Jack Rudd's election Q&A thread

[IM Jack Rudd]

As you may have noticed, I was a last-minute entry for the NED race, and didn't get round to submitting an election address. But I'm happy to have a Q&A thread instead, so feel free to ask me about my candidacy.

[JustinHorton]

If elected do you propose to continue posting here to a limited or full extent?

[IM Jack Rudd]

If elected do you propose to continue posting here to a limited or full extent?

Probably. If announcing anything official in my role, I shall post it on the other Forum as well.

[John McKenna]

Jack,

You were a NED during another difficult period in the ECF's chequered history and it seemed to me that you did not like at all what was transacted on your watch.

At that time it was the season of covert clandestine conspiracies - as opposed to overt screaming skullduggery - and I had the strong impression that almost everyone, even those close to the centre (including the NEDs), was kept out of the closed loops.

What has changed in the ECF, or in you, since then that has made you more confident that you can better fulfil the role of NED this time round?

Has the departure of certain individuals from the ECF and the return of Rebekah Brooks to News International played a part in your decision to give it another shot?

John

[IM Jack Rudd]

I think I'm in better mental and physical health than I was when I was voted out two years ago, which will probably make it easier for me to do the job.

The main culprits of the make-decisions-first-and-consult-afterwards approach seem not to be in place any more; the NED role might be an easier one to deal with in their absence.

[David Robertson]

On an earlier occasion, by your own admission, you hadn't a clue what was required of a NED. Are you any clearer now? If so, what has made the difference?

[Matthew Carr]

Hi Jack

I read the job description of the Non-Executive directors. According to that the role involves:

Non-Executive Directors:
1/ Bring their business, chess playing and organisational skills and experience to bear on the Board’s decision-making processes, acting at
all times in the interests of the ECF as a whole.

2/ To monitor in a non-executive capacity the Executive Directors.

3/ To ensure that the views of unions, leagues, congresses and other
member organisations are properly considered at Board meetings.

4/ To advise the Board on issues of efficacy and transparency in the
operation of the Board.

5/ To advise the Board on internal and external communications and
relations.

6/ To advise the Board on the range, extent and effectiveness of the
ECF’s Policy Framework.

How would you go about achieving these 6 points and what other things would you do on top of these?

[IM Jack Rudd]

With regard to 1), I have plenty of experience within the chess world as a player, arbiter, organizer and team captain - some of it more successful than others - so have a reasonable amount of insight into how proposed board decisions might affect people in the chess world. I do not, it has to be said, have much in the way of business experience.

2) is a difficult one, because of the way individual Directors can - and often did, in my previous term - keep other Directors out of the loop. It has links with 4) and 5) - we need internal communication and transparency, or the Board cannot function properly at all.

3) is another difficult one; the main way in which the Board interacts with the organizations listed at the moment is via the medium of Council meetings, and those occur far too infrequently for them to be actually useful as gauges of the views being sought. If an individual Director is proposing ideas that would seriously affect any particular type of organization, I would urge him or her to seek the opinions of the relevant organizations. (The Director this would mostly affect is the Director of Home Chess; the current incumbent does seem to have a good record in this regard.)

I just did a google search for the ECF's Policy Framework, but couldn't find anything specific that seemed to refer to. Is it the name of a group of documents?

[John McKenna]

I thank Jack for his reply to my questions, further up above.

My trust in Jack to be aboveboard as a NED, or any other position, in the ECF is fairly certain.
What's not so certain is the way others within the ECF have, in the past, conducted its business and if that still continues.

If the majority of those running it were straightfoward and transparent I'd have no qualms about Jack being a NED.
If the other NED were someone of the calibre of Angus French, again, I'd sleep easier in the knowledge that they were on watch.

My problem is - I still think in terms of the ECF being like an iceberg with 9/10ths of it submerged beneath the waves.

As for the ECF's Policy Framework, perhaps it is still related to the Long Term Strategic Plan 2007/8 -

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-conte ... _oct07.pdf

which should be read in conjuction with the Achievement Report 2007/8 -

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-conte ... _oct08.pdf

and Behind the Scenes at the ECF -

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-conte ... e_jobs.doc

(The above documents could do with being updated or replaced if there is to be any sense of continuity and progress.)

[Roger de Coverly]

3/ To ensure that the views of unions, leagues, congresses and other
member organisations are properly considered at Board meetings.

Views of players to be ignored of course.

[John McKenna]

The Direct Members' Representatives should be handling that by communicating the views of players to the NEDs and others in the ECF. (If he decides that being a NED is still too dangerous, Jack would make a very good Direct Memebers' Rep.)

[IM Jack Rudd]

The Direct Members' Representatives should be handling that by communicating the views of players to the NEDs and others in the ECF. (If he decides that being a NED is still too dangerous, Jack would make a very good Direct Memebers' Rep.)

I may do that if I ever get around to changing federation and thereby being able to downgrade to Silver.

[Roger de Coverly]

I may do that if I ever get around to changing federation and thereby being able to downgrade to Silver.

I thought the rule that the Bronze member rep etc had to be a Bronze member was abolished. It left the ridiculous position that anyone volunteering for the Bronze or Silver roles was ruling themselves out of Congresses or FIDE rated events for the duration of their holding the post.

Do the "member representatives" have any special privileges? I know they have a rarely used power to put motions to Council without needing much additional support, but do they have any more access to directors, non-exec or otherwise outside of the two regular Council meetings each year?

[IanCalvert]

Jack

Do you think a National Chess Day in 2016, would be in the interests of the ECF as a whole?

[IM Jack Rudd]

I think it certainly could be.