Parramatta National Rugby League Club Deputy Chairman Tom Issa has on Thursday temporarily stood aside from the Board, in accordance with clause 37 of the Parramatta National Rugby League Club's constitution.
The following motion was resolved at Thursday’s Parramatta National Rugby League Club (PNRL) Board meeting: It is with regret that the PNRL board accepts Deputy Chairman’s decision to invoke clause 37 of the constitution. The board accepts his substitute, Dr. David Lamond.
“I have been a lifelong supporter of the Eels and it pains me to see the club going through such turmoil,” Mr. Issa said today.
“I have, at all times, acted with the utmost integrity and in the interests of the club and community I am proud to be a part of.”
“I have co-operated completely with the NRL and its investigation, and I remain firmly of the view that if the NRL intend to operate in the best interests of fans and the code they need to consider carefully the club’s response to the preliminary breach notice.”
“I have worked tirelessly on the governance reforms over the past three years and have been a strong advocate of the need for an independent non-PLC director to sit on the PNRL board.”
“I note that the NRL preliminary breach notice calls for such changes to be implemented if they are to consider reducing the financial penalty on the club."
Clause 37 of the Parramatta National Rugby League Club's constitution enables a director to stand aside, and appoint a substitute.
Dr. David Lamond PhD FANZAM is a long-term champion of the Parramatta community and internationally recognised expert in human resource management and international business. He is also a passionate supporter of the Eels.
A former senior executive in local and state government, Dr. Lamond has also run his own consulting company for the last 25 years, specialising in strategy and corporate governance. He was Deputy Dean of the Nottingham Business School in the UK and, more recently, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Victoria University. In addition to his current consulting work in risk management and corporate governance, he sits on several commercial Boards, as well as the Michael Hughes Foundation, a registered charity promoting awareness of sudden cardiac arrest.
The Parramatta Eels Board has today made the following statement:
The Eels are thrilled that a person of such quality and experience as Dr. Lamond is willing to join the Board to ensure the club and its Members have the best representation and capability in the furtherance of its goals.
Clause 37 reads:
37. Any Director with the approval of the Directors may appoint any person (whether a Member of the Company or not) to be an alternate or substitute Director in his place during such period as he thinks fit. Any person while he so holds office as an alternate or substitute Director shall be entitled to notice of meetings of the Directors and to attend and vote thereat accordingly and to exercise all the powers of the appointor in his place (except the power to appoint an alternate or substitute Director). An alternate or substitute Director shall not require any share qualification and also shall ipso facto vacate office if the appointor vacates office as a Director or removes the appointee from office. Any appointment or removal under this clause shall be effected by notice in writing under the hand of the Director making the same. At any meeting at which he is present as such alternate he shall be deemed a Director for the purposes of constituting a quorum. He shall look to the Director appointing him for his remuneration and not to the Company but the Company may reimburse him for all travelling and other expenses incurred by him in attending meetings of Directors or otherwise on the Company’s business. He shall not be taken into account in determining the number of Directors or the rotation of Directors and he shall, whilst acting as a Director be responsible to the Company for his own acts and defaults and shall not be deemed to be the agent of the Director by whom he was appointed.
