VC's Roux is SA Rugby's top dog
Jurie Roux - the Chairman of the Varsity Cup - has been chosen as the new CEO of the South African Rugby Union. This decision came after a meeting of the organisation's General Council in Cape Town on Friday.
The appointment of Roux, who is also the Senior Director of finances and asset management at Stellenbosch University, is expected to be confirmed shortly - following the conclusion of contract negotiations.
The General Council accepted the recommendation of an independent interview panel.
Roux, 39, has considerable experience of rugby administration and is currently Vice-President of the Western Province Rugby Union, a Director of the Board of Western Province Rugby (Pty) Ltd, Chairman of the Stellenbosch University Rugby Football Club and, of course, Chairman of the Varsity Cup (Pty) Ltd.
Away from the boardrooms, and his Varsity Cup duties, Jurie is also a former Maties fullback.
"An exhaustive process of assessments and interviews was undertaken to identify a high-calibre short list of five from an original list of 84 applicants," said SARU President Oregan Hoskins.
"To preserve the integrity of the process the name of the preferred candidate was known only to the independent interview panel until today's General Council.
"All of the candidates were subject to a rigorous set of interviews and assessments to identify the best individual. We cast the net wide to ensure we found a CEO with the necessary skills to not only lead a sporting organisation but also a large scale and successful business.
"Jurie has a wealth of experience in rugby as well as proven business acumen and we're looking forward to his taking operational leadership of the organisation and completing the process of restructuring following the dissolving of SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd into SARU.
"SARU would like to thank our consultants and the interview panel for their diligence and for identifying the best individual to take on this challenging and very important role.
"We expect to tie-up the contractual details shortly after which the appointment will be confirmed," said Hoskins.
Roux - who took over as the VC Chairman from Francois Pienaar late last year - said: "I regard this role as the pinnacle for any professional involved in South African sport. It has major challenges, but also many stimulating opportunities."
The independent interview panel was chaired by Raymond Fenner, a partner in a major Chartered Accountants company, and also included Trevor Munday, a director of several companies and representative of the lead sponsors, Ayanda Mjekula, a banker by profession and current CEO of SASDA (South African Supplier Development Agency) and Arness Siame, human resources practitioner and managing consultant.
Roux is expected to take up the position on Wednesday, September 1.