Golden Lions CEO Manie Reyneke has quit in his position as Chief Executive Officer of the union, the GLRU announced.
Reyneke announced on Tuesday that he will be leaving the services of the GLRU at the end of October.
He was appointed on 29 August 2007 and said that “being a part of the Lions was a lifelong dream come true, but it is now time to move on. I am pleased with what has been achieved during my four years as CEO of the Union and I leave with no regrets. The structures put in place will see the union go from strength to strength over the next few years.”
Reyneke will also assist in the restructuring of the GLRU structures during the next three months.
“I’m not 100% sure what I’ll do thereafter, but I do have several options”, Reyneke said.
President of the Union, Kevin de Klerk commented: “It has been a privilege to have had Manie on board and to have worked with him over the last four years. His services will certainly be missed and I wish him every success in his future ventures.
“Manie has been a personal friend of mine for some 30 years and will continue for another 30. I am sad to see Manie go, we will miss him with his passion and integrity that he always displays”, said de Klerk
The Lions also announced that they have started the process of appointing a new CEO. In the interim, Ruben Moggee will be the acting CEO and will be assisted by the board of directors.
Cheers Manie… I’m sad to see you go…
Now the Lions might actually become a force again, and that’s not good for my Bulls….
Love him or hate him, he was at the center of the contractual debacle, but was that because we only received bad press about that and that Manie was involved. I don’t know about any of the other things good or bad that he may have done, but he was also seen as some of the baggage that needed to be discarded.
I wish him well for the future.
When Manie was appointed I was accused on “the dark side” of being a Lions PRO beacause I actively supported the appointment, but the truth is quite bizarre.
After Andy Turner resigned as CEO, the CFO Peet Buys took over as “caretaker” CEO.
The Lions wanted to appoint a new CEO but the reality is that yhey could honestly not afford the fee that a personnel agency would have asked to do the job. (Approx R 100 000)
The President, Prof’ Jannie Ferreira asked the Chairman’s Council for permission to to look for an internal candidate which’ was duly agreed.
After a “very short” application period, Manie was announced as the successful candidate, despite there actually being better candidates.
The reasons I supported the appointment were:-
a) Manie is a “Rugby man”.
b) He is a Lions man.
c) He was a businessman with a relatively sucessful bussiness.
Hence he fitted the essential criteria for the position, and given that the GLRU were “very cash strapped”, seemed like a CEO who could take the Union forward.
HOWEVER, it soon became apparent that Manie was not the “ideal” candidate, and that there were many qualities that were missing that were needed to run a multi million Rand business like a Super Rugby franchise.
Suffice is to say that Manie did a lot of good work at the GLRU / Lions, but that he also got “lost in the roundings” an awful lot.
I can’t lay all of the blame at the man’s door, but the truth is (IMO) that the Lions will be better off appointing someone more accustomed to big business and the legalities of contracting and “hard ball” negotiations.
“Thank you” Manie for what you have done for my beloved Lions. Your decision to move on, for whatever reason has opened the door for a new upper management to take this developing and potentially dynamic young Union to new heights.
I sincerely hope that I will be able to sit down with you one day and discuss Rugby over a dop or two, and that you will be honest and open with me. Something that, unfortunately, you have never been in the past.
Thank you for giving the GLRU / Lions Rugby (PTY) LTD a VERY BRIGHT FUTURE INDEED, whether by design or not.
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