Marco Iannuzzi to retire at the end of this season

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Blitz
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Marco Iannuzzi has always been a Wally 'fave'. His announcement that he would like to work in the Leos organization, I believe, sets up the groundwork for that possibility.

I certainly can see Wally being positive about that scenario. Marco has done a lot of community work. He also would be a 'fit' for Wally for a number of reasons.

It will be interesting to see if Marco continues on his career path or joins our Leos organization.
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almo89
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#52Fan wrote:
Sun Oct 22, 2017 11:58 pm
I suspect, if Marco wants to stay in football, he’d be great in the front office, but as we’ve seen south of the border, a president without experience can be a disaster. Director of Player Personnel would be a great place for Marco to get his ‘executive’ feet wet.
From the interview he did with 1040, I think he said that if he was to work for the Lions front office, he would prefer it to be on the business side instead of football ops.
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DanoT
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#52Fan wrote:
Sun Oct 22, 2017 11:58 pm
Marco is a great player and he must be smart if he got into Harvard, so he would make a better President of the US than the Great Trumpkin, but the Lions need a President who has front office experience, understands the game, knows how to make the big deals and can rally the community and it’s leaders. Bob Ackles set the bar high and I believe he taught Scott (Son of Bob) how to do the same. That’s probably why the Stamps made him President. He’s worked NFL, XFL, CFL and he chairs the BC Football Hall of Fame. He might even be over-qualified. I suspect, if Marco wants to stay in football, he’d be great in the front office, but as we’ve seen south of the border, a president without experience can be a disaster. Director of Player Personnel would be a great place for Marco to get his ‘executive’ feet wet. With a Harvard education and his community spirit, whatever he does he’s going to be successful. Thanks Marco for many years of great entertainment.
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B.C.FAN
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In a lengthy Q&A with Cam Tucker for The Province Blitz section, Iannuzzi confirms that he would like to be the next president of the Lions.
Q: Will you remain in the business of football in any way?

A: Definitely not on the football operations side. I’m ready to move on from football operations. But I’m quite interested in the business side and I’ve made that aware to the various parties that are looking to buy the team. Would I love to come in and be the next president of the Lions? Absolutely, I’d love to. Would definitely want to go that direction. I just see there’s so much potential here with the organization, with the city. Being out in the community as much as I have been. The fans out here and the support system out here is so huge and so great. Not only do we as an organization owe it to the fans to put together a better product on the field, but we owe it to create a better atmosphere, whether it’s family areas, whether it’s for young people to come and have fun. I just think we can be more of a hub to get people together to have a good time and I just see so much potential in this city.
Q&A: B.C. Lions wide receiver Marco Iannuzzi hanging up his cleats for the last time

Iannuzzi is saying many of the same things that fans have been saying about marketing and rejuvenating the franchise. And he has the advantage of being a charismatic, recognizable face of the franchise. Skulsky was a powerful leader, especially with the Waterboys and team sponsors, but he was not charismatic. Neither are Scott Ackles or George Chayka, who have done most of their work for the Lions behind the scenes in the shadow of Skulsky or Moray Keith. Iannuzzi's business background makes him more than a potential figurehead. If I were the next owner of the franchise, I would seriously consider naming him team president.
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DanoT
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At first I thought that at 30 years of age Iannuzzi is too young to be the Lions President. However he is the purrfect age to relate well to fans in the 20-40 age group which is essential to the long term success of the team.

As far as a 30 year old getting the respect of the business community, Iannuzzi's Harvard degree and work in the financial industry are a help, but being a former Lion is the real door opener.

I hope it happens.
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WestCoastJoe
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Points well made, BCFAN and Dano.

I was ready to post, decided to wait, and now see that you guys have covered what I was thinking.

I thought he might be too young as well, but have changed that view.
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B.C.FAN
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And now this: Iannuzzi is offering to buy 2-for-1 tickets for 87 fans on Saturday.
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I don't think that Marco's age is necessarily a barrier to being president. However, his lack of relevant education and experience should be taken into account.

A Harvard education would be great if it were in law or business administration. Architecture and environmental studies? Not as relevant.

Part time work as a financial advisor would be good background for an intern, not president.

His charitable work is great, but doesn't come close to making up for the deficiencies in the rest of his resume.

His public expression of interest in being the next president is reminiscent of Glen Suitor's expression of interest in being commissioner, and just shows how far he has to go to be a credible candidate. He would have better off saying that he would like to be involved in the business side and is willing to start at the bottom and learn.

Of course, we have seen other instances where utterly unqualified individuals have become president of hockey teams or countries, but I wouldn't advise going down that road!
#52Fan
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Marco has proven that he is worth investing in, on and off the field, but like ‘maxlion’ pointed out, that doesn’t mean you give him the key to the kingdom before finding out how he drives. A Harvard education is impressive and even without all of his work on the field and in the community, that alone gets any applicant’s foot in the door ... at the starting level. Marco deserves a shot at the business side of the organization and if he proves himself, in whatever position he is offered, he’ll rise to his potential. He’s only got 30 more productive years left in management ... so he can afford to invest 5-10 years learning how the machine works before trying to run a part of it, let alone the whole thing. He’s got a great future in the league and I hope it’s with the Lions. I hope they find a place where he can learn and grow within the organization.
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maxlion wrote:
Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:04 pm
I don't think that Marco's age is necessarily a barrier to being president. However, his lack of relevant education and experience should be taken into account.


