Get to know CMRFU boss Aaron Lawton

Counties Sports Hub sits down with Counties Manukau Rugby Union chief executive Aaron Lawton to get to know him, six months into the role.

• Tell us briefly about yourself and your background before taking the job with Counties Manukau?

Growing up, I was always passionate about sport. I wasn’t good enough to be a professional athlete so when I left school I thought the next-best-thing was to be a sports journalist. With that in mind, I went to AUT, got a journalism degree and ended up working for many years as a sports writer for the Sunday News and then the Sunday Star-Times. I then moved into some editing roles before leaving journalism to join the Warriors on their executive team as the head of marketing and communications where I worked under my mentor Jim Doyle. After four years living and breathing on that rollercoaster, I was looking for a new challenge and a good mate of mine saw the CEO vacancy at Counties Manukau Rugby and I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I was lucky enough to get the job and haven’t looked back since. Away from work, I’m a dad of two kids – Charlie (5) and Zoe (3) and have been with my wife Sarah since I was 18. So I’m very much a family man and between working and parenting, I don’t get a chance to do much of anything else!

• You’ve been in the role for six months now – how are you enjoying it?

I absolutely love it. We’ve got a great crew of hard-working, passionate people here at the Union and it’s a real pleasure to work alongside them. We’ve also got proud rugby clubs and schools with storied histories in the game and sponsors who have stuck by us during some very tough times. That all said, in the many conversations I’ve had with our rugby community, it’s clear we’ve also got work to do. We have to engage more, show that we care about grassroots rugby and give our people a reason to believe in the Union again and what we are trying to do. It’s not going to happen overnight but we are hellbent on building that trust back, bit-by-bit.

• You were thrown in the deep end with Covid-19 wreaking havoc. How have you managed to cope?

It’s been tough, no doubt about that. The Union is hurting. Just like many in our community. I’ve been blessed to work for a very good board and they have helped immensely as we’ve navigated through the choppy COVID waters. From the start, we decided to keep it simple and focused all our energy on two things – keeping the Union afloat and looking after our people. We’ve done that as best we could and things like the Government wage subsidy and the loyal support of our sponsors and community have absolutely kept us going. If we’d had a mass exodus of sponsors – big and small – we’d be in a much more challenged position. The rest of the year is still going to be a challenge but after witnessing the willingness of our staff to sacrifice for each other and the greater good of the Union, I have no doubt we are well positioned to not only survive but thrive into 2021.

• What has been the biggest challenge so far?

Definitely the whole COVID situation. There’s no guidebook for what we’ve just been through. And we’ve had some very good people leave the Union which was difficult for everyone. I came in with big plans to really refine our purpose as an organisation and drill down into our strategic plan but all that work got put on hold as I was forced to put out fires on a daily basis. Only now, as we start going back to what I’d call “the new normal” are we starting to have a look at some of those core, crucial questions. At the same time, I think battling through the crisis has certainly helped develop some really strong bonds between our staff. There’s a real connection there and a willingness to get this proud Union humming, which is hugely exciting. 

• What have you enjoyed most during the first few months?

The people. It all comes back to the people, doesn’t it? I absolutely love the team we have at the Union. There’s a real camaraderie there and the workplace culture is very positive. The guys in the HP space are all pros and it’s amazing to see how much energy everyone puts into their work. But when I refer to people I’m also talking about our rugby community – both sponsors, clubs, life members etc. We are very blessed to have such passionate people involved in rugby in our region and it’s our job now to repay their loyalty. I said it before but I’ll say it again – without our loyal sponsors, and I’m talking big and small, we would have been in a fairly dire state right now. It’s also worth mentioning how much I’m loving our Premier club competition too. I’ve loved getting out to the different clubs and watching games with Steelers head coach Tai Lavea. We have some real talent in our region and there’s a strong desire to make sure local boys are getting a crack this year.

• All provinces are feeling the pinch with massive shortfalls in funding/revenue as a result of Covid-19, what sort of shape is Counties Manukau in?

We are okay. The Union has been well managed in recent years and, most importantly, has cut its cloth. We don’t spend what we don’t have. And that’s not going to change. We’ve certainly felt the impact of COVID when it comes to our financials and our trust funding is well down on previous years. But we’ve acted quickly and cut our expenses right back. All staff voluntarily accepted pay cuts from April and that sacrifice has helped position us well. We’ve also been really humbled by the fact many of our clubs have paid their affiliation fees this year when, given the economic climate, we gave them the option to pay only what they could afford. I’d also like to acknowledge our commercial manager Scott Penney who has done a wonderful job engaging with our loyal sponsors. He’s been putting in some huge hours lately and has managed to not only retain most of our top-back-of-jersey sponsors but also find some new ones at the same time. It’s an amazing result and comes back to the wonderful loyalty our community has shown the Union. It’s worth acknowledging too that our Steelers players have showed a willingness to agree to salary cuts too and without that, again, we’d certainly be in a worse position. So, in short, there have been a lot of sacrifices made by many people and hopefully that will lead to a better financial result than we probably all expected back in mid-April.

• What do you hope to see from the Steelers and Heat this provincial season (other than winning games obviously)?

Winning, certainly. But for me, it comes back to the manner of the performances. Tai Lavea (Steelers head coach) and Chad Shepherd (Heat head coach) are both massive on selecting players with the right character. We want resilient, hard-working players who want to help their teams succeed. As they say, you can’t coach want. I’m of the view that the score takes care of itself if you prepare well, work hard and give it everything you’ve got. I’d also like to see our community really get behind our teams and part of that is ensuring that we select local players too. That’s something both Tai and I are keen to ensure happens.

• What are the key things you hope to achieve during your time in the role?

Both Tai and I have talked about the need to leave the Union in a better place than we found it when we eventually move on, whenