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AAI Message - Athletics Ireland Announces John Foley as Interim CEO
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09-09-2009 5:10pm#1Athletics Ireland Announces John Foley as Interim CEO
Athletics Ireland has announced John Foley as interim CEO. Foley is a former US track scholarship athlete at McNeese State University.
The Limerick born interim CEO was a highly regarded middle-distance runner back in the 1970s when he competed for Limerick Athletic Club, before going Stateside in 1972.
The Limerick man has wide experience at senior management level.
Good move, bad move?
If they keep sending a couple of releases a day I might round them into a weekly digest0
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--amadeus-- wrote: »Good move, bad move?
If they keep sending a couple of releases a day I might round them into a weekly digest
I think they should be all in the same thread, easier to find. Great service though so thanks.0 -
yeah same thread sounds good. we can always update title to reflect the most recent item on the agenda.0
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Although some of these releases will be pretty big talking points, like this one! I don't imagine there will be too many now as there is so little going on. But yes good service. There probably would be a couple of hundred press releases from AAI in a year and most will only be footnotes etc in articles by the athletics journos. Run Ireland do show the full release too which is good. But, by and large if you could put them up on the forum here that would be great as readers will be getting them even before they are on the AI website or in the printed media.0
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--amadeus-- wrote: »Good move, bad move?
Anyone from athletics who has heard about this is excited about it. He will hopefully steady the ship and get the organisation working.
But we have had this before. Someone comes in and we all are happy and excited about it. Over time though, and particularly if he attempts to root out the issues, the negative wasters and empire builders will not be happy and will start causing issues and hassle. This will have happened with Brendan Hackett and Mary Coghlan. We were all positive yet the board/committees or whoever would have taken them on and eventually forced them out by different means in each case.
Will they be able to do the same to John Foley. No offence to his predecessors, but this lad is probably a different animal. First and foremost a business man. CEO of Waterford Cyrstal for nearly a decade he will be well used to boardroom scuffles and people putting obstacles towards change, union strife, job losses, company going under etc etc . He will have been through that company in interesting times and should be well used to what the AAI and its quirks may throw at him.
Also, its a cliche I know, but he is an athletics man. It does count. Also, for me age and experience is important in this job. The fact that he is a man counts too. Not that I think it matters but in the eyes of the dinosaurs or various clowns who are putting up obstacles, a 50 something year old man probably carries more weight in their eyes than some 'upstart young wan'. If he can back up it up with actions and a vision (even until his stint is over) then we'll be flying.
It'll be interesting to see how it pans out and whether we have finally found our man. I'm excited about it and have more hope now than I have had in a long time.0 -
Does anyone know how long 'interim' is? This will determine a lot. If he is there for 6 months, he will achieve little to nothing.
If, As I suggested on here many months ago (who knows, maybe people do take notice!), he is being appointed on an interim basis to recruit a young driven CEO and he will stay on as Chairman of the Board (or President or similar), then this could very well signal exciting times.
I hope he can make the changes needed, but I think it will take a lot more then one man to do it. Fingers crossed though.0 -
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yeah, it's an interesting one - bit of a coup for AAI. He's well used to a fight and dealing with competing interests, especially given the last two years or so with WW.
Plus, as a former head of Waterford Wedgwood, he should probably have a good working relationship with Martin Cullen, the Minister for Sport, (him being a Waterford TD)....will this lead to a better relationship between the Government and the AAI?0 -
Irishathlete_1 wrote: »Does anyone know how long 'interim' is? This will determine a lot. If he is there for 6 months, he will achieve little to nothing.
If, As I suggested on here many months ago (who knows, maybe people do take notice!), he is being appointed on an interim basis to recruit a young driven CEO and he will stay on as Chairman of the Board (or President or similar), then this could very well signal exciting times.
I hope he can make the changes needed, but I think it will take a lot more then one man to do it. Fingers crossed though.
