Peter Moore - first interviews as CEO

[gkmacca]

New Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore says he has been eavesdropping on fans' pub conversations to get their views on the club - before they recognise him.

The Liverpool-born 62-year-old, a former EA Sports executive, starts his new role on Thursday, succeeding Ian Ayre, who left in February after 10 years at the club.

"I wandered down the road looking for a pint on Sunday and I just sat in the pub listening to three guys on the next table dissecting every position for 45 minutes. It was compelling," he said.
"They didn't have a clue who I was."

But Moore told BBC Sport any transfer targets the fans had in mind would be unlikely to influence the club's policy as those responsible for buying players - manager Jurgen Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards - were "trusted implicitly".

"There's two Peter Moores," he said. "There's the fan who has his own opinions about what needs to happen and that Peter Moore stays in a box somewhere.

"And then there's the Peter Moore that trusts implicitly what Michael Edwards and Jurgen Klopp and their staff are doing right now. We've got that well under control."

Liverpool 'part of my DNA'


Liverpool-born Moore, who is currently based in the United States, will move back to the city this month to take up his new role.

The 61-year-old has 40 years of experience working for large companies and has held various positions at Electronic Arts over the past 10 years.

But Moore still remembers his first game in 1959 and says he can empathise with those who go to Anfield.

"It's part of my DNA. I can still feel being on The Kop in the old days and moving 15 steps up and down depending on what was going on on the pitch.

"We're in this together, we are a collective. The socialist beliefs that are core to this club all pulling together here. It's very unique and very different.

"If you grew up here in the sixties as a kid and a family these were tough times. There were very few things you had to hang on to or look forward to - for all of us it was three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon at Anfield."

Moore says fans will drive his decision-making.

"When I think about what we need to do here there's a mentality that I have that I will call fan first, which is when we make decisions 'what does this mean for the fan?'" he said.

For Moore, fans are not limited to those attending matches, but those global fans "sitting at 4am in San Francisco with my red shirt on and living and dying with every kick from 5,200 miles away".

How much will Liverpool spend this summer?

Solanke is out of contract at Chelsea this summer
Liverpool have already begun their transfer business, agreeing to sign 19-year-old Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke for a fee of around £3m.

But Moore would not be drawn on the club's spending plans for this transfer window: "Who do we need to buy? That's not how it works around here.

"There's a constant process of identifying talent, looking at the opportunities, and like any good business what you do is you say 'we've got a weakness here or we need to invest there build for the future'."

Will being in Champions League again help?

Liverpool secured their return to Champions League football for the 2017-18 season with victory over Middlesbrough on the final day of the season.

Klopp's side finished fourth in the final Premier League table and will have to negotiate Champions League qualifying at the start of next season.

"We have deserved to get back and that is building a better platform for us to be more attractive to players," said Moore.

"It's obviously worth money, and that's public, but we become more of an attractive club again.
"Players who want to play in Champions League - let's not forget this is a World Cup season at the end of next year and players want their national team managers to see them on the big stages."




video interview here:

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/video/latest-videos#29547

 

[gkmacca]

Paul Wilson

Thursday 1 June 2017 09.00 BSTLast modified on Thursday 1 June 2017 09.07 BST

Peter Moore starts work on Thursday as Liverpool chief executive with a brief to maximise the club’s revenue over the next few years, though he insists the idea is not to be caught up in a spending race with the likes of Manchester City.

Fenway Sports Group, the club’s American owners, have identified the Liverpool‑born former Microsoft and Electronic Arts executive as the sort of modernising operator who can locate and develop areas where the business can be made more profitable, but Moore will have no direct responsibility for incoming transfers and the present policy of looking for value in the market will stay in place.


“There is money to back the manager and the sporting director,” the 62-year-old said. “The key ingredients are already in place at this club, you can expect the team to be strengthened, but we won’t be spending £100m just because Manchester City has spent £100m. I have worked for in a company that was involved in a $1bn buyout and it didn’t quite work out. I have lived through a lot of merger and acquisition activity, and what I have learned over the years is that it is not how much you pay but what you get for your money.

