New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Inc. (NZTR) today announced that it has commenced a process of consultation as part of a proposed wide-ranging restructure of the organisation. Once this process has been concluded and any changes adopted from it, the new organisation structure will be confirmed.
“This proposal is about putting in place an appropriate structure for providing greater industry leadership, improved Integrity services and more effective management in 2006 and beyond”, said NZTR Chief Executive Paul Bittar.
NZTR Chairman, Guy Sargent, added: “The Racing Act 2003 brought into being the Racing Board, and the roles of each racing code changed for ever. At that time NZTR made a commitment to identify where we could add greatest value and then focus our resources and energies on maximising that value.”
“The Board determined that NZTR should concentrate its resources in particular to: provide a leadership role, provide modern and efficient business services for our customers, strengthen racing integrity and drive our own performance through performance measurement. These proposed changes are part of this process.”
Proposed changes to NZTR’s existing organization structure are as follows:
General Managers
These four positions will manage the core responsibilities of NZTR and will report directly to the Chief Executive:
General Manager, Business Development – Campbell Moncur
Responsible for Finance, IT & Data, Stakeholder Management and Operations (formerly
Registration and Stud Book Departments)
General Manager, Communications – Simon Cooper
Responsible for Communications, Publishing & Web Content, Ownership, Industry Reviews and Education & Training Development with the NZRB
General Manager, Racing – Alan Cole
Responsible for the National Racing Bureau, Race Dates and Programmes and Handicapping
General Manager, Integrity – to be appointed
Responsible for Raceday Stewards, Racecourse Inspectors and Licensing, Training and Development within Integrity (Staff and Licensees)
The proposed establishment of a new position of General Manager, Integrity aims to ensure an enhanced NZTR commitment to its Integrity functions by developing more proactive integrity policies, co-ordinating all integrity services, and introducing regular training and development for Integrity Staff and Licensees.
Manager, Operations
The proposed establishment of this new position would manage the amalgamated operations of the current Registrations and Stud Book Departments. It aims to ensure improved customer service by combining these roles as well as redefining all roles within the two amalgamated departments, developing e-commerce opportunities and cross training all staff. This position would report directly to the General Manager, Business Development.
Stud Book Advisor
The proposed establishment of this position would be a direct result of the amalgamation of the Registrations and Stud Book Departments and recognises the specialist knowledge required in this area. This position would report directly to the new position of Operations Manager. It is proposed that this will be a part-time advisory role.
NZRB proposal to provide NZTR financial services
A proposal from the NZRB to provide financial services has been considered by NZTR, in line with developing further synergies between the two organisations. It is proposed that this service would provide NZTR with modern and effective finance functions and technologies, particularly for advanced financial analysis. This would be of considerable benefit to all stakeholders including Race Clubs. This service would be managed by the General Manager, Business Development through a Service Level Agreement.
It is also proposed that NZTR’s internal HR requirements will be provided by the New Zealand Racing Board’s (NZRB) HR Department through a Service Level Agreement.
Manager, Special Projects
The position of Manager, Special Projects was established in January 2006 to progress a number of projects within NZTR, for which resources were not previously available. This includes upgrading technology platforms and processes. The first of which is for the National Racing Bureau, in order to drive online usage by participants. Additionally, there are a large number of projects within NZTR’s Integrity function. This position reports directly to the Chief Executive due to the wide-ranging and project-based nature of this position.
Chris Weder, who was appointed to the position in January 2006, previously worked for Queensland Racing in both its Integrity and Racing Services divisions and has extensive experience in managing a large and varied workload of projects within the racing industry.
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