New ACT Brumbies chairman Robert Kennedy wants to invest in local talent, declaring the club will make Canberra players a priority in future recruitment and suggested a cap be put in place for marquee Super Rugby players from interstate.
Kennedy made the rapid rise to chairman of the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union board on Tuesday night when incumbent Sean Hammond was ousted after 11 years of service.
The Brumbies announced at the same meeting a record $1.07 million loss and Kennedy has outlined his vision to turn the club's finances around.
Kennedy, of Canberra accountancy and consultancy firm Synergy, hopes to sign a new chief executive after Christmas and secure a major sponsor as soon as possible.
He also wants unity on the board after rumblings of division, which ultimately led to Hammond's shock exit.
In one of Kennedy's pitches to be voted onto the board, he detailed his plans for the majority of Brumbies to be sourced from local competitions rather than by recruiting stars to join the program.
Only a handful of current Brumbies, including Jesse Mogg, Robbie Coleman and Nic White, are products of the Canberra competition.
"I'll take advice from more expert people than me on the percentage [for a cap], but as a principle it is a belief I have," Kennedy said.
"We don't want to chase hard at the expense of our roots.
"We've seen local players come on as the best in the world in past years. I'm sure there are a few more out there and we can show some loyalty and opportunity to them. Not necessarily chasing the marquee players.
"I really want to connect with the local community and get that repaid in turning up to games. Our preference is to back the local guy."
The board will meet again on Friday to start finalising chief executive and sponsor arrangements.
It is understood the club was set to meet with a potential major sponsor on Thursday before Hammond's departure.
Kennedy will help with sponsorship and chief executive negotiations, adding that he will continue the process in place rather than start from scratch.
The Brumbies are facing significant financial pressure after losing money for the past four years.
They also have just $2 million left from the $11.375 million sale of their Griffith headquarters last year.
The tight financial market could see cuts to coach Stephen Larkham's high-performance program as the Brumbies aim to end an 11-year Super Rugby title drought.
"There are two strategies to turn around our financial situation, one is generating revenue and we'll run hard at that," Kennedy said.
"But to remain viable to still have a team you need to live within your means. It's not something that will be solved in 2015, but we have to get our costs back in our revenue base.
"Performance is a major area of our expenditure. It's hard to think you can leave that as a sacred cow, what I'd ask is a critical analysis and does it deliver performance or is there a more innovative way."
Hammond was the shock victim of a Brumbies boardroom shake-up, 11 years after he joined the board and nine years after he started as chairman.
For the past two years he has been fighting behind the scenes to help stabilise the club following coach Jake White's abrupt exit and chief executive Andrew Fagan's decision to quit.
Hammond was devastated at the fall out and said: "I love rugby and I love the Brumbies. I wish the new chief executive and the board every success.
"Every decision I led or made was for what was in the best interest for rugby and the Brumbies at its core.
"[Wife] Tanya and I have had a wonderful experience and established many great friendships. I have been overwhelmed with messages of support and acknowledgement today. We have achieved a great deal."
Kennedy has worked with the Brumbies' finance and audit committee for the past nine years.
He will push ahead with the board's governance structural changes next year, which were detailed by Hammond last week to ensure the board works at its peak.
It's understood there was a significant boardroom division in recent months.
Hammond has continually fronted up to fix the organisations problems, and was frank in his assessment when he said the Brumbies would have been insolvent had they not sold their Griffith base.
But the growing angst led to a split which Kennedy says must be fixed.
"My first challenge is to establish some unity and stability at the board level to make sure the board is performing its role," Kennedy said.
"Everyone is supposed to have the same interests at heart. I accept there are differing views and opinions, but we need one plan and to pull in the same direction."
Board president Geoff Larkham admitted the uncertainty at the Brumbies was worrying.
"But there's hope on the horizon. I was surprised [with Hammond's situation], but you can never predict these things," Larkham said.
"It was certainly a backlash, but it was a backlash against perception. The reality is, it's the way things fell out of place during the year."