“Everyone wants to see massive money but my business background is buying talent at the right price. We have a kid called Philippe Coutinho who cost £8m, and he is as good as other guys around the league who cost four or five times as much. What I am about, and what I believe this club is about, is making good business decisions.”

Moore has dual American-British citizenship and has spent the most successful years of his career in the Unites States, where he held senior roles with Reebok, SEGA and Microsoft and was responsible for marketing products such as Dreamcast and Xbox. A lifelong football fan and Liverpool supporter he is delighted to be replacing Ian Ayre, even if the remit has changed slightly since the former chief executive stood down. Whereas Ayre was responsible for pursuing transfer targets and tying up deals, Liverpool have appointed Michael Edwards to work with Jürgen Klopp in that capacity as sporting director. Moore’s role is purely to head up the business operation.

“It was made very clear to me from the start what the job responsibility was,” he said. “I am happy with the remit because I have never been involved in any transfer business other than as a fan, hanging on every rumour and signing. I am built for the job I am undertaking. Football is big business now, you have got to keep moving. I have been the CEO of a $5bn company with 8,500 employees. People might say, what does he know about football? He’s a video game guy or a shoe guy at Reebok. But the key is understanding what drives a business and what leadership qualities a CEO needs.

“My Liverpool background is a major plus, but it’s not key to what I bring. Working in Silicon Valley, where you quickly realise technology is a non-stop river, you have to be constantly on your toes, tweaking direction and strategy, driving revenue. I don’t think football is so very different. The challenge of modern football is also to keep up, not to get left behind. Looking from afar I see clubs that were powerhouses when I was a boy dropping off the pace and losing touch. That is always sad, because once it happens it is very hard to catch up again and become relevant.”

Harsh critics might say that is where Liverpool are at the moment, with no league title in 27 years, though Moore believes the club is well-placed for an upswing. “I think the stars are aligned here at the moment,” he says. “We have good owners, amazing investment in the stadium, we are presently laying down a brand new multi-million pound players surface, planning to improve our training facilities, we have a world class manager, money to spend on the team and we will be ready for our Champions League qualifying games.

“We will not be spending money just to keep up with the neighbours. We might spend £100m, who knows, but it will not be because one or more of our competitors has done so. We want to invest sensibly and securely, because that is how businesses grow. You need to always think: ‘we can do better here, we can do better there’. Every Premier League club, just like every Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A club, has a sit down at the end of the year to review what they could have done better. Should you reach a position where you don’t think you can do any better, that is dangerous territory. If you are in business and you think you are perfect, you are screwed.”

 

[gkmacca]

Peter Moore insists he will do everything in his power to help Jurgen Klopp deliver success at Liverpool.

The Reds' new chief executive begins work at Anfield today, having been headhunted by owner Fenway Sports Group to replace the departed Ian Ayre.
The 62-year-old arrives with a wealth of experience with big companies, having worked for the likes of Reebok, Sega, Microsoft and, most recently, Electronic Arts during a distinguished business career.

His appointment, confirmed in February, was the culmination of a 12-month global search.

Moore will report directly to FSG, working alongside managing director Billy Hogan and chief operating officer Andy Hughes. On the football side, Michael Edwards will perform the role of sporting director.

And speaking to the ECHO for the first time in his new role, Moore explained how the setup will work going forwards.
“We see ourselves as the team behind the team,” he said. “The job of everybody that proudly wears a Liverpool Football Club badge is to empower what goes on on that pitch.

“The expression my dad always used was 'horses for courses' and when you have the right people in the right positions, who provide specific skill sets, then that is the right way.”

He continued: “I think of Michael, who is very analytical and has a huge net to cast globally for the right players within a budget - that is what he does brilliantly.

“Jurgen, of course, is for my money the pre-eminent manager in the world right now. Every club would love to have Jurgen Klopp in charge of their club.

