South African racing took another small step towards what we all hope will be a new era after Phumelela Gaming & Leisure Limited announced the resignation of 63 year old CEO John Athol Stuart after an uneasy twenty months at the helm.
There are many that will suggest that the boeing was already hurtling to earth when Stuart took over the captaincy from Rian du Plessis, who resigned after a decade for personal reasons effective 17 September 2018.
Former Phumelela CEO Rian du Plessis
At the time, Du Plessis committed to assist his successor until the end of March 2019 ‘to ensure a smooth transition’.
Some say the Jooste man may have lingered longer in the cockpit, while Stuart was unable to emulate the feats of Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger who performed a miracle forced water landing in the Hudson River off Manhattan eleven years ago.
Stuart battled the turbulence of serious financial issues, exacerbated by, amongst others, tax cuts, expensive litigation and some debatable strategies, including the acquisition of an interest in Supabets and the failed Futsal venture.
He was quoted a month after entering office that Phumelela was pinning its hopes on Supabets, Interbet and Supaworld to boost its flagging fortunes in the following financial year ‘as the stagnant economy put its operations on the back foot’.
Stuart said it would take time for start-ups such as Supaworld to gain traction.
“We are well on the way and expect the business to start contributing to earnings in financial year 2019.” He was so wrong.
But did he ever really have a chance? His CV certainly suggests that he had the track record and industry experience to do the job.
But despite talks of restructuring and cost-cutting, a once-off flash walkabout at the Vaal and a few promises, the company wasn’t really going anywhere fast and he was already on the reserve tanks the day he took command.
John Stuart served his articles with KPMG before joining TAB KwaZulu-Natal in 1979 as Internal Auditor and occupied various positions there before leaving in 1996 as Assistant General Manager.
John Stuart – resigned on Friday
He then joined TAB Transvaal and transferred to Phumelela as part of the corporatisation process in 1997.
He served in various positions before heading up the International division. He also headed up the publishing division as well as Tellytrack operation on behalf of the Tellytrack partnership.
He is also listed as a non-executive director of Automatic Systems Limited, one of the two totalisator operators in Mauritius and an Executive Director of Premier Gateway International.
Stuart grew up listening to racing commentaries on steam radio from the age of 7 with his Dad.
In an interview last year he said horseracing was a vital part of the country’s economy.
In the same editorial it stated that Phumelela contributed ZAR800 million every year to the country’s economy and generated more than ZAR200 million in tax revenue.
‘Key to this was the development of its own people and the fostering of a progressive, innovative company culture.’
Plenty of pretty words but little action. And it’s a story that didn’t end well when the wind shear of COVID-19 finally saw the bird hit earth.
No replacement has been announced and the company remains under the control of business rescue specialist, John Evans.
