Rod Petrie
Encyclopedia
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
and former chief executive
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Scottish football club Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
.
Career
Petrie, a merchant banker and chartered AccountantChartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
, had advised Sir Tom Farmer
Tom Farmer
Sir Thomas "Tom" Farmer, CVO, CBE, KCSG, FRSE, DL is a Scottish entrepreneur.One of seven siblings in a devoutly Catholic family, in 1964 Farmer founded his own tyre retailing business which he sold in 1969 for £450,000. Farmer "retired" to the United States, but became bored and decided to find a...
CBE throughout his rescue of Hibernian FC
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
from receivership in 1991. Petrie joined the Hibs board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
in 1996, taking over as managing director in 1997.
Petrie was involved in the creation of the Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
, but Hibs themselves missed the first season in the new top flight of Scottish football due to being relegated to the First Division in 1998. The club won the First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
at the first attempt in season 1998–99 and returned to the top division. A new, multi-million pound main (West) Stand was built, to add to the new North (Famous Five) and South Stands already built during Sir Tom's ownership.
Most Scottish football clubs hit financial difficulty in 2002 when the television broadcast deal with Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
ended after the league and broadcaster failed to reach agreement on a renewal. Hibernian was one of the first Scottish clubs to react to the new financial landscape, taking action to reduce costs as quickly as possible. However losses accrued and added to the loan taken to develop the new stand, the club saw its debt level increase.
Petrie, the only significant minority shareholder in Hibs, and the board explored options to reduce debt. Two options were identified: one was for the club to stay at Easter Road
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian . The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 20,421, which makes it the fifth-largest football stadium in Scotland. Easter Road is also...
while increasing revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
; the second was to sell the Easter Road site to clear the club's debt and to share a proposed new ground in Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
with Edinburgh derby
Edinburgh derby
The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian , the two professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce rivalry that dates back to the clubs being founded in the mid-1870s, which...
rivals Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
, who also had significant financial problems. Hibs opened discussions with Hearts about the possibility of moving to Straiton, but this was met with a sceptical
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
reaction by the Hibs support.
Hibs then appointed former player and manager Pat Stanton
Pat Stanton
Patrick Gordon Stanton is a Scottish former football player and manager.He joined Hibs from Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in 1963 and made his debut for the club against Motherwell in October that year. He quickly established himself in the first team, playing in defence or midfield...
to act as an "honest broker" in a public consultation
Public consultation
Public consultation, or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought. Its main goals are in improving the efficiency, transparency and public involvement in large-scale projects or laws and policies...
process that followed. The result of the consultation was that Hibs decided to stay at Easter Road. The club launched a campaign called Stand Up And Be Counted to engage with fans in an effort to increase revenues. Land behind the east side of Easter Road was sold by the parent company after the Club identified the footprint of land it wished to keep for future redevelopment. The sale, to a housing developer (Westpoint Homes), helped to reduce the club's debt to a more manageable level after the parent company forgave a significant sum owed to it by the club. The club continued to exercise prudence in its financial dealings, with tight control of costs.
Hibs chairman
Petrie was appointed Hibs chairman in December 2004, after the resignation of Ken Lewandowski. After the appointment of Tony MowbrayTony Mowbray
Anthony Mark "Tony" Mowbray is an English former professional football player, who is currently the manager of Middlesbrough...
as Hibs manager in May 2004, Hibs made a trading profit
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
in four consecutive years. Hibs also received significant transfer income for Garry O'Connor
Garry O'Connor
Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team....
(£1.6M
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
), Kevin Thomson
Kevin Thomson
Kevin Thomson is a Scottish association footballer who plays for Middlesbrough and the Scotland national football team. Thomson began his career with Hibernian before joining Rangers in 2007 for a £2m transfer fee. He plays as a defensive midfielder with key attributes of passing and tackling...
(£2M), Scott Brown (£4.4M), Ivan Sproule
Ivan Sproule
Ivan Sproule is a Northern Irish professional association football player. Sproule, a winger who is known for his explosive pace, only turned professional after he signed for Scottish Premier League side Hibernian in January 2005, just a month before his 24th birthday...
(£0.5M), Steven Whittaker
Steven Whittaker
Steven Gordon Whittaker is a Scottish association footballer who currently plays as a right back for Scottish Premier League club Rangers and the Scotland national side....
(£2M), and David Murphy
David Murphy (footballer)
David Paul Murphy is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. Murphy, born in Hartlepool, County Durham, is a defender who plays at left back.-Club career:...
(£1.5M) during this same period. Hibs also lost the services of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
internationalists
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
Ian Murray,Hibs subsequently re-signed Murray, O'Connor, Riordan and Sproule. Derek Riordan
Derek Riordan
Derek George Riordan is a Scottish footballer who plays as a forward. He has been capped three times by the Scotland national football team. Riordan started his career with Hibernian in 2001 and had a brief spell on loan with Cowdenbeath in 2003...
and Gary Caldwell
Gary Caldwell
Gary Robert Caldwell is a Scottish footballer who is currently the captain of Wigan Athletic and also plays for the Scotland national football team....
for little or no fee due to the expiry of their contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
s.
Despite criticism, particularly after the resignation of John Collins, that he has not used enough of these revenues on increased spending on players, Petrie has argued that the club has increased the budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
for player wage
Wage
A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees...
s four times and invested in a new training ground
Training ground
A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness...
in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, while also reducing the net debt to under £3M. Petrie's relationship with the Scottish media
Scottish media
Scottish media has a long and distinct history. Scotland has a wide range of different types and quality of media.-Television:BBC Scotland runs two national television stations...
has also been a point of interest. Despite praise for his sure financial management, some journalists have accused Petrie of being uncooperative.
Petrie resigned from his position as chief executive in April 2008 and was replaced by Scott Lindsay, but has retained his position as chairman. Petrie stated that Lindsay would take over the "day-to-day running of the club", while Petrie would retain control of "executive duties", including the negotiation of player contracts and setting the player budget. Hibs continued to break even in the 2009–10 season, although this was due to the sale of players offsetting a trading loss.
After manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
John Hughes left the club by mutual consent in October 2010, Petrie received criticism from former player Paul Kane
Paul Kane (footballer)
Paul Kane is a Scottish former professional footballer.-Career:A midfielder, Kane began his career with Hibernian in 1982. In eight years at Easter Road, he made 247 league appearances and scored 33 goals. In 1991 he joined Oldham Athletic and went on to make 21 appearances for the Boundary Park...
for his track record in appointing managers. The previous three managers - John Collins, Mixu Paatelainen
Mixu Paatelainen
Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen is a former Finnish international football player and the current manager of the Finnish national team, having started the role in April 2011...
and Hughes - had all left the club within 18 months of being appointed. Petrie was again criticised when Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood is a Scottish football player and coach. In November 2011 he was appointed as Chris Hughton's assistant manager at Birmingham City....
was sacked after just over a year as Hibs manager. Hibs announced that two other directors, Scott Lindsay and Fyfe Hyland, would conduct the next recruitment process.