Of course, we have seen other instances where utterly unqualified individuals have become president of hockey teams or countries, but I wouldn't advise going down that road!
There's the right way to go about getting to the point of running the franchise, and the wrong way.

Matt Millen did it the wrong way. John Elway did it the right way.

Matt Millen was handed the keys to the Lions without having done anything in his post playing career other than television work. This proved to be a disaster both on the GM side and the business side for the Lions. Even if he had the acumen to clean out the dead weight in the organization (and he did) he couldn't actually rebuild the organization properly, as he had never done it in any field previously.

John Elway, on the other hand, had varying degrees of an active hand in multiple businesses, including auto dealerships, restaurants, and websites, before buying and owning an Arena League team, which he ran for eight years before stepping into the President's role with the Broncos. He runs both the business and football sides currently.

The point is, players who step in without both prior business and football experience and try to manage both sides don't do well. (I think any NFL club that thinks this will work with Peyton Manning will find this out too) without getting significant real world business experience first.
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WestCoastJoe
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:31 pm
And now this: Iannuzzi is offering to buy 2-for-1 tickets for 87 fans on Saturday.
Yeah. That is Marco. :thup:

I see the job of the President as a P.R. role, building the image of the Lions in the community, building the brand. I would have to say that Dennis Skulski, even with all of his credentials, has failed in that role. Have we moved ahead with Dennis, tread water, or backslid?

Sometimes you get all the credentials in the world, and ... boring.

Outside the box thinking to appoint such a young guy as Iannuzzi to that role? Yeah. The Lions' brand is pretty far down at this time, beaten up, neglected. Marco radiates good will. That might be just what is needed.

Do people respond favourably to Marco? Yes. And that is what matters, if building the brand is the goal. He would be one of the faces, one of the key faces, of the franchise. Geroy also fills that role, a face of the franchise.

We are at a crossroads. Waiting. Watching. Waiting for new ownership. Waiting for new football management and new coaching. And overall new leadership for the organization. Time to build the brand.

Not a hard, set in stone opinion, obviously. Just some meanderings ... with the best intentions for the franchise at heart. Not trying to campaign for Marco. But, given a vote, that would be mine. 30-year-old President? Sure.

If we let a guy like Marco Iannuzzi fade away from the franchise, that would be just one more head shaker. :dizzy:
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Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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Nice move (hopefully and likely not out of his pocket) but he's positioned this nicely - something lacking in Lions marketing with their sleeper ads like "Who is Sol E" and 'Who is Jennings' .

The problem with the Lions is that they usually dump the ex-player into an ill-defined role in "Community Relations" and that rarely translates to fans at games unless it's linked to marketing to community segments.
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Hambone
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Toppy Vann wrote:
Wed Nov 01, 2017 10:10 am
Nice move (hopefully and likely not out of his pocket) but he's positioned this nicely - something lacking in Lions marketing with their sleeper ads like "Who is Sol E" and 'Who is Jennings' .

The problem with the Lions is that they usually dump the ex-player into an ill-defined role in "Community Relations" and that rarely translates to fans at games unless it's linked to marketing to community segments.
I'm assuming the Community Relations group is responsible for all the work done with the various community programs the Lions run. During the offseason they seem to be pretty much "balls to the wall" with community appearances by players leading these programs in schools across the lower mainland, the island and other cities and towns in the province. I happened to look at their schedule back in February and was quite surprised and pleased to see how many sessions and appearances players were making in the course of a week. It would be no small task coordinating the logistics and arrangements for those efforts not to mention attracting the sponsors who also get behind them. Lots of griping goes on here about lack of marketing with ticket pricing seeming to be the only solution ever offered. These community programs are a huge part of the marketing efforts. They were a big part of Bob Ackles approach. He would be proud to see that not only do they continue to be a big part of the marketing efforts, they have in fact been expanded upon and grown since we lost him.
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David
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I don't know how much experience Marco has in boardrooms, but it would be refreshing to have a younger voice at the table at these BOG old boys meetings. Trevor Linden is a young(ish) President of the Vancouver Canucks and seems to spend all his energy hawking gym memberships. I sure he doesn't, but the optics of a ubiquitous advertising presence and the "duo role" implications would be a bit disturbing if I were a big fan of the team.

As far as other roles for Marco, I can't see him leaving a successful career as a financial analyst to become the club's community outreach director. Besides, Jamie Taras does a pretty good job at that. I could see Marco in George Chayka's role as VP of Business, at least to start. I would think he knows his way around a spread sheet pretty well. Nothing against George, I was actually very favourably impressed by his swift email response to an issue I had, but he has held the position for a number of years now and a new voice and fresh set of eyes might be a good thing. I have faith that Marco could really get out there in the business community and drum up sponsors for the team.

Was a little shocked to learn that Chayka has absolutely zero interest in social media:

http://advantagemagazine.ca/2016/inside-look-bc-lions/
Blog or website you follow religiously?
None.

What’s better: Facebook or Twitter?
Don’t use either.

DH :cool:
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B.C.FAN
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David wrote:
Wed Nov 01, 2017 12:14 pm
Was a little shocked to learn that Chayka has absolutely zero interest in social media:

http://advantagemagazine.ca/2016/inside-look-bc-lions/
Blog or website you follow religiously?
None.

What’s better: Facebook or Twitter?
Don’t use either.
DH :cool:
Wow. That is shocking. That just reinforces my impression of Chayka as a loyal behind-the-scenes worker but definitely not someone who can raise the profile of the Lions in the community as club president.
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