Two nominations have been received for election to the Bees United board. They are from Trevor Inns and Greville Waterman.
Two candidates come forward
As there are two board vacancies to be filled, there will be no need for a contested election among the membership as a whole. The two candidates will, however, need to be approved by the members present or proxies at the forthcoming annual general meeting (AGM).
A date has not yet been set for the AGM. It is expected, however, to be at the end of November.
The two board places are the result of Natasha Judge retiring by rotation and deciding not to stand for re-election, and an existing vacancy from last year. If they are successful, the two new board members will each be entitled to serve for a three-year term.
Greville’s and Trevor’s statements can be read here:
Greville Waterman -:
My name is Greville Waterman and I am 54 years of age and married with two children.
I have worked in marketing and sponsorship for 30 years, founded, ran and sold my own successful sponsorship agency and am now Managing Director of Sportsmedia, a company which provides daily sponsored sports and business news broadcasts to a syndicated network of 120 radio stations throughout the UK.
I have supported Brentford fervently for over forty years and have served the club in several capacities, as a Steward, Video Commentator (belated apologies for those incoherent banshee howls), bringing sponsors such as Ericsson and UK Packaging to the club and, for a short lived but lively period, as a main Club Director.
Given the recent deal with Matthew Benham as well as the appointment of the Executive Team to handle much of the day to day running of the club, the role of Bees United and its Board has evolved but is no less crucial.
Whilst acknowledging that without Matthew Benham’s continued support and investment we might not have a club to support, it is still the role of Bees United to protect the interests of the supporters and ensure that all necessary checks and balances are in place. In that regard a massive thanks is due to David Merritt who led the negotiations on the Benham deal.
Bees United must adapt to the changing environment, accept that as the putative owner of the club that Matthew Benham will want to set and meet his own objectives for all aspects of Brentford FC, both on and off the pitch, but also ensure that the terms of the recent agreement are met and that the future of the club is guaranteed.
Bees United Board members need to seek to influence and question our representatives on the Club Board as well as ensure that the voice of the supporters is always heard and taken into account by the Executive Team and Matthew Benham.
So why do I feel that I am qualified to join the Bees United Board?
- I am a lifelong supporter who is totally committed to the survival of our club for future generations of supporters
- I am aware of the need to adapt to changing circumstances
- I have run a successful small business (and Brentford FC is a small business) and faced the issues that small businesses must cope with on a daily basis
- Every business has its idiosyncrasies but football is a business and must be treated as one by those running the club. I want our club to be ambitious but not “live the dream” which can soon turn into a nightmare
- I have recently worked as a Marketing and Commercial adviser to Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers and would be happy to share my knowledge and contacts
- If elected I will provide the time and commitment necessary to become a useful and proactive Bees United Board member
Trevor Inns-:
I previously served on the BU Board from August 2006 until I resigned at the 2008 AGM as my work took me overseas, and this would prevent me from executing my duties to the best of my abilities. During my time on the board I was the Deputy Chairman with specific responsibilities for investor relationships. This remit included being a member of the team that conducted negotiations with Matthew Benham that led to the 5-year partnership we voted to accept a few weeks ago.
Last time I was elected on the back of a radical statement. BFC was in financial turmoil having to sell DJ or it would have been “curtains for the club” (or so we were told), and BU was allowing this situation to happen because it had weak financial oversight of its subsidiary. I am pleased to say that during my time on the board things were improved significantly, I was instrumental in getting the BU nominees on the BFC Board changed. This change subsequently saw a significant upturn in the financial reporting of the club to the BU Board (and to the BFC Board) and many other benefits beyond that. I also supported the change of BU Chairman and now the BU Board operates significantly better as a team.
In terms of what I can contribute to the board this time around I’m glad to say that I don’t believe that radical action is required now. Therefore I expect to contribute to addressing the current major items that face the board which are (in my opinion) the new partnership that BU is about to enter into with Matthew Benham, and BU’s long-term financial planning. I have a broad business knowledge having run various small businesses in my time which I can bring to bear as I did previously. However, my skills do not include organising fundraising events.
I have been attending Griffin Park since 1973, I am a shareholder in the club and I have previously served on the BIAS Committee. I also, for my sins, own and run the Griffin Park Grapevine at http://www.griffinpark.org – a superb website for all things Brentford if you didn’t know. I work in an investment bank in the City, a role that I have leveraged previously to introduce the property finance team to BU’s Lionel Road project team and get preferential interest rates (not that I can commit to achieve the same this time around!).