News: Rotherham-born businessman brought on board at The Millers
Phil Smith has joined Rotherham United as a new Independent Non-Executive Director with a specific remit to examine how the club operates.
A lifelong Millers fan, Smith has had an incredibly successful career through a number of business ventures, most notably that of the technology solutions business, Embark Group, where he built a £42bn AuA (Assets Under Administration) platform, pension and investment business prior to its sale to the Lloyds Banking Group in a £390m deal in 2022.
RUFC Chairman Tony Stewart has brought the businessman on board to undertake a "thorough examination of the club’s strategic and day-to-day operations to provide us with an objective appraisal – and subsequent actions for both short and long-term projects – to help improve our fortunes both on and off the pitch."
The newly-created, unpaid, role will see him actively involved in all areas of the football club. Phil has a portfolio of other responsibilities, including as chair and in non-exec director roles at finance firms, from his base in London but is expected to spend considerable time at the club.
Smith, who has his roots in Kimberworth, has grown connections with the club in recent years through sponsorships including Embark, Defaqto and Prosper, which are set to continue, and through work with the Rotherham Hospice.
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Phil Smith, Independent Non-Executive Director at Rotherham United told the club's YouTube channel: "It's a pleasure to be involved with Rotherham United in a more formal capacity. I've been following this club as a fan for 50-odd years. I've been a sponsor, box holder, and heavily involved in various elements commercially with people like Steve Coakley [ the club's Commercial Director] and indeed Tony. I've got to know the Stewart family very well over a number of years and, fundamentally, that's what brings me here. It's to help this football club maintain its position as what it really is, which is a championship-level club that needs to perform like a championship-level club. So I'm here to bring a little bit more oomph that we may have lost in recent weeks and to have fun with it and bring the energy back.
"This is a very, very well-run business that needs to enhance its sporting performance. To do that, we just need to get a bit sharper in a few areas. So I'm here to bring a different set of eyes to the mix, to bring some suggestions, a little bit of creativity, so that the net produces the performance that we need on the pitch and ticks the box that we're all here for, which is to create entertainment value for you."
Smith added that his independent status will enable him to challenge Tony Stewart and the operations side of the club.
He said: "Honest truth is we undershoot our potential a little bit on the commercial side. We have a great franchise; we've done wonders over the last 17 years of ownership under the Stewart family. We can do a lot more. It's remembering those base factors that we are what we are, which is we're a Championship club masquerading as a first division club.
"We've got great support in the local business community; we need to stretch that out to the national business community to get our bang for our buck. We need to show the value that we could create for sponsors. If you do that, you get a virtuous circle where fans are excited, players want to come and play for us, and people want to come in the ground and have the full package of entertainment, not just that on the pitch. That creates a flywheel where you grow the economic power of the club and you carry on pushing hard."
Rotherham United website
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A lifelong Millers fan, Smith has had an incredibly successful career through a number of business ventures, most notably that of the technology solutions business, Embark Group, where he built a £42bn AuA (Assets Under Administration) platform, pension and investment business prior to its sale to the Lloyds Banking Group in a £390m deal in 2022.
RUFC Chairman Tony Stewart has brought the businessman on board to undertake a "thorough examination of the club’s strategic and day-to-day operations to provide us with an objective appraisal – and subsequent actions for both short and long-term projects – to help improve our fortunes both on and off the pitch."
The newly-created, unpaid, role will see him actively involved in all areas of the football club. Phil has a portfolio of other responsibilities, including as chair and in non-exec director roles at finance firms, from his base in London but is expected to spend considerable time at the club.
Smith, who has his roots in Kimberworth, has grown connections with the club in recent years through sponsorships including Embark, Defaqto and Prosper, which are set to continue, and through work with the Rotherham Hospice.
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Phil Smith, Independent Non-Executive Director at Rotherham United told the club's YouTube channel: "It's a pleasure to be involved with Rotherham United in a more formal capacity. I've been following this club as a fan for 50-odd years. I've been a sponsor, box holder, and heavily involved in various elements commercially with people like Steve Coakley [ the club's Commercial Director] and indeed Tony. I've got to know the Stewart family very well over a number of years and, fundamentally, that's what brings me here. It's to help this football club maintain its position as what it really is, which is a championship-level club that needs to perform like a championship-level club. So I'm here to bring a little bit more oomph that we may have lost in recent weeks and to have fun with it and bring the energy back.
"This is a very, very well-run business that needs to enhance its sporting performance. To do that, we just need to get a bit sharper in a few areas. So I'm here to bring a different set of eyes to the mix, to bring some suggestions, a little bit of creativity, so that the net produces the performance that we need on the pitch and ticks the box that we're all here for, which is to create entertainment value for you."
Smith added that his independent status will enable him to challenge Tony Stewart and the operations side of the club.
He said: "Honest truth is we undershoot our potential a little bit on the commercial side. We have a great franchise; we've done wonders over the last 17 years of ownership under the Stewart family. We can do a lot more. It's remembering those base factors that we are what we are, which is we're a Championship club masquerading as a first division club.
"We've got great support in the local business community; we need to stretch that out to the national business community to get our bang for our buck. We need to show the value that we could create for sponsors. If you do that, you get a virtuous circle where fans are excited, players want to come and play for us, and people want to come in the ground and have the full package of entertainment, not just that on the pitch. That creates a flywheel where you grow the economic power of the club and you carry on pushing hard."
Rotherham United website
Images:
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