Crusaders CEO has big plans
Colin Mansbridge is clearly enthusiastic about his new job as the Crusaders’ chief executive.
That’s clearly a good thing because there will be no shortage of complicated tasks to occupy him as the boss of the powerhouse Super Rugby club.
Mansbridge, a high-achiever in the banking and commercial sectors for over two decades, will officially start at the Crusaders on December 3 after he has fulfilled his obligations as Head of Agribusiness for BNZ.
This job at the Crusaders is a plum gig. However there will be times when Mansbridge, who was born and raised in Kaikoura and later made two appearances as a prop for Otago in 1983, will be required to drill deeply into the commercial knowledge he has accumulated since leaving Otago University in the 1980s.
‘‘For me it’s a bit like being selected for the All Blacks. That’s the excitement of it,’’ he said.
‘‘When you are on the outside looking in, you desperately want to be part of that. As soon as the opportunity arose it’s pretty obvious that if you like rugby and there is a commercial aspect to the role you have to do it really. It is a calling rather than a job.’’
Mansbridge replaces Hamish Riach who, after 17 years as CEO, elected to take over the top job at the Ashburton District Council.
Clearly the Crusaders, on and off the field, are in very good shape. Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has won two titles in as many seasons in charge, and one of Mansbridge’s priorities, surely, will be to convince him to extend his contract beyond 2019.
Given Robertson has already declared he wants to stay, that should be a fairly straightforward task. Mansbridge will also have more complex issues to deal with; liaising with politicians and the community around the proposed stadium in central Christchurch will be near the top of that list.
Not surprisingly, Mansbridge supports the logic that a new multi-purpose area will also benefit other sports codes, and concert goers as well as rugby. Getting tests back to a city that churns out so many All Blacks is a must. His background in corporate banking – he says if you add four or five banks together they are a mirror image of the New Zealand economy – should give him the confidence to deal with the sensitive issue of the stadium.
‘‘It does take quite a lot of consultation and engagement, internal and external, to make them (banks) work well,’’ Mansbridge says.
‘‘I think in the agri-space the relationship with the likes of Damien O’Connor (Minister of Agriculture), who has been very engaging with our industry and very open to dialogue. The same opportunity exists.’’
There is also the potential to use offshore markets, such as China and India, to help expand the Crusaders’ reach into untapped markets.
Mansbridge, who has coached in Japan and has more recently been involved with the Burnside club, is also well aware that Super Rugby fans are grumbling about the competition structure.
Given the Crusaders are the most successful outfit with nine titles, he has to get a decent hearing from Sanzaar and NZ Rugby if he wants to voice an opinion. Attracting fans, and keeping them, is another priority and he uses the giant English football club Manchester United as an organisation that has tremendous pulling power.
‘‘In my personal opinion, this business is a Man U business. In some respects the fan engagement, the opportunity is about saying, actually, I’m a Crusader for life.’’