As you may have seen in the Club’s update this morning, there have been a series of changes at Club Board level.
The Club Board asked the trustees, earlier in May, formally to approve the appointment of two new directors, and we were pleased to give our agreement.
A fan representative director, Max Ramsay, has also chosen to step down from the Club Board. We thank Max for his period of service and wish him well for the future. We will be providing details about the process for nominating and electing his replacement in the next few weeks. It is important that we get fan representative appointments right, so that your interests as fan owners are given the best possible voice.
Two new directors
Sandy Fyfe will join the Club’s Board as its new Finance Director, while Craig Liddell will also join as a director.
Both of these appointments are, from our perspective at TJF, important and positive developments, putting two Thistle-minded people with the right skills, outlook and time right at the very heart of decision-making at Firhill.
An existing association with the Club is not a pre-requisite to being a Club Board member, but we are fortunate to be able to appoint two excellent candidates from within our existing community.
Sandy Fyfe - Finance Director
Sandy brings a wealth of experience as a partner in an accounting firm of over 20 years, and is someone widely trusted across the Thistle community to approach football finances in a transparent, pragmatic and solutions-focused manner.
He is willing and able to lead the sometimes uncomfortable conversations that are necessary to protect and grow our football club. We found his help last summer, assisting the trustees to scrutinise budget proposals, especially helpful, and he has greatly improved financial reporting and processes in recent months serving as the chair of the Finance Working Group.
He also lives and breathes the values of fan ownership and fan representation, and we think his appointment will help to strengthen the working relationship between the Club’s custodians and its owners.
As a consequence of taking on this new role, Sandy will be stepping back from TJF’s own board with immediate effect. We’d like to put on record our thanks for his support of the Foundation during what has been, at times, a challenging period.
Craig Liddell - Director
Craig is also someone that will also be well known to many at Firhill. He is life-long fan, longstanding club sponsor and 71 Club ambassador, and like Sandy has been a TJF member since the very beginning of our journey.
Craig has previously been an excellent leader of Testimonial Committees, Club anniversary fundraising initiatives, and brings experience from running his own successful business CL Flooring Solutions. His linkage into Glasgow’s wider business community is also key for us.
We have wanted to find a way to get Craig more involved in the senior leadership at the Club for some time, and are pleased that circumstances have now made this possible. He has already been making an impact behind the scenes ahead of his formal appointment and we look forward to working with him in the season ahead.
Further strengthening
Both the Club Board and the Trustees keep the composition of the leadership team under regular review, and are always looking to strengthen the capacity and skills base at the Club.
As part of this, the Club is currently recruiting for a Volunteer Co-ordinator role. The goal of this new role is to help the Club make the best possible use of its most abundant and valuable resource: the people in the Thistle community itself.
We know that there are a lot of fans who want to muck-in and help the Club in one way or another, whether it’s using skills or contacts from their work, or just some good old fashioned hard graft looking after Firhill, helping in the office or on match-days, or something else entirely.
The Volunteer Co-ordinator role will help us to ensure that we mobilise volunteers more effectively, and make them feel valued and looked-after at the Club.
If you’re interested in this role, you can view the role description here. If you’d like to volunteer your time or expertise either to the Club or to TJF, please also get in touch.