“And I bring that business background. That's my responsibility, the business. I'm 'the third leg of the stool' as it's been referred to, that kind of makes everything stick together and brings it all in as one.

“This is a business, make no mistake about that. This is not an emotional club activity, this is a business. And as we've seen with football over the past decade with the media rights and so on, it's big business too.

“In my most recent job (at EA Sports), I was chief operating officer and then chief competition officer for a $5bn company, so I'm used to BIG business.

“My skills are operational, leadership, understanding how to work within a profit and loss statement.

“I also understand the rigour of working for a publicly traded company, which is very different to working for a private company, because of all of the disclosures you have to do.

“My skills are running the business of Liverpool Football Club, and making sure we provide the resources necessary for Jurgen and his team, and Michael Edwards and his team, to be successful on the field. That's my job.”

Moore arrives at a good time, with Liverpool having secured, crucially, a return to the Champions League. The mood around Anfield was transformed by their final day win over Middlesbrough, it is fair to say.

The new CEO enters a club that recorded a revenue of £302m for the 2015/16 season – the ninth highest among clubs in Europe, according to Deloitte.

Asked what his key challenges will be at Anfield, he is reluctant to answer in any great detail.

“Tough for me to answer until I have started,” he admits. “But I've sat down with my team and gone through a host of stuff, and I have been able to get a particular understanding of how the club is run from a financial basis."But I repeat, what we need to do to continue to provide Jurgen and Michael with the resources, that's our remit, that's the key.”

 

[dantes]

£100m isn't a lot of money, and he mentions that figure a couple of times with some sort of reverence, as if that would be an unexpected and unprecedented move. He also mentions £8m and making "smart investments" like Coutinho. As decent as he comes across, none of that bodes well.

 

[gkmacca]

I know what you mean, but it's hard to tell what he really means. It's just common sense what he says - you don't want to spend money for the sake of it, you don't want to overpay if you can avoid it and you're always looking for bargains. It would be bizarre if he said the opposite. But obviously what fans want to hear is that we are ready to compete, to fight for the top talent and not just meekly back away when the likes of City flash the cash. He's not said anything wrong, but I hope he soon says more that sounds right.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

Too much personal hard-sell for me. In the end it's not how great his fighting talk has been but the results he produces.


Sent from my iPhone 8 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[gkmacca]

Too much personal hard-sell for me. In the end it's not how great his fighting talk has been but the results he produces.


Sent from my iPhone 8 Plus using Tapatalk

It's his first interview and he's asked about himself. That's hardly 'too much personal hard-sell'! And of course he needs to be judged on results, but he can't produce them on his first day. I don't get the complaint. These things are there merely to give a first impression, that's all.

 

[manwithnoname]

Peter Moore seems to think that running football clubs as profitable businesses is the way to go. Hahahahahaha.

 

[Hansern]

Peter Moore has vowed to play his part in delivering on the expectations at Liverpool as he begins his new role as the club's chief executive officer today.

The lifelong Reds fan brings a wealth of experience to the club, after almost a decade with gaming industry giant Electronic Arts and having previously held senior positions at Microsoft, Sega and Reebok.
In an interview with Liverpoolfc.com at Anfield, Moore spoke passionately about his personal connections with Liverpool, both the team and the city, explained his aims as CEO and considered the ‘unbelievable’ opportunity ahead of him.
Read on for a transcript of the chat…

Welcome to Liverpool Football Club…
I’m delighted to be here.

How does it feel to be here in your position as Liverpool’s chief executive officer?
It’s an honour, it’s a privilege. As a lad from Liverpool, growing up I never would have dreamt that I’d be in a position to help and support the club, and guide us through what I think is going to be an incredibly exciting couple of years to come here. I think about my upbringing, I think about my love for this club and my experience in business, and being able to bring that together to help this club is unbelievable.