Interim is probably until the shenanigans in the High Court are finished, so who knows. Right now, I wouldn't mind if interim became fulltime. He is young enough and driven enough to take the job forward, on the face of it at least. There is no reason why he wouldn't be a permanent CEO if it worked out.
Yes, it will take more than one man, but there are enough good people within our organisation and it may just take one man to stand up to the bad people and allow the good people move forward. If he can make some very subtle changes in certain areas then it could get the ball rolling. A change of mindset is one thing and a guy with his background and history will likely do this just by presence alone.
This guy is a real CEO, as in he has done it in the real world.0 -
Irishathlete_1 wrote: »Does anyone know how long 'interim' is? This will determine a lot. If he is there for 6 months, he will achieve little to nothing.
If, As I suggested on here many months ago (who knows, maybe people do take notice!), he is being appointed on an interim basis to recruit a young driven CEO and he will stay on as Chairman of the Board (or President or similar), then this could very well signal exciting times.
I agree with Tingle, I'd love to see him remain full time. A young driven CEO?
There are no such candidates at the moment. We need a CEO who has been a CEO in the real world, not someone punching above their weight. Names have been bandied about this site before and none of the irish people mentioned were up to the job. We need a businessman, not a politician!!
I'm delighted, was away for the last week and only heard of this today!!0 -
We want Doyler0
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Jackie_Dazzler wrote: »We want Doyler
Doyler would be a brutal CEO but would have been a brillant director of athletics - huge difference.0 -
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I agree with Tingle, I'd love to see him remain full time. A young driven CEO?
There are no such candidates at the moment. We need a CEO who has been a CEO in the real world, not someone punching above their weight. Names have been bandied about this site before and none of the irish people mentioned were up to the job. We need a businessman, not a politician!!
I'm delighted, was away for the last week and only heard of this today!!
I agree with this. A real business leader with an inderstanding of athletics is needed, not the other way around. Guys who runs majors business organisation know what back stabbing dinosaus look like, know they are detrimental and know how to deal with them.
On another point, excuse my ignorance but - who is Doyler?0 -
Interim is probably until the shenanigans in the High Court are finished, so who knows. Right now, I wouldn't mind if interim became fulltime. He is young enough and driven enough to take the job forward, on the face of it at least. There is no reason why he wouldn't be a permanent CEO if it worked out.
Yes, it will take more than one man, but there are enough good people within our organisation and it may just take one man to stand up to the bad people and allow the good people move forward. If he can make some very subtle changes in certain areas then it could get the ball rolling. A change of mindset is one thing and a guy with his background and history will likely do this just by presence alone.
This guy is a real CEO, as in he has done it in the real world.
Interim means 3 months I understand. Not enough time to make a real difference but hopefully there is an interest there in taking it on full time since it is vital that the next CEO is seen to have no part in the political infighting that has been going on for too long now.
He will have to deal with three key areas in my opinion if we are to begin to realise the potential that exists in clubs throughout the country. First of all he will have to look at the staff where there are some very serious issues, ranging from incompetence to multiple hat-wearing (volunteer on one occasion, staff on the next). There is much work needed to implement processes and procedures that deliver transparency and accountability for taxpayers and members money.
The board will have to be educated to understand their role (and the current Constitution/Memos&Arts is unfortunately ambiguous on this) which should be to set strategy and oversee and review the implementation of same in areas where there are professional staff employed to deliver services. (so for example, marketing should be left to the marketing professional - one prominent volunteer wanted the new AAI logo to go to Congress for approval!). Of course in several areas - senior and juvenile competition come to mind - the Board committees are vital to the deliver of what is a labour intensive activity that would never be affordable professionally.
The third challenge lies in a constructive but firm engagement with the Sports Council to get agreed protocols in place for the degree of involvement they should have in our sport. It amazes me that this is not already in place as a matter of course for all NGBs but we cannot progress the professional side of the organisation if the ISC has a veto on all apppointments, has its own agenda (last summers secret High Performance Agency proposal for instance, which lies at the heart of so much of the subsequent difficulties experienced in AAI) and attempts to control the NGB through appointments of its making in order to force through that agenda.0 -
On another point, excuse my ignorance but - who is Doyler?
