Jonny Petrie: New Ulster CEO wants to drive Province forwards

He realises the difficulties the Irish Province has been through in recent seasons - on and off the field - but he also knows there are enough tools and resources in place which he can grab to help him in gaining success.

The former Scottish international - capped 45 times - left his role as managing director at Edinburgh to take up the CEO role at Ulster vacated after Shane Logan stepped down.

The 42-year-old was appointed last October and took up the Ulster role officially in mid December and having dipped his toes in the water over the past few weeks, he met the local media on Wednesday in Belfast to field their questions.

With Ulster having endured what was a turbulent year on and off the field last season and with revenues falling, the role of CEO may not have been one that was attractive to some.

However, Petrie sees the potential there is at Ulster and wants to work with people, who like himself, are enthusiastic and focused on making the club a big success.

“You’ve got a fantastic facility here, you’ve got an engaged support base and you’ve got a team that has the capability of being at the top end of the league and European rugby,” he said.

“It needs a bit of attention, it’s clearly had a difficult few years on and off the field.

“There’s capacity and there are all the tools for it to be a huge success.

“But you’ve still to make a bit of an impact to turn it around and get it going in the right direction.

“Looking at the set-up here, I say it was a difficult decision to come across, but in some respects, it was an absolute no brainer because of the history, the way it’s something that’s genuinely important to people here.

“That was an attraction (in wanting the job).

“I’ve had a real warm welcome from the people here but the overriding thing is that sense that people really want this to work and to be a success. That for me is something that I can grab hold of and work with.

“The challenge to that is that it’s clearly been a difficult few years but we feel that we’re coming through that and it’s important that we draw a line in the sand and move forward to make this place a success.

“That’s what I’ve been brought in to do. That’s what excites me about the opportunity and that’s what I’m giving everyone the commitment that I’ll work my backside off to make sure that happens,” he added.

Previous CEO Logan had set high targets for himself and the organisation when he took over in 2010, but Petrie was not fixing any goals or targets for himself or the organisation yesterday.

“I want to come in here and try and make this a better place every day,” he said.

“There’s no point making bold proclamations of targets or what we want to be, or saying we’re going to win this or win that, but the fundamentals you need to get right.

“Everyone knows what Ulster Rugby and rugby in Ulster can be when we make it a success.

“The cliché is that you have to focus on the process and not the outcome. You’ve got someone in Dan McFarland (head coach) who thinks along the same lines.

“On and off the field, we have to do better day in and day out and see where that takes us.

“It’s not about fudging, and it’s not about not putting my neck on the block, lets get the basics and fundamentals right and that has us in the right direction,” he stressed.

And what of the finances and the drop in attendances, matchday income being the main source of revenue for Ulster Rugby?

“It is a financial challenge, the accounts are laid bare in that respect and you don’t need to be an accountant to see some of the challenges that are in there,” admitted the former Glasgow Warriors player.

“We’ve seen falling revenues and falling attendance figures, and the direct correlation between the two, and you don’t have to be an accountant to see the link there, but that’s largely driven by some of the off-field challenges we’ve had where the focus hasn’t been on the rugby during those years, and equally during those times when the performance out there hasn’t been good enough.

“People want a product they can be proud of and that is largely successful.

“So, again, it’s not a stretch to suggest to you that if we can be accessible and engaging, and the guys are being successful out on the field there, then we’ll be able to look at bringing people back to watch Ulster play because there’s an ongoing challenge to up our investment into the professional game at the same time as we have falling revenues.

“We need to be bold with that and put a line in the sand and invest in the squad such that we can actually generate the revenues long-term that will pay for that.

“It’s a challenging situation but it’s not an insurmountable one by any stretch of the imagination, and with the managing committee here and the IRFU there’s an absolute willingness and desire to make this place work, and that takes investment and bold decisions to do that, but that’s what we’re doing and we’re going into next season with a stronger squad than this year - we have a lot of young guys with more experience and I feel like we’re in a good place.

“We have a good recruitment plan in place for the next couple of years to retain and bring in new players to be competitive, and if we’re competitive then that’ll bring the revenues back in which is important to us from an off-field perspective.

“Ultimately we have to do to ensure we’re driving the associated revenues that come alongside the success on the pitch,” said Petrie.

The new Ulster supremo has already reached out to the club’s fanbase, actively engaging with them on social media platform, Twitter.

He has got himself out and about around the Province attending a Schools’ Cup match recently and an All Ireland League game at Banbridge.

And while he has made it clear he is a Scotsman through and through and there are no divided loyalties this Saturday when Ireland met Scotland in the Six Nations, one of his first purchases was an Ulster Rugby collar for his dog.

“Twitter and social media hasn’t been a forum in which I’ve had a long history of being engaged with but in coming here it was something of a conscious effort, but something I’ve enjoyed too,” he explained.

“In this role, it’s important that you’re accessible, it’s important that you’re approachable. I’ve a human side and people can see me for what I am.

“As CEO you are visible. That’s not to say I’m going to use Twitter to respond to everything that comes my way but it’s important to engage the support that’s out there. It’s something that I’m very keen to do.

“It’s important to be the focal point of the organisation and show that, alongside the performance of the team, that we’re driving this place forward.

“I’m very happy to be as accessible as I need to be,” he said.

Those visits out and about show clearly Petrie wants to be engaged at all levels.

“It’s part of the job,” he stressed. “It was part of the attraction of coming across. The way my previous role at Edinburgh was, I was purely focused on the professional club.

“Yes, there was a link to the domestic game and the academies but it’s a broader role. All of that stuff sits under the remit of the chief exec and that’s an interesting space for me.

“Ultimately I’m a rugby guy, and rugby at all levels is important to me. The easy thing to do would be to come in and look at the professional game and everyone to think that that’s the focus. Don’t get me wrong, it’s where the majority of the revenue is driven from, but to make that accessible and recognisable, there’s work to be done at all levels of the game. It’s important I understand what the challenges are by spending time in the rest of the province.

“And that won’t be for the first wee while and retreat into my ivory tower not to be seen again. It’s part of the way I want to operate, going out to clubs, out to schools, and listening to what’s going on.”