10-year master plan in early April. This will set the roadmap for annual business plans for the foreseeable future. As always we look forward to keeping members updated on any progress and developments as things progress.
Please read on below for reports from the various Board committees and on behalf of my fellow Directors, we again thank you for your continued support.
Nominations Committee
The role of the Nomination Committee is to continue to monitor and report on the composition, skill set and effectiveness of the Board.
Following the recent board elections, the results of the uncontested reappointment of Mark Deutsch and David Blackett was tabled and declared at the March 2023 AGM.
The Board has unanimously re-endorsed Steve Mace as Chairman, and unanimously endorsed David Blackett as Vice Chairman.
The outcome of the recent elections is considered a testament of the confidence that the members have in the current board.
On the back of the commitment and work ethic of the entire Board over the past few years, it is satisfying to see the business starting to realise the success that we, together with management, had set out to achieve.
The Board still has a long journey ahead to take the Sharks to the next level, however under the current operating rhythm with continued stability and consistency in the director composition, we are confident we will continue to deliver on behalf of our members and our stakeholders.
Remuneration & Appointments Committee
It is exciting for the R&A Committee to welcome the new appointment Melanie Novacan to GM Marketing Brand & Digital.
We also look forward to soon announcing another more recent appointment to the role of GM People & Culture.
Our Club continues to be very fortunate to have best in market throughout our entire executive management team, from Football to Leagues, and filtering down throughout the entire staff structure.
Audit & Risk
The A&R team, headed by Patrick Bourke, take a vigorous approach to the governance of the organisation. The professionalism and time that goes into annual accounts preparation and review each year does not go unnoticed by the Board and management so thank you.
The A&R will now turn its attention to supporting management in the preparation of the FY24 budgets.
Building Committee
The Club continues to work with our development partner NOVM (formerly Aoyuan) and its building head contractor Parkview Constructions, with the ongoing progress of the final stage of the Woolooware Bay Precinct.
The project has not been without its frustrations and challenges, including a spate of delays and unforeseen problems arising, in part, from retention of the existing building structure. However, the team remain focused on making a long-awaited start for the new club fit out in 2023.
From all reports, the uptake of commercial and retail leasing within the new development has been strong and on track. Likewise, the residential apartments have been in great demand.
Much of the retail and the new hotel will soon be open to the public in the later part of 2023.
All in all, the new precinct, with the new Sharks Club as the centrepiece, promises to be a first-class offering in the Sutherland Shire.
We continue to thank our members, partners and stakeholders for your patience and understanding throughout the construction period.
Life Membership
The purpose of this Sub Committee is to ensure that there is significant recognition for exceptional service and contribution to the Sharks.
It’s our aim to ensure that we have the correct structure that affirms those legacies so they can be celebrated now and for the future.
In recent months we have discussed this with certain Sharks Members and have also engaged our Sharks Historian, giving us confidence that we are on the right path. We will continue to liaise at those important stages.
To that we have a working paper that includes the categories of “Immortal’, “Hall of Fame” to be placed within a structure that includes “Life Membership”.
It’s our firm intention to get this right over 2023 so that all Sharks Members can be proud of what is established in recognising those peak contributions which create the DNA of the Club.
We are also ensuring that we have a mechanism for those that have served in an off-field capacity so those stellar contributions are also recognised within this structure.
And finally, where the physical plaques, boards and trophies will be placed within the Sharks Leagues Club for Members and Guests to enjoy reminiscing and creating excitement for our future.
Investment Committee
It is fair to say that economic uncertainty continues to prevail with more recent events globally including the default of a couple of banks in the United States and two major Swiss Investment banks merging through a government process. This has created some level of concern amongst financial markets globally, impacting interest rates, commodities and the share market.
Locally since our last update, the RBA cash rate has risen from 2.85% to 3.60% with the effect of this now being felt by us all in many ways whether through our personal and business lending, increased costs of essential services such as power and gas, at the supermarket or the petrol bowser. The local economic rate outlook has certainly altered the last couple of weeks given the global uncertainty, with a few economists changing their views on further immediate monthly cash rate hikes continuing in Australia until there is some stability. The first Tuesday each month when the RBA broadcasts the cash rate has certainly become more popular of late.
From a Sharks investment viewpoint, the committee continues to meet regularly to review and discuss our underlying investments, with the Metrics Fund investment returns continuing to improve given the prevailing local cash rate increase. Our more recent committee discussions have focussed on the underlying credit quality of the Metrics investment against portfolio concentration, segmentation and asset class which remains sound.
Management continues to provide the committee with ongoing investment opportunities for the Sharks which we continue to assess in line with a thorough due diligence process.
Football Committee
It has been something of an up and down start to the 2023 season, with two wins from four starts, however following the return from injury of our Dally M Medallist Nicho Hynes and the performance of the entire team in the win over the Dragons, and there is much positivity and excitement about the prospects of our team for the year ahead.
Our partner club in the NSW Cup the Newtown Jets have started their season strongly, as have the Sharks Jersey Flegg team who are currently three wins from three matches. We wish both teams continued success.
In recruitment and retention, we recently signed young forward Tukupa Hau Tapuha and on the back of securing the services of another promising forward in Max Bradbury from the Knights, along with talented utility player Daniel Atkinson prior to the season getting underway, we continue to build depth in our ranks for now and into the future.
It was also pleasing to be able to announce local De La Salle Caringbah junior Sam Stonestreet was rewarded for his continued development and ability with a two-year contract extension as a member of our full-time NRL squad.
In relation to re-signings, the recruitment and retention committee has been hard at work retaining the players we feel are crucial to our success, with the likes of Jesse Ramien, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Braydon Trindall, Sione Katoa and Will Kennedy recently committing their playing futures to the Sharks.
In junior development, the under 18’s and 16’s pathways programs have concluded for this season, both played strongly and were extremely competitive in the games they contested as we unearthed some outstanding local talent. Thanks to the players and coaches involved for their hard work and commitment.
Our Matthews Cup, SG Ball and Tarsha Gale teams play their last round matches this weekend, with the under-17 Matthews team needing a win to qualify for the Finals series. Again, we thank all involved, from players, to coaches and support staff.
As for the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team, they have found some form of late and are making a late run at the Finals. We wish Ruan Sims and her team all the best in their remaining matches. While with the NRLW season fast approaching, we look forward to soon making some exciting player signing announcements now that a women’s contract process is officially in place.
Finally, good luck to all junior league teams who kick off their seasons following the Easter break.
Steve Mace
Chairman
Cronulla Sharks
