Chairman of the PNGRFL, Sandis Tsaka says the performance of former CEO, Bob Cutmore was ‘unsatisfactory and not up to the expectations of the board’ resulting in the termination of his contract.
Cutmore’s contract was officially terminated last week after serving as CEO for just over a year with the PNGRFL. Cutmore was the first CEO of the PNGRFL to be terminated.
Tsaka said the decision to terminate Cutmore was made on the night of Monday 14 November at the PNGRFL board meeting.
“In a nutshell, when the CEO was first appointed in October 2015, the PNGRFL appointed him setting key priority areas and performance indicators that we felt were necessary to move the game forward.
“The review by the sub-committee of the board was to measure the performance of the CEO in line with the original expectations as articulated by the key performance indicators.
“On that evaluation, the sub-committee submitted its findings with the recommendations that the performance of the CEO was unsatisfactory, not up to the expectations of the board and recommended the termination of his contract.
“The PNGRFL board acting on that advice terminated the contract of Bob Cutmore,” said Tsaka.
Tsaka went on to explain that the PNGRFL is a big organization with over a 1000 staff.
He said PNGRFL developed the ‘Road Map’ back in 2014 and is the organisation’s strategic plan adapted to be implemented over the years.
“Part of the CEO’s responsibilities is to provide strategic leadership and vision for the organization.
“The organization needs a leader that thinks objectively to look at the game in the context of the next 3-5 years.
“Being CEO of the PNGRFL is not about organizing visas, booking accommodation and plane tickets. It is an organization where you need to take the context of the sport and build your programs over the years. Manage your resources to achieve your goals and objectives,” said Tsaka.
Tsaka reiterated it was the decision of the board alone to terminate the contract of Cutmore.
“Nobody advised the board what to do. It was the ultimate prerogative of the PNGRFL board as the employing authority of the CEO which is expected to perform under the guidance of the board.
“The board felt that the CEO’s performance and continued employment with the PNGRFL would not be in the best interest of the sport and taking all those issues into consideration, his contract was terminated,” said Tsaka.
He finished by saying treasurer of the PNGRFL, Reatau Rau has been appointed as the interim administrator to ensure stability and continuity of the PNGRFL.
He said the Rugby League International Federation, National Rugby League and Queensland Rugby League have been advised of the decision and are assisting the PNGRFL to employ a new CEO.
“Right now, we are in the process of putting out advertisements for a new CEO searching both domestically and internationally. We are working towards getting a new CEO by January next year before the footy season starts,” said Tsaka.