Play Now

When the opportunity arose, what went through your mind?
My dad went through my mind. My dad imbued Liverpool Football Club into me. We first walked into Anfield, holding my hand, in 1959: Liverpool 4-3 Leyton Orient. I bled red. I can still feel and smell and experience that day. You feel like you’re going to meet your dad again and he’s going to say ‘So how did it all end up?’ and I say ‘I ended up as the CEO of our club, dad’. That was the first thing that went through my mind.
My entire family are red; there isn’t any blue infiltration whatsoever that I’ve been able to detect. Everybody was absolutely delighted. I still have a lot of family over here. My grown children are in America and they couldn’t have been happier for their dad, they know exactly what this means to me. They couldn’t have been more proud, I think. There’s a lot of work to be done but everybody is on my side so far!

Tell us about your experiences of supporting Liverpool from afar…
I left the UK permanently in 1981 and when I first moved to America it was not easy to even figure out the scores, never mind watch a game. The newspapers didn’t carry football scores, so on a Sunday – no matter where I was in the world – I would call my dad and my dad would talk me through the score, the scorers and what the other teams had done. As it has evolved, football has become so much more popular in the United States. Every game on every platform is live and I feel very fortunate for that.

Is this unlike any position that you’ve held before, because of the emotional connection?
It is. The emotional connection of not only the passion I have for the business of football, but this is my club. The great companies I’ve worked with before, I have a passion – a passion for the product, the brand and the people. But when you add the passion for your club, this is where I was born, this is very special. The weight of what I will be doing, on the expectations of hundreds of millions of people like me – devout Reds – it’s huge for me.

For those who may be unfamiliar with your experience, tell us why this is a good fit for you and the club…
I like to think I bring the passion we just spoke about but also a tremendous breadth of business experience. I left for America in the early ‘80s, worked for 11 years for a brand many people remember, Patrick. Kevin Keegan wore Patrick and Michel Platini wore Patrick. I started off as a young sales guy in southern California and became president. I got spotted by Reebok and became head of sports marketing for Reebok. I actually came to Anfield in July 1995 and did the Reebok deal with the then CEO, Peter Robinson, who sat next to me. I like to think it took me 22 years to get one chair to the right to be in his position. That was my first real business interaction with the club.
I left Reebok and had a complete change of career and went to be the president of Sega and launched the Dreamcast console. As my career developed, running big businesses, understanding brands and understanding passion, whether it was for a pair of Reeboks or more recently in video games, which is huge, there’s a tremendous amount of passion. I ran the Xbox business for Microsoft up in Seattle and for the last near-decade I’ve been the president of EA Sports and, most recently, the chief operating officer for Electronic Arts. But, you add who I am and what this means to me: very special.

You have worked for many years in an industry – gaming – that is forever evolving and changing. Do you expect to encounter similarities in football?
At Electronic Arts, my most recent company, we enjoyed having over 300million players who interacted with us. I think Liverpool has huge similarities – hundreds of millions of people self-identify ‘I’m a Liverpool fan.’ We need to take the excitement that only 54,000 people can experience here and we need to globalise that. As a fan who lived 5,200 miles away, I soaked up the news. Who is going to play? Who is hurt? What formation is Jürgen going to put on the field? What’s happening at Melwood today? I’m looking at pictures of Melwood – who is missing and why? Reaching out that way to fans, like myself, all around the world is very, very important.

Tell us about your remit and what you’ll be responsible for…
In broad terms, Jürgen and his coaching staff and the scouting teams are responsible for everything down there – success, goals, clean sheets and entertaining football. Giving the fans who come here and watch all around the world everything they deserve, because expectations are going to be high. In my world, my team and my remit is to provide all of the resources, the support, the revenue required. Football is big business nowadays. This club deserves and is determined to be where we were in the ‘70s and ‘80s as a world-class club and, in my estimation, the best club in the world. We have the best footballing story, we’re the biggest footballing family in the world. My job is to make sure we deliver against everything that I as a fan, I as the CEO and everybody that loves what we do here, deliver against their expectations.

 

[manwithnoname]

He'd better get a Liverpool FC tattoo, and quick.