Paul Doyle. Was in line for the Dir of Athletics job but his selection was veteod by ISC.
He is coach to several Olympic medalists and agent/manager to multiple Olympic/World champs.
http://www.doylemanagement.com/
What would we want having a clown like this looking after our athletes:rolleyes: He manages half of our top elites as is anyway!0 -
I am familiar with John's tenure in Waterford Crystal ... good luck with that lads !!0
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Paul Doyle. Was in line for the Dir of Athletics job but his selection was veteod by ISC.
He is coach to several Olympic medalists and agent/manager to multiple Olympic/World champs.
http://www.doylemanagement.com/
What would we want having a clown like this looking after our athletes:rolleyes: He manages half of our top elites as is anyway!
And what has since become somewhat clearer is that he didn't fit into the McGonagle/Treacy plan to move HP athletics to a proposed new High Performance Agency. That got turned down by the Department luckily otherwise McGonagle would now be our full time HP guru - there'd be no end to the whispering in the ears of prominent Clonliffe athletes!0 -
A few people are moaning already.0
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Paul Doyle. Was in line for the Dir of Athletics job but his selection was veteod by ISC.
He is coach to several Olympic medalists and agent/manager to multiple Olympic/World champs.
http://www.doylemanagement.com/
What would we want having a clown like this looking after our athletes:rolleyes: He manages half of our top elites as is anyway!
Wow, never realised he was in the frame. How the f**k did he get let get away??
I thought you were going to tell me 'Doyler' was guy who coached the Meath under 11 relay team to the Mosneys finals and is a great bloke altogether!!0 -
Good points IRISHTRACKFAN.
For any person to suceed as CEO in AAI the current make up of the AAI viz County Boards and constant meddling and interference that goes on HAS to stop.
The question is can anyone appointed as CEO do this??? And the answer is NO. Therefore this reform HAS to come from ISC. We (and we are all parts of AAI) have demonstrated over the years that we cannot stop the people (and we all know who they are) that have blighted our sport for years.
These people have never wanted a CEO and that is going back to Eamon's time. They are still there and still have huge influence. Get shot of the mechanics they use to wield power and maybe there will be a chance otherwise... same old0 -
Good points IRISHTRACKFAN.
For any person to suceed as CEO in AAI the current make up of the AAI viz County Boards and constant meddling and interference that goes on HAS to stop.
The question is can anyone appointed as CEO do this??? And the answer is NO. Therefore this reform HAS to come from ISC. We (and we are all parts of AAI) have demonstrated over the years that we cannot stop the people (and we all know who they are) that have blighted our sport for years.
These people have never wanted a CEO and that is going back to Eamon's time. They are still there and still have huge influence. Get shot of the mechanics they use to wield power and maybe there will be a chance otherwise... same old
While I agree witb the comment regarding the history and the unfortunate collection of national administrators that we have all had to endure, I don't agree that the ISC are the only way out of this.
The way forward will take time and it will require more than one individual to effect real change. In a perverse way, the shenanigans over the past two CEOs have moved the situation forward albeit painfully, to the point where people are clear that a strong independent CEO is needed and that the leadership should come from that person rather than the completely inadequate board that we have. Now of course the troublemakers are still in the powerful positions so who knows how that will pan out but hopefully they will find it difficult to undermine Foley in the way that was done to Coghlan from the day she started.
Apart from the CEO, the association needs to stand up to the bullies, expose their corruption and through their county board, the many good individuals doing all the the good work in clubs need to support nominations for competent people to be appointed to the Board.
