The usefulness of LinkedIn really shined yesterday when the NRL announced the appointment of Suzanne Young as Chief Operating Officer.
For interested people like myself, it returned a full run-down on Young’s credentials for successfully filling the role.
Given much of Young’s first press conference — as well as the early media coverage on the appointment — was dominated by the fact she has three children or her own, and is a stepmother to another three, it was necessary to do a little hunting to find out what else qualifies Young for taking on responsibility for some of the game’s most pressing issues – including behavioural management, financial strategy and salary caps.
Let’s get to those other qualifications: Young’s a senior finance executive with decades of experience leading major teams and strategic change for organisations like Leighton Holdings, Qantas, the Commonwealth Bank and Unisys. She has served as a non-executive director on a number of not-for-profit boards and has some glowing recommendations from the likes of leaders she’s worked with including Peter Hicks and Stephen Norton. As she said during the press conference yesterday, she’s worked in plenty of “blokey industries”.
But the NRL wanted to highlight the fact she’s a mother and stepmother to six teenagers, including boys, in its press release on the appointment.
When NRL CEO Dave Smith was appointed back in November 2012, headlines like ‘Lloyds boss appointed CEO of NRL’ were the norm. Like Young, he too had no history in managing rugby league, but his experience in banking was celebrated as offering him the skills and experience necessary to run the code’s future fund. He had served in the British Army and was described as someone who “knows business and knows how to lead”. It’s not easy to find out how many kids, if any, he actually has – although one report at the time mentions he moved to Australia “with his young family” nine years prior.
Asked during a press conference yesterday what she made of the fact the NRL had highlighted the fact she’s a mother over her professional experience, Young said the rest of her credentials could be found elsewhere. “It’s on my LinkedIn profile. It’s not too hard to find,” she said.
And being a mother is a very important credential, she added. “Well, I think the fact that I am a mother, I have an understanding of the impact, the positive impact, that sport has on young people, how it can contribute to healthy minds and healthy bodies.”
Young clearly takes pride in her combined professional and personal expertise, and it’s actually refreshing to see her suggest what raising teenagers could bring to her time in the role.
For any woman who’s ever wondered if her leadership career will one day involve something beyond ensuring little people get cleaned, dressed, fed, entertained and educated on a daily basis, we can’t underestimate the importance of seeing mothers in high profile positions at major organisations.
If only the added credentials of having children could also be celebrated when men are appointed to high profile positions.