I continued to build the business until 1992, but Reebok kept calling me
and asked me to be their Director of Worldwide soccer. It was starting
from scratch as they didn’t even have a football boot at that time. I spent a
fascinating 9 years of trying to make Reebok a performance global brand–
eventually becoming Senior VP of Global Sports Marketing. As part of that
tenure I was at Anfield with Peter Robinson, the iconic LFC CEO, to secure
Reebok’s sponsorship deal with LFC.
What do you feel are your main attributes that you would credit as
helping you go from a sales guy to Chairman of Patrick; and then to
hold such senior positions in each subsequent employment right the way
through to your appointment as CEO of LFC?
A scouser – very important: hard-working and full of optimism! I grew up in
a pub where my dad put me behind a bar at 11 forcing me to sink or swim,
making sure I could interact with adults. Also being a PE teacher. Let me tell
you: when the snow is coming in sideways on the Welsh hills, and you have
to stand there on the side and tell them “We are all going outside and we’re
all going to play rugby!” They need motivation and cajoling! I’m also very
much a front of the room type of guy.
You spent some time working alongside Bill Gates. Was there anything
that you learned from that experience that particularly impressed you
about him or perhaps has had any influence on your own philosophies
in business?
Bill Gates was by far the most brilliant human being I have met in my life,
the respect I have for him is enormous because of what he now continues to
do with his foundation is even greater than what he has done at Microsoft.
Steve Ballmer (former CEO of Microsoft) certainly taught me leadership.
When I was there Microsoft was creeping up to 90,000 employees and Steve
was the personality; he was the motivator.
Steve taught me about building a mission and a vision – and I totally believed
in the development of a North Star to say: This is where we’re all going. It’s
something I took on board with my career when I later went to EA Sports
and since I arrived at Liverpool. When I arrived at Liverpool there was no
vision; no manifesto... so, we as a team developed that, and it is now core to
who we are and where we are going as a football club.
What about that South Park appearance?
I was at a Timberland board meeting on the East Coast in New Hampshire
when my son Tyler calls me at 3am in the morning! At first, I was panicking
as to why he is ringing at 3am! He says: “You were just on South Park!” What
I thought he meant was EA Sports – but he said: “No, YOU were on it –
this isn't going to make sense but it’s about crack babies!” (the Crack Baby
Basketball Association is a South Park comedy theme). And then I wake up
in the morning and somebody had sent me a link. It portrayed me as a Boss
Hogg style heartless asshole - but I thought it was hilarious! It was classic
South Park, so I was delighted! There was no animosity and I managed to get
some signed cells from the show’s creators which I had framed up!
Had there been much contact with LFC/FSG prior to you taking the job
and how did it all come about?
28 wirrallife.com
I got to know John Henry because I was a bit of a unicorn: I am a Liverpudlian,
that also became a Boston Red Sox fan in the early 90’s when I was at Reebok
and fell in love with the folklore of the Red Sox. I wanted to immerse myself
in American sports, American culture – which I did. So, I am a Red Sox fan,
from Liverpool – a hardcore Liverpool fan and he acquires Liverpool FC in
2010 and people are asking him: have you ever met Peter Moore? And so
eventually we do. I’m at a Timberland board meeting and John is building
a house and so is staying in the Mandarin Oriental, Boston – by sheer
coincidence so was I! He had said to me previously “Look, if you ever call in
to Boston, call me and let’s chat”. So, I did, and we talked baseball, football
for a few hours. And so, we had built a rapport at that point and stayed in
contact. It was Mike Gordon (FSG President) who then reached out via an
executive recruiter, as Ian (Ian Ayre, former LFC CEO) had given the club
his resignation giving them – to his credit – a year to go and find somebody.
So after a long series of telephone calls and face-to-face meetings, I was
offered the role. And so, I called my wife Debbie and said: “Well, want to
come and live in Liverpool?!” and to her credit she was up for the adventure,
and so here we are.
How difficult has it been to leave your life in the US after so long and
make the adjustment back into life in the UK - and have you noticed
many differences from when you were last living here?
I thought it was going to be easier to reintegrate back in as I’m US citizen but
I’m British. I grew up here, but at the same time I am watching TV and I have
never seen any of this stuff: I am watching Coronation Street and looking for
Ena Sharples! As such, I came back and realised emotionally, culturally and
from a mentality: I am an American, and more than that I am a Californian.
So it was tough coming back and a fascinating sociological experiment with
Debbie. Every hour of every day, its explaining: ‘Well, what they meant was
this, or this is what that means’ etc... She had never spent any time here
previously, apart from maybe some short business trips to Windsor and
London; but she had never spent any time up here.
What does a typical day of work involve for the CEO of LFC and what is
at the heart of what you do?
There is no typical day at LFC. Tomorrow I’m up at 6am and I’m in
Manchester for a European Club Association meeting; back for the game,
pre-game operations. I should get home around 11pm, so they are long
days… they’re all long days! I have learned very quickly that if there is a gap
somewhere – such as the international break - you have got to take it because
this job is 7 days and Saturday’s and Sunday’s are not your own.
My job at LFC is to make a difference: to bring my Silicon Valley experience,
look at the digital transformation, focus on those visions and missions -
which I think informs as much of who I am as I what I want the football
club to be.
My job is to change the game and lead the football club into places and
business models and live up to the positioning of "local heart, global pulse".
Which is why we take care of our local fans as they are core to who we are,
but we also engage daily with the hundreds of millions of LFC fans around
the globe who love the football and for everything for which it stands.