Tickford Racing in Search for Sporting CEO with Commercial Acumen
Tickford Racing, the renowned Ford squad in the Repco Supercars Championship, is on the lookout for a new CEO to succeed Tim Edwards. While Edwards will step down from his position as CEO and team principal at the end of the current season after an impressive tenure of nearly two decades, Tickford is now in the process of formalizing its search for a successor.
The decision to find a new CEO comes amidst significant restructuring within the team. As Tickford scales back its operations from four cars to two, co-owner Rod Nash emphasizes the need for a commercially driven leader to guide the team forward. Nash stated that the restructuring process has prompted Tickford to envision a new style of CEO, one who can navigate the increasingly commercial landscape of motorsport.
Speaking to the Speedcafe Newscast, Nash revealed, “We’ve had an agency working away, gathering all their paraphernalia to go on the sell to any he or she prospective person.” Recognizing the evolving nature of business within the motorsport industry, Nash highlighted the importance of adapting Tickford’s leadership structure to align with its changing needs.
Nash hinted at the possibility of splitting the roles of CEO and team principal, similar to the model adopted by Dick Johnson Racing. Drawing a parallel to the latter, where a CEO and a team principal coexist, Nash expressed his interest in exploring different structures for Tickford Racing. He elaborated, “It’s interesting. If you look at different structures between teams, one team principal is not the same as another team principal… We’re just making those adjustments now in a number of ways.”
The impending Gen3 regulations, set to revolutionize the Supercars Championship, are also prompting Tickford to reconsider its business model. Nash highlighted the conversion of the team’s “one-stop shop engineering” into a commercial entity named Tickford Engineering. This move, along with the shift in team structure, underscores the need for a CEO with a strong commercial focus, capable of navigating both motorsport and broader sporting landscapes.
While Nash recognizes the importance of sporting experience in potential candidates, he remains open to individuals with diverse sporting backgrounds. “You leave it to the experts,” he affirms. “You don’t want to dictate where you want a person from… In an ideal world, you need someone from a sporting parameter. Sport has a funding model with sponsors and partners. You’d expect that someone needs to come from sport. But I’m really open that it doesn’t need to be anything near motorsport. It could be someone from any sport out there.”
Tickford’s search for a new CEO marks a significant turning point for the team. As the landscape of motorsport and commercial opportunities continue to evolve, Tickford Racing is determined to find a leader who can drive the team’s success in both sporting and business realms. With Nash’s resolute determination and a specialized agency involved in the search process, Tickford is setting its sights high for an individual with the right skills, experiences, and vision to lead the team into a new era.
As the Repco Supercars Championship reaches its final race on one of the world’s best street circuits, Tickford’s quest for a sporting CEO with commercial acumen is set to shape the future trajectory of the team. With the Gen3 era on the horizon, Tickford Racing seeks to embrace the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, making strategic choices to remain a competitive force in the ever-changing motorsport landscape.