These four positions will report directly to Peter Holmes à Court who will remain in his position as Executive Chairman of the South Sydney Football Club. The Club received over 100 applications for the CEO position, of which 12 candidates were interviewed and six final interviews conducted. During this time, two internal candidates indicated they wanted to take on a greater role within the organisation, and the elevation of the internal candidates meant the organisation did not need a CEO at this time. "We've made a decision to back these people, to back our existing team, rather than bring in someone external to the organisation," Mr Holmes à Court said. "Frankly, there's quite a deal more work to do here at Souths. We are one year into a three year turn around. Our Membership base has gone from 3,000 ticketed Members to 5,000 ticketed Members, but we need to get that to 20,000 Members. We need to make sure that our return to Redfern, as a training centre, football office headquarters, and the opening of the new licensed club without poker machines, is a success, and to do this we need to back the people that we have here presently."

Mr Holmes à Court says the future of the Club lies in the football department with the rest of the organisation supporting that department. "In the future when Members and fans think of Souths, it will be Jason Taylor who will be seen as the face of the Rabbitohs," Mr Holmes à Court said. "JT (Taylor) will be the one talking about Souths. This is what it's like in other codes, and I think that it's a good thing to hear less from the administration and more from the football team. The four directors within the organisation will be reporting to me. Three out of the four of the directors are already reporting to me so there will be very little change, just a refinement of roles and responsibilities. Rugby League in general is becoming more professional, it's growing, and there's money coming into the game. The game as it stands now has great opportunities to grow even further. Our number one responsibility is to our Members and delivering them a great, solid Club. I feel these four people and Jason Taylor are the best team to deliver us success in meeting our goals and they are the way forward for our Club."

Director of Football Operations - Shane Richardson (consulting)

Shane Richardson is currently employed by The Passionate Group, a sports and media company launched in October 2007. Shane consults to the South Sydney Football Club as the Director of Football Operations. Shane is a Director of the South Sydney Football Club, having previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer. He has served on various NRL committees including the Collective Bargaining, Salary Cap and Draft Committees. He was the second longest serving CEO in the game. Shane began his 13 year career in finance bfore moving from Queensland in 1993 to take up his first role in the NRL with the Cronulla Sharks as Football Manager. Shane stayed with the Sharks for five years before accepting a position in the UK Super League as CEO with Hull FC. He also held a Board position whilst in this role. Shane is the only Australian to ever serve on a Super League Board. Shane then returned to Australia as part of the team that took the Penrith Panthers to their second premiership in the history of the Club. In 2004 he accepted the role of CEO with the Rabbitohs and has successfully implemented business plans to ensure the Club's stability and security. Mr Richardson is an experienced and well respected Public Speaker. Shane completed his Commerce degree at Queensland University and attended Ipswich Grammar School and Corinda High School. Shane now lives in Coogee with his wife Kate.

Director of Marketing - John Richardson

John Richardson started consulting to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in May, 2006 on everything from Sponsorship to Merchandise. He joined the staff in 2007 as the Consumer Relations Group Manager working across Membership, Merchandise, Media, PR, Marketing, and Ticket Sales Coordination. He has an MBA from Columbia University (New York, USA) with a focus in Entertainment. His main goals are to increase ticketed Membership at SSFC to 20,000 over five years, double average game day attendance, and make sure the Club is communicating and servicing its Members and fans in the most dynamic and exciting ways possible, with a heavy focus on website and multimedia offerings. John has worked for Peter Holmes à Court since 1999 starting out at his New York based Back Row Productions, before joining him in Sydney to work on the public listing and growth of the Australian Agricultural Company. John is originally from New York City but has been living in Sydney since 2001.

Director of Finance - Joe Kelly

Joe Kelly joined the Rabbitohs as Chief Financial Officer in April 2007, having returned to Australia from the UK with his wife Sadie and daughter Olivia. Joe has over twelve years experience in sports administration, including five years as Group Financial Controller of Chelsea Football Club between 2002-07. Joe then stepped into the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer in October 2007. Following the completion of a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Newcastle University, Joe was employed by the North Sydney Bears for five years as their Finance Manager and also completed his CPA qualifications during this time. Joe then had a short stint in a similar role at the Northern Eagles before joining the NSW Waratahs as their Commercial Manager.

Director of Sales - Christopher Green (consulting)

Christopher Green has extensive experience in the sports and entertainment industry, beginning with CMA in Dallas, a division of Host Comunications, implementing Sears' sponsorship of collegiate sport. On returning to Australia in 1999, Chris was appointed Marketing Manager for Athletics Australia, the governing body for track and field, in the lead up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Following on from the success of the Games, Chris became General Manager (Marketing) in the horse racing industry, overseeing 26 tracks and 500 race meetings per annum, which he would hold from 2001 until 2004. Following this, Chris was General Manager (Strategy) for DSEG, a sports marketing consulting business which has become a leader in the delivery of negotiation and advisory services. Chris currently holds the position of Director of Acquisitions and Strategy at The Passionate Group, a sports and media company set up by Peter Holmes à Court. The role of Director of Sales at the South Sydney Rabbitohs is a position Chris has been doing for the past 20 months on a consultancy basis.

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