Business of Sport Ep.49: Matt Hancock, CEO @ Port Vale, ‘Success is about more than 3pts on a Saturday’

Business of Sport

After amazing shows with a number of CEO’s across the football industry, we’re today venturing into the lowest of the English Football League’s with current League Two promotion chasers Port Vale. Matt Hancock has been CEO of this historic club since January. Having been relegated from League One in his first few months in charge, it’s fair to say the learning curve has been steep.

But these are the shows we love to do. It’s proper business, not propped up by the billions of international ownership. Understanding how to run a sustainable company that is not eternally dependent on owner financing while constantly trying to win on the field is so difficult. Then add the fact that almost every decision is reviewed under a microscope generally with the benefit of hindsight, you do sometimes think who would take this on.

But then you remember that alongside these challenges comes the privilege of looking after the thing that can give people their greatest enjoyment. The lower down the football pyramid you go, being a CEO is about building an environment to sustain a community’s most valued asset. This is a compelling reveal on how you do just that.

On today’s show we discuss:

Becoming a CEO in Football:

• How did Matt come to take charge of one of English Football’s oldest clubs?
• From building community to winning on the pitch, what are the key focuses of clubs the lower down the Football League you go?
• How important is the relationship between executive and owner?
• It’s about more than results; why Matt believes his job is to ensure those working at the club know that success can be about more than 3 points on a Saturday.
• How to ensure you keep level headed, not getting too high on the highs and too low on the lows.

Handling Relegation:

• Port Vale got relegated from League One in the first few months of Matt’s tenure as CEO. How did he make sure the club recovered to build for the new season?
• The importance of a great manager in the lower leagues; why Darren Moore has been crucial to the recent development of Port Vale.
• What attracts players to a club that goes beyond just being paid the most?
• The financial impact of relegation and trying to move away from a reliance on owner funding to ensure sustainability.

Working for the Fans & Community:

• Is it better to over communicate with fans and open yourself up to increased scrutiny or reduce what you share and lose connectivity?
• How Port Vale has become an intrinsic part of its community and the importance of the club to the local area.
• The challenge of ensuring you don’t make decisions based on fan sentiment; how to remain neutral and not be influenced by emotion.
• The role of lifelong Vale fan Robbie Williams!
• Communicating spend away from the pitch on infrastructure and development is important to create an understanding around the need to build value in the ‘business’ of the club.

WSC Sports

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Tyndall Investment Management

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