The other point that people need to realise is that the ISC is part of the problem rather than the solution. The two key individuals in that organisation do not have the skills or experience to carry out their roles - any psychometric testing would have ruled them out from day one - and AAI is by no means the only NGB suffering from their controlling methods. Ask yourself the question why do the GUI, FAI, IRFU and GAA not have any input into their high performance programmes from the ISC - the answer is that their financial independence enables them to say thanks but no thanks, and that leaves ourselves, the boxers and a few others to be interfered with by people with no track record in this area. So, tax payers money is used to force us to fit in with their completely inadequate vision of how to deliver high performance (they dont care at all about anything mundane like participation strategy, club development, competition structures, coaching etc etc) and the result is that they insist on Max Jones or Alan Storey when we want Paul Doyle or Robert Korzenovsky. There is only one legitimate question for high performance and that is what do the elite athletes need and I'd suggest there is no contest as between the choices above, yet the ISC vetoed Doyle because it would have upset the plans for a High Performance Agency with athletics run full time by Patsy.
So, it suits the ISC that we have such inadequate leadership which believes that they must not be questioned on any matter (see Hennessy's performance in front of the Oireachtais committee on U Tube if you want to see how pathetic that looks in reality).
We wouldn't be in the mess we're in if the ISC had any integrity and competence.0 -
Originally posted by IrishTrackFan
the ISC vetoed Doyle because it would have upset the plans for a High Performance Agency with athletics run full time by Patsy.
I agree. The fact that the ISC would sooner have Patsy McGonagle run the High Performance end of things ahead of Paul Doyle just about says it all about how controlling they want to be and/or incompetent they are.
This is also the same ISC who by influencing the board to sack Coghlan (a person who tried to make AAI more professional than ever) are causing the organisation to accrue massive legal costs which could yet drive the association into financial ruin. They'd rather have a clown like Hennessy (who they can control) in charge than have anything resembling a professional organisation with transparent processes!
With any luck An Bord Snip will be taking a long hard look at the ISC.0 -
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IrishTrackFan wrote: »While I agree witb the comment regarding the history and the unfortunate collection of national administrators that we have all had to endure, I don't agree that the ISC are the only way out of this.
The way forward will take time and it will require more than one individual to effect real change. In a perverse way, the shenanigans over the past two CEOs have moved the situation forward albeit painfully, to the point where people are clear that a strong independent CEO is needed and that the leadership should come from that person rather than the completely inadequate board that we have. Now of course the troublemakers are still in the powerful positions so who knows how that will pan out but hopefully they will find it difficult to undermine Foley in the way that was done to Coghlan from the day she started.
Apart from the CEO, the association needs to stand up to the bullies, expose their corruption and through their county board, the many good individuals doing all the the good work in clubs need to support nominations for competent people to be appointed to the Board.
The other point that people need to realise is that the ISC is part of the problem rather than the solution. The two key individuals in that organisation do not have the skills or experience to carry out their roles - any psychometric testing would have ruled them out from day one - and AAI is by no means the only NGB suffering from their controlling methods. Ask yourself the question why do the GUI, FAI, IRFU and GAA not have any input into their high performance programmes from the ISC - the answer is that their financial independence enables them to say thanks but no thanks, and that leaves ourselves, the boxers and a few others to be interfered with by people with no track record in this area. So, tax payers money is used to force us to fit in with their completely inadequate vision of how to deliver high performance (they dont care at all about anything mundane like participation strategy, club development, competition structures, coaching etc etc) and the result is that they insist on Max Jones or Alan Storey when we want Paul Doyle or Robert Korzenovsky. There is only one legitimate question for high performance and that is what do the elite athletes need and I'd suggest there is no contest as between the choices above, yet the ISC vetoed Doyle because it would have upset the plans for a High Performance Agency with athletics run full time by Patsy.
So, it suits the ISC that we have such inadequate leadership which believes that they must not be questioned on any matter (see Hennessy's performance in front of the Oireachtais committee on U Tube if you want to see how pathetic that looks in reality).
We wouldn't be in the mess we're in if the ISC had any integrity and competence.
I'm on the same line of thinking as yourself on all of this.
One point I would make though is that Liam Hennessy is a volunteer. He is also not a bad person. I believe he has the sport's interests at his heart. He may be in above his head regarding the Oireactais stuff or handling the situations he has encountered but he is a good guy and I would never class him as one of the bad guys or blockers.