 

[Hansern]

It's his first interview and he's asked about himself. That's hardly 'too much personal hard-sell'! And of course he needs to be judged on results, but he can't produce them on his first day. I don't get the complaint. These things are there merely to give a first impression, that's all.

He gives a very good first impression in those interviews. Business sense but also that important local fan connection with the club.

 

[dantes]

What the fuck. Why did he leave his house wearing that jeans/suit thing, and then allow himself to be photographed wearing it. So much for his first impression. Fuck me.

 

[gkmacca]

His American and faint Liverpudlian accent is intriguing. I'm always fascinated in what certain foreign places do to Scouse. I had some relations who emigrated to Canada - ten years later they came back on a visit and sounded like they were from Belfast!!! (And no, they hadn't just secretly moved to Belfast!).

 

[Oncy]

Im probably being neggy as fuck but that reads to me like we intend to spend very little.

 

[Fallon]

What the fuck. Why did he leave his house wearing that jeans/suit thing, and then allow himself to be photographed wearing it. So much for his first impression. Fuck me.

Bigger question, why the fuck has he got two watches on?

 

[tombrown]

Bigger question, why the fuck has he got two watches on?

Bastard's only just arrived and he's already two-timing us.

Where is she? Bitch!

 

[reuque]

Bigger question, why the fuck has he got two watches on?

One for British Standard time when we play in the league and the other for European Time in the Champions League. #pumped

 

[Oncy]

Fitbit innit dimwit.

 

[keniget]

I realize it's a little unfair given the nature of the interviews but I too found the self-promotion rather off putting.

 

[Fallon]

I thought it might be, but I also thought they were a bit sleeker?, and that considering the rest of his outfit he wouldn't wear such a 'tin hat' that screams twat.

 

[Ryan]

"There's a kid called Phil Coutinho..."

Make it stop.

 

[mark1975]

£100m isn't a lot of money, and he mentions that figure a couple of times with some sort of reverence, as if that would be an unexpected and unprecedented move. He also mentions £8m and making "smart investments" like Coutinho. As decent as he comes across, none of that bodes well.

I know what you're getting at, but I think it's just sound business sense and about keeping us sustainable. I'd rather see us snap up the Coutinho's of this World for relatively small sums, than blowing money to match what others are doing. There's a sense that we did that before on players like Carroll, Benteke, etc, that we spent that sort of money just to save face. When the reality was we were attracting a lower tier of player to what our competitors were buying, but trying to spend big on them to make it look like a statement of intent.

I'd rather us be sensible and realistic about it. Of course I wouldn't mind seeing us buy big (who wouldn't), but as long as we're actually shrewd about who we buy and that we buy what's right for the setup, it doesn't matter if it's a £6m kid or a £40m big buy, as long as it's *right*.

 

[dantes]

We have Klopp and Europe, so this was one time we don't need to spend big on average players for the sake of it. We could actually persuade very good players to sign, and its a pity if our past mistakes have made us too tight at the wrong time.

 

[Gary25]

Sounds like Ian Ayre

 

[Gary25]

Im probably being neggy as fuck but that reads to me like we intend to spend very little.

I think you're being realistic as fuck.

 

[dantes]

Next summer we'll be selling that kid Coutinho after he gets worked over good by Neymar at the world cup. Before then, we'll have finished 5th thanks to the squad players (sorry smart investments) we were forced to play in the league. Then, that is the time the club will wake up and spend big on a shit player who is happy in the europa league. That will be our statement. A year too late, and entirely incorrect.

We should really be spending now from a position of strength.

 

[Brizzle]

I can imagine a big focus for the club is how we move with the times and look to use 'digital' to monetise our global fan base, in which case the appointment of the former CEO of EA who guided them through their own digital disruption is a pretty shrewd one. Will be interesting to see what mark he wants to make on the club.

 

[Judge Jules]

Yes, agreed. Having failed so dismally to make the best of ourselves in so many ways for so many years, we need to be far more businesslike and up-to-date all round. If this guy can do more than just talk the talk (and his record suggests he can), this could prove to be a very good appointment.