Adrian Ford is a rugby fan who worked at a football club and has a background in sales. Not the usual career “upbringing” for someone entering the treacherous waters of Racing and Betting industry politics, but one which the recently-appointed Managing Director of Turf TV is confident will serve him well in his new position. We caught up with Ford just two months after he started work at Turf TV.
AF: “I guess that that summing-up of my career to date doesn’t tell the whole story! I had a couple of years as Business Development manager of Coral – where I worked with Trevor Beaumont (now chief exec of the Tote) and Vaughn Ashdown (who subsequently became chief executive of Coral) – and therefore know my way around the LBO industry pretty well, I hope.”
TT: “Having worked there from 1997-1999, why did you leave Coral in the first place?”
AF: “When Ladbrokes took over Coral, towards the end of the last century, that deal was referred and everything was put on hold until the competition enquiry was concluded. When you’re involved in Business Development, that kind of situation more or less means that you can’t do anything productive. In those circumstances, I felt – as an ambitious guy – it was time to move on. I hugely enjoyed my time at Coral, working closely with the Trading Department and others – I think, in fact, that I was the first Coral person ever to meet with Eurobet – and certainly feel that those experiences will equip me well at Turf TV.”
TT: “After a brief hiatus, you then moved on to Arsenal FC, as Commercial Director. For a lifetime Arsenal fan, that must have been close to the ideal job.”
AF: “It was – but not because I was an Arsenal fan. I went to Arsenal FC just as they were planning the move from Highbury to the Emirates. That move enabled, and necessitated, a massive shift in gear in terms of the club’s commercial operations, from corporate hospitality to sponsorship, to media deals and so on, and that was an exciting prospect. In the six years I was there, I’d like to think that I contributed to the club’s current commercial success as well as learning a great deal about working with stakeholders on increasing the size of the commercial pie, something which I think is relevant to Turf TV.”
TT: “Which, I suppose, brings us onto Turf TV, and your new role. What do you see as the immediate priorities for the business?”
AF: “My first job is to speak to as many customers as possible, to find out how we can improve the service and, therefore, improve their businesses. I do not want to pre-judge what I will find out, but it is fairly clear that there is work to be done to make sure that LBOs receive the Turf TV service as smoothly as possible. The reality is that, as a business, Turf TV has been a great success: as the new MD, my job is not to re-invent the wheel, but to work even harder to make our customers as happy as possible.”
TT: “And where will you sit, with regards to the shareholders in the Turf TV Joint Venture?”
AF: “The shareholders, as is entirely right in a start-up, have been heavily involved in Turf TV thus far. Now that it is an established business, I see it as my role to allow the shareholders to step back from the business to an extent. That’s not to say that I will ignore what they say – indeed, I work extremely closely with (chairman) Alan Morcombe – but I believe it will benefit everyone if Turf TV evolves into a slightly more independent business.”
TT: “You recently wrote to customers, proposing a 5% increase in fees for Turf TV for 2010. Can you explain the rationale behind that move?”
AF: “Yes, of course. It was not a decision that we made lightly, but one that I felt was justified on two grounds. First, although our contracts allow for an inflationary rise every year we held prices at the same level last year, unlike our competitors. Thus, this year’s rise is actually less than it would have been if we had made inflationary rises both years. Second, our product is increasing significantly next year, with an increased racing programme as well as more betting opportunities elsewhere.
“I am intensely aware of the LBO environment, and of the necessity to deliver value. As I continue my work at Turf TV I am absolutely focussed on working with our customers to ensure that that value is delivered and that our service is as good as possible.”