Tennis South Africa appoints much awaited CEO
After months of waiting Tennis South Africa finally have a new Chief Executive Officer.
Tennis South Africa (TSA) announced this week that Richard Glover has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the organisation from 1 October.
Glover, 40, has a wealth of experience in the sports industry, both locally and internationally, having spent time at both Arsenal Football Club in London and Cricket South Africa. While living in the United Kingdom, he also completed his MBA at Kingston University Business School.
He is currently Managing Director of Frontiers Sport and Entertainment, a sports marketing agency, which he helped launch in 2012. Frontiers have offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town & Nairobi and clients include The Sharks, the Comrades Marathon, the SA Hockey Association, EFC Worldwide, the Kenyan Premier League & the Kenya Rugby Union.
“Richard brings a wealth of commercial experience to South African tennis,” said TSA President Gavin Crookes. “He has a deep understanding of sport marketing, both locally and internationally, and I believe he will help to uplift South African tennis and bring some of the glory days back to the sport.”
Glover has spent the last few weeks speaking to people involved in the sport, in order to understand where tennis is currently positioned.
“Like every sports federation in this country, Tennis South Africa has its share of challenges, but there are a lot of positive things happening in the sport – including a growing junior programme and strong corporate governance. Tennis is also a unique sport in that it appeals to both men and women and is played by people from the age of eight to 80. These are strong foundations from which to build,” said Glover shortly after the announcement of his appointment.
Glover’s top priority is to raise the profile of Tennis South Africa.
“We must give key stakeholders – whether it be players, fans, or potential sponsors – reasons to believe in tennis. We need to tell our story better,” he said.
Glover also has strong views on transformation and development.
“TSA must embrace transformation at all levels, it is critical for the sport both from a moral and sustainability perspective. However, the fan base is a lot more transformed than people may think. According to recent research data I saw, the number one tennis fans in South Africa are black women based in Gauteng. That is an incredibly exciting insight and is something we can leverage in the future,” he concluded.
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