I agree with you regarding the clubs and people in their clubs putting forward nominations of competent people. Eltuerto speaks of change never been able to happen. Of course it can and if we follow your suggestion and we all take individual responsibility we can make a change. I may be naive in thinking that but logically if good people are nominated and the professional executive can be directed better then that is a good way to move on.
Does anyone know what the process is for Congress and how nominations through county boards etc happens, is it a minefield? Congress is next year isn't it?0 -
Having worked with John Foley, I know he has the drive, determination, passion and personality to bring big changes to the Athletics Association. Very lucky to get him.0
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I'm on the same line of thinking as yourself on all of this.
One point I would make though is that Liam Hennessy is a volunteer. He is also not a bad person. I believe he has the sport's interests at his heart. He may be in above his head regarding the Oireactais stuff or handling the situations he has encountered but he is a good guy and I would never class him as one of the bad guys or blockers.
I agree with you regarding the clubs and people in their clubs putting forward nominations of competent people. Eltuerto speaks of change never been able to happen. Of course it can and if we follow your suggestion and we all take individual responsibility we can make a change. I may be naive in thinking that but logically if good people are nominated and the professional executive can be directed better then that is a good way to move on.
Does anyone know what the process is for Congress and how nominations through county boards etc happens, is it a minefield? Congress is next year isn't it?
Congress is in Sligo next April. County Boards (along with the Board and Provinces) send voting delegates, with the number based on their numerical strength as measured by registrations. Dublin, Meath and Cork have largest voting blocs around 30 each. Counties decide on nominations etc around January in time to get them into the Board I think its 60 days ahead of the Congress date.
County Boards I think each club has 2 delegates/votes plus the officers of the co. board have a vote. So, you need to get your club to agree on what it wants, get those proposals to the County Board, get your 2 delegates to do the proposing and seconding an dlobby other clubs to support you. In the case of the counties I mentioned earlier, if your proposal is accepted you can take it to Congress with 30 or so votes mandated to support it from your county (not sure all counties operate a whip in this way).
On Hennessy, would have agreed with you before the current turmoil but his behaviour has been unacceptable on a personal and professional level. He was on the interview panel that proposed Coghlan for CEO, he was President of the Board that unanimously endorsed her yet he folded the instant the Sports Council told him to fire her. He also supported Doyle for DoA until the Sports Council told him to stop that and sure enough he acquiesced. And you do have to wonder how he managed to stay on the board for 30 years if he's as innocent as pretends?0 -
Originally posted by Tingle
One point I would make though is that Liam Hennessy is a volunteer. He is also not a bad person. I believe he has the sport's interests at his heart. He may be in above his head regarding the Oireactais stuff or handling the situations he has encountered but he is a good guy and I would never class him as one of the bad guys or blockers.
Is that not a little bit like saying "I know this Garda, he's a nice fella, he was once in a situation before where he saw a woman being mugged on the street but he decided to watch and do nothing about - but he's not a bad person"?0 -
FishnChips wrote: »Is that not a little bit like saying "I know this Garda, he's a nice fella, he was once in a situation before where he saw a woman being mugged on the street but he decided to watch and do nothing about - but he's not a bad person"?
No I don't think so. Liam Hennessy in my opinion believes what he was doing was for the betterment of the sport ( a garda in that case would know standing back was wrong). Thats my opinion based on knowing the guy in a purely athletic, non-political environment. I may not be aware of the ins and outs and things that happened so all I can base it on is instinct. I'm tired of listening to people with agendas, grudges and axes to grind. You seem to have an axe to grind and want the AAI to go bankrupt and Bord Snip to reduce the ISC coffers. I can't understand that logic.
I may be wrong about Liam Hennessy but I am not interested in being convinced otherwise until I see and experience what he apparently is really like myself, first hand and won't base opinions from anonymous postings on a chatboard. Also, right now I am more interested in seeing what John Foley can do. Its good times. I am happy to move on even if its in blissfill ignorance.0 -
Originally posted by Tingle
I am happy to move on even if its in blissfill ignorance.
