Dominic McKay to continue as EPCR Chairman for three more years
Yesterday at 06:21 AM
DOMINIC MCKAY – a former long-time executive of Scottish Rugby as Director of Communications and Public Affairs from 2008 and then Chief Operating Officer from 2015 to 2021, before having a brief spell as Chief Executive of Celtic Football Club between July and September 2021 – has been appointed to a second three-year term as Chairman of the Board of EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby), the organisation which runs both the Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup His term will run to the end of June 2028.
He will fulfil the role as an Independent Non-Executive Chairman, alongside his recently announced (last month) new day job as Chief Executive of SEC (Scottish Event Campus), which operates the SEC Centre in Glasgow, incorporating the 3,000-seat SEC Armadillo and the 14,300-capacity OVO Hydro concert, sporting and special events arena, along with a number of interconnected exhibition and meeting spaces.
McKay’s reappointment was unanimously supported by the General Assembly of EPCR, comprising of six unions, three leagues and independent directors of EPCR.
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A statement from EPCR said: “During his first term, McKay undertook an Executive Chairman role guiding the organisation through the end of the Covid period and re-energising the Governance and Executive teams at EPCR.
“Under his Chairmanship, EPCR has established a new strategy that has led to record commercial and digital growth, a successful return to a Pool format, expansion of the tournaments to include South African clubs and Georgia's Black Lion, the installation of a new Title Partner in global wealth management firm Investec, and launching the celebration of the competition's 30th season. He also welcomed new Board members onto the EPCR Board, including EPCR CEO Jacques Raynaud.”
While changes to the tournament formats and the introduction of South African teams can be recognised as innovative and bold, it would be misleading to suggest that they gave been unqualified successes. It is hard to escape the conclusion that waining interest in club rugby in general and these competitions in particular has been accelerated by a format which is still not as easy to understand (despite some recent tinkering) and doesn’t offer the same weekly jeopardy during the pool stage as the initial set-up of five pools of four teams playing each other on a home and away basis (with the top team in each pool plus the three best second-placed teams progressing to the quarter-finals). Meanwhile, there is concern about the environmental impact, financial cost, player welfare consequences and sporting integrity implications from the introduction of the South African teams in 2022.
Meanwhile, Kevin Potts, CEO of the Irish Rugby Football Union, has been appointed to the Board of EPCR, representing the Celtic unions and FIR [the Italian rugby federation]. Potts joined the IRFU in 2005, became the COO in 2014 and was appointed CEO in 2021. Prior to his joining the IRFU, he occupied a series of senior management positions and brings a wealth of rugby and business knowledge to the EPCR Board. He replaces Andrea Rinaldo as representative of the United Rugby Championship and will chair EPCR's Sporting and Tournaments Committee.
Mark McCafferty will continue in his role as independent director. McCafferty has been involved with EPCR since its inception following the transition from ERC in 2014, in his roles with Premiership Rugby Limited and the PRO14 and now as one of three independent directors, alongside Arnaud Nourry and McKay.
The EPCR Board is made up of the following members:
- Dominic McKay (Independent Non-Executive Chairman)
- Jacques Raynaud (EPCR CEO)
- Martin Anayi (United Rugby Championship CEO)
- Emmanuel Eschalier (Ligue Nationale de Rugby CEO)
- Simon Massie-Taylor (Premiership Rugby Limited CEO)
- Mark McCafferty (Independent Non-Executive Director)
- Arnaud Nourry (Independent Non-Executive Director)
- Kevin Potts (IRFU CEO)
- Bill Sweeney (RFU CEO)
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The post Dominic McKay to continue as EPCR Chairman for three more years appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.
