Central Coast Mariners have received an off-field boost with experienced Hyundai A-League administrator Mr Bruce Stalder agreeing to join the Club as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Central Coast Mariners have received an off-field boost with experienced Hyundai A-League administrator Mr Bruce Stalder agreeing to join the Club as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Stalder has spent the past nine seasons working for Brisbane Roar in variety of positions, and joins the Mariners as Club Owner Mr Michael Charlesworth finalises a fresh and dynamic management team.
Unashamedly, Stalder admits he has had every role “from cleaner to acting CEO” during his time at the respected Roar, however he will arrive at the Mariners specifically able to offer his extensive expertise in events, commercial, and community football.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for me to work with an iconic brand,” Stalder explained. “We-re only young in the Hyundai A-League but there are some Clubs and some brands that stand out, and Central Coast Mariners are one of those.”
“I am coming from a Club that has had some epic battles with the Mariners on the football field, so the essence of the Club is well known to me.”
“There are a lot of good things about the Mariners, so my aim is to build on those and maybe just re-focus a few things in order to reclaim some ground in the local community and business community as we move forward,” he said.
Stalder grew up in Sydney and has been a football fan for over 40 years. He played his own junior football in Arncliffe, and nurtured his passion for the game as a supporter of the National Soccer League (NSL).
As a past supporter of St. George, Brisbane Strikers and Parramatta Power, and latterly Brisbane Roar, Stalder has ridden the highs and lows of the domestic game.
Those experiences helped foster his unwavering commitment to football.
“Loving football in the 70s, 80s, and 90s was very different football now, simply because the game wasn-t in the mainstream and at the time it wasn-t ‘cool- to say you followed football,” he said. “So it led you to be very galvanised, it led you to be very passionate about the sport, and belief was something that was in everybody who followed soccer as it was known then.”
Stalder believes his passion for the game will shine through in his work at the Mariners – as it did at Roar – as he strives to help the Club build on its achievements to date.
“The excitement of the role is to lead a group of people on and off the field, and to direct a very iconic brand in the Australian football in order to take them to a better place in the future,” he said.
“We need to improve everything we do and strengthen the Club so that Central Coast Mariners will be on the football landscape forever. It-s a big call but it-s part of everyone-s job at the Mariners to make sure that the Club continues to grow.”
Central Coast Mariners Majority Owner & Chairman, Mr Michael Charlesworth, said Mr Stalder-s appointment was a coup for the Club.
“Bruce brings nine years of experience at the Roar with him and in recent years significant success in helping build their business to one of the best commercially in the league,” Charlesworth said. “Bruce also has previous experience as a successful major event operator, which will also help us as we strive to improve our overall matchday experience.”
In addition to the appointment of Mr Stalder, Charlesworth recently finalised a new Club Board.
International Football School Mariners Central Coast Campus CEO, Mr Paul Chapman, and Northern Suburbs Football Association CEO, Mr Duncan Tweed, will join Sheffield United owner, Mr Kevin McCabe, as well as Charlesworth himself, on the Board.
“We have compiled a group of committed professionals with a variety of skills and from a variety of entrepreneurial backgrounds to oversee the Club,” he said. “2014 has just started and we want to make it a successful year on and off the field at the Mariners.”
