Super Rugby Pacific names first chief executive

A-Leagues chief commercial officer Jack Mesley has been named as inaugural chief executive of Super Rugby Pacific.

Mesley will start on July 22 after seeing out his notice period with the A-Leagues, and has also worked with the Bulldogs in the NRL.

Now Sydney-based, Mesley played for the Brumbies at under-19s level and carved out a career in marketing, spending nine years with drinks company Lion before moving into sport.

“This is a monumental step for the unions and clubs to come tog*ether with a real intent to grow Super Rugby Pacific and put fans at the centre,” Mesley said in a statement.

“I am looking forward to working closely with the Super Rugby Pacific clubs to understand their commonalities and differences, and to come together to ignite the flame for generations to come.”

Super Rugby Pacific chair Kevin Malloy, New Zealand Rugby director Rowena Davenport, Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh and Rugby Union Players’ Association chief executive Justin Harrison played key roles in the hunt for the chief executive.

The position attracted about 290 applicants, and recruitment agency Robert Walters whittled that down to a long list before rugby bosses settled on a final three.

Mesley emerged as the successful candidate and will take the chief executive role at a crucial time in Super Rugby’s history.

The future of the troubled Melbourne Rebels remains up in the air, while new TV deals in New Zealand and Australia for 2026 and beyond are up for negotiation between NZ Rugby, Rugby Australia and their respective broadcast partners.

The NRL is also an increasingly bullish competitor, with the Warriors performing well and the competition determined to expand.

Super Rugby Pacific will need to be smart to deal with those challenges but Malloy told Stuff that Mesley had the right mix of attributes to succeed, despite not having a background in rugby administration.

“I think a really important aspect of this job will be stakeholder management,” Malloy said. “He certainly came across as very strong with people skills.

“The other thing is, we wanted somebody in this role who is, ‘Roll your sleeves up, there’s a job to be done’.

“You’re not going to have a hell of a lot of resource necessarily.

“So, this isn’t the role for a 20-year veteran CEO who is used to having lots of people running around after them. This is for a young gun with something to prove. That’s the sort of person that we saw in Jack.”