If that is the case why do you spend such a large portion of your time posting on a topic which you seem to have a lot of interest in and a decent amount of knowledge of and then when you are challenged or someone doesn't agree with you you say 'I'm sick and tired of this'?
It's well and good to say 'let's move on' and brush over the fundamental issues which are holding athletics back in this country but the same sticking points will always be reached and it won't matter who the CEO is until these issues are addressed and resolved.
If it sounds like I have an axe to grind I apologise - I'm just trying to set the record straight as there is quite a large amount of misinformation on this board about the AAI/ISC situation.0 -
FishnChips wrote: »If that is the case why do you spend such a large portion of your time posting on a topic which you seem to have a lot of interest in and a decent amount of knowledge of and then when you are challenged or someone doesn't agree with you you say 'I'm sick and tired of this'?
I spend more time posting on other topics on this board and post on a wide variety of topics including my hatred of golf to plyos to Ron Hill tights. I'm interested in this topic as are many people. What I am sick and tired of is the constant attacking of certain individuals to the point of thats what it seems to be all about. The poster IrishTrackFan also mentions these people but at least gives me the impression that yes they are a problem but we can move on if certain things happen. Its constructive as opposed to seeming to be a constant vendetta against Patsy and LiamFishnChips wrote: »It's well and good to say 'let's move on' and brush over the fundamental issues which are holding athletics back in this country but the same sticking points will always be reached and it won't matter who the CEO is until these issues are addressed and resolved.
So what are these issues? How will we get over them? Follow IrishTrackFan's advice I'd say, take personal responsibility, use the mechanics in there through the democracy of the organisation and get better people in the committees if that is seen as the problem. Getting rid of Liam and Patsy, making AAI bankrupt so as to benefit the pocket of a former CEO and reducing funds to sport in general in Ireland won't do anything.
Alternatively, a strong CEO may get to these fundamental issues you have. On the face of it he is strong based on the fact he has worked in a senior management postition in a global company for nearly 20 years. He will be judged by his actions though. The same way his predecessors were and sadly they were not up to scratch at the end of the day as they are no longer in the job and didn't make any difference. Lot of pressure on John Foley to deliver. If he fails then maybe we do have a problem.0 -
Originally posted by Tingle
Getting rid of Liam and Patsy, making AAI bankrupt so as to benefit the pocket of a former CEO and reducing funds to sport in general in Ireland won't do anything.
I don't have a personal vendetta against Liam or Patsy but the fact of the matter is that in conjunction with the Sports Council they are at the core of the problems that AAI are currently facing. If they were not involved in running athletics in this country the sport would be a lot better off. The office politics/pettiness/incompetence/unprofessionalism would be easy to sort out if there was a strong united leadership with no conflicts of interest. That does not exist with Liam Hennessy and Patsy McGonagle at the head of the AAI leadership.
Do you think it was acceptable for the AAI board to sack the former CEO without good reason in a kangaroo court type situation or do you think they had good grounds to sack her?
If you don't think it was acceptable for the board to make a potentially fatal decision like this (Liam and Patsy are President and Vice-President respectively after all) do you not think there is a MAJOR problem here with the type of people who are making decisions regarding the running of athletics in Ireland?
Since you seem to have knowledge of the previous CEOs not being 'up to scratch' could you explain WHY the most recent CEO was fired?
If you really want to try to unravel the current mess I think giving clear answers to the above questions would be a good start.0 -
Fish'n'chips, what exactly (i.e. not in "office politics/pettiness/incompetence/unprofessionalism" terms, but rather concrete examples/events) are the problems you perceive in AAI? I'm asking as a rank 'n file member, who doesn't know anything about the running of the organisation?0
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Originally posted by Tingle
Liam Hennessy in my opinion believes what he was doing was for the betterment of the sport
Liam Hennessy did what John Treacy and Ossie Kilkenny told him to do.0
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