BUSINESS OF SPORT
A new season , A new team , A fresh start .
Alex Cohen is the new Chief Commercial Officer at Bath Rugby . He ’ s no stranger to the Club , having worked with the team for over seven years across roles including Head of Operations , Operations Director , Chief Operating Officer and his current role of CCO .
A feature on the Business of Sport would not be complete without Alex . He has been responsible for all operational aspects of running the Premiership club including match day delivery , partner liaison , facilities management , grounds provision and security , and has also been involved in the Stadium for Bath project .
Alex took up his current role in March 2022 during a challenging time for the Club . We met him to find out what ’ s been happening behind the scenes to boost morale and get the team match-ready for the upcoming season .
What changes did you make on the ground at Farleigh ahead of the new team arriving this summer ? We felt it was really important to have a distinctly different feel for all the players and staff coming back after their break at the end of the season . It ’ s no good just telling people things are different unless it genuinely feels that way too , so we ’ ve changed up pretty much every space that the squad use during the week .
The gym has a new layout to give more options for the Athletic Performance team to challenge the players with . The medical area has been restructured and the changing rooms have been simplified and added to so that the Senior Academy boys are also now in that space , creating a truly one-club mindset .
There ’ s also a restructured auditorium which we ’ ve created to make it easier for the coaches to engage meaningfully with the players during those sessions . I ’ d like to give a shout out to our partner Bendac Group who have provided some state-of-the-art screens in those spaces to bring the conversations to life .
How are the team getting into a positive mindset ? One of the great things about sport is the ability to draw a line under a difficult season and embrace a fresh start . We have a number of new players and a host of new staff , including our new Head of Rugby , Johann van Graan .
He and the rest of the senior rugby staff have a new way of doing things and there ’ s a focus on making sure people have fun in the training environment at the same time as working incredibly hard . The buzz and energy around Farleigh has been brilliant and as good as I ’ ve known it to be , and there ’ s no doubt that the players have taken the important learning from last year , and moved on together .
What are the biggest challenges for you this season on and off the pitch and how are you preparing for them ? Number one is proving to our fans and partners that last year ’ s performance on the pitch was an anomaly . We believe we understand what happened and why . We now need to show that our ambition to play winning rugby aligns with the reality of our results this season .
We were incredibly proud of everyone connected with the Club last year . The attendances at our home matches proved something we already knew – we have the most loyal , dedicated and passionate fans in the Premiership .
Off the pitch , it ’ s great to be able to prepare for the season ahead without the black cloud of Covid looming quite so large , so we can focus on making the matchday experience even better for everyone .
We were recently voted the best rugby ground in the world in a poll which was brilliant , but we want to push that bar even higher this season . We regularly look at every
“ One of the great things about sport is the ability to draw a line under a difficult season and embrace a fresh start .”
aspect of the fan journey , from the moment they decide to buy a ticket to leaving at the end of the day , and leave no stone unturned in trying to make each aspect better .
What changes have you made commercially since taking up your new role ? I haven ’ t been the CCO for that long but I think we all hold a responsibility to be ‘ commercial ’ in everything we do , so I feel like I ’ ve had a commercial mindset since starting at the Club over seven years ago as Head of Operations . For me this is about making sure our relationships with fans , partners and the city
are as meaningful as they can be , and that people really want to be connected with their club . Ask me again in 12 months what I ’ ve achieved in this role !
What excites you about this season ’ s squad ? I think we ’ ve done well with recruitment over the summer with some very experienced senior pros coming in from other clubs as well as some younger players keen to prove themselves .
Despite the torrid time as a team last year , individually there were a lot of strong performances . Some big names who lost a lot of game time to injury are now going well in pre-season training .
We have some incredibly strong coaches leading the individual areas , with proven performance and experience . It is great to see Hats ( Neal Hatley ) back with the forwards and able to demonstrate why he was snapped up by England a few years ago .
The alchemy of how all of that comes together will be fascinating to watch and I ’ m really optimistic that we ’ ll see a big shift in results .
Your role is pretty diverse . What do you enjoy the most ? That ’ s an easy one - matchdays . The buzz of seeing the city turn blue , black and white , and the electricity of The Rec during the game is what sets this apart from any other job . I work
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