Great news for Tennis fans if these reports are true because no-one knows business in Asia better than Jayne!
Tennis Australia is on the verge of announcing Jetstar chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka as one of the new directors on its board as the sport looks to expand in the lucrative Asian markets.
Hrdlicka’s appointment is likely to be announced next week, and TA is also talking to other businesswomen to fill board vacancies.
TA has been besieged by expressions of interest from many fields after the surprise resignations of three directors on the eve of the Australian Open, including former professional tour players and Fed Cup members Janet Young and Kerryn Pratt. The third director to resign was Tasmanian businessman Peter Armstrong.
Fellow director Scott Tanner, who was believed to be aligned to the recent resignations, left the nine-person board in October.
Those four vacancies are now due to be filled. A fifth director, media buyer Harold Mitchell, retired also in October but returned in December amid a tumultuous time for the board.
TA president Stephen Healy has conceded there had been a rift at board level.
It is understood the split in part came with TA keen to expand the business and lobbying expertise of the board at a competitive time for the board.
The board members who departed are believed to have been unhappy that Mitchell’s return was facilitated by an amendment to the board’s constitution in early December that gave the president, Healy, a casting vote.
But state bodies around the country voted in support of the amendment and were supportive of Mitchell’s return.
Hrdlicka’s expected appointment comes at a time when TA is expanding its Asian business interests, with an office recently set up in Hong Kong.
Korean car company, Kia Motors, has been the Australian Open’s major sponsor since 2002. It extended its partnership in 2013 for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $50 million.
Other major sponsors Rolex and ANZ Bank have significant interests in Asia. Other businesswomen TA is keen to recruit include former Westpac chief Gail Kelly, current AFL Commissioner Sam Mostyn and chair of Telstra Catherine Livingstone.
TA wants board members not only to have a love of tennis but to have sizeable business acumen.
Former Davis Cup champions and Wimbledon winners John Newcombe and Pat Cash agreed they wanted to see two businesswomen appointed to the board as the gender balance was crucial. The Australian Sports Commission is also keeping an eye on the gender issue.
While the ASC has no problems with the governance and procedures of the TA board, as part of its review of all Olympic sports post-London 2012, there was a recommendation that national associations are more equal-opportunity at their executive level and staff structures.
The Victorian government, which has invested heavily in improvements to the infrastructure at Melbourne Park, has also taken an interest. But it too is satisfied with the direction the TA board is moving.
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