After five years as CEO of the St George Illawarra Dragons, it has been confirmed that Ryan Webb will depart in April next year as the club looks for someone to replace him.
With the club deciding not to renew his tenure at the helm, they will now be on the hunt for a new CEO to lead them into the future and hopefully make the NRL Finals under Shane Flanagan.
Originally appointed in 2020 to replace Brian Johnston, Webb helped oversee many aspects of the club, including the commercial and financial side of the business, support the head coaches that have come through and expand the club's base and community.
"Ryan is a great person and has been a strong leader for club. He took on the role during a testing time as COVID impacted the NRL, bringing in much-needed reforms and guiding us through a period of significant change over recent years," Dragons Chairman Andrew Lancaster said.
"Webb's tenure has seen the club reach key milestones including reaching record commercial revenues and profitability, expanding the Dragons community programs, supporting Head Coach Shane Flanagan in reshaping the football program and bringing to life the Dragons' Community and High Performance Centre which will start construction in the coming months.
"His commitment to fostering a strong and inclusive culture within the club has helped create a solid foundation for future success.
“Ryan's efforts have set us up for continued growth. He has worked closely with the Board, players, staff and fans to ensure that the Dragons will continue building into the future."
Following Webb's dismissal, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that South Sydney Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly, ex-Rabbitohs CEO Brock Schaefer, former NRL GM of Partnerships Jaymes Boland-Rudder, Supercars COO Tim Watsford and ex-owner of Trip-A-Deal Norm Black have all been linked with taking over the vacant position.
In particular, the club has already approached Solly to see if he was interested in accepting the position, but he later informed them that his preference is to stay put at South Sydney and work with Wayne Bennett.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Newcastle Knights CEO Peter Parr's name has also been floated around, and the club has already approached him.
“Being CEO of St George Illawarra is an absolute privilege and an experience I will always be proud of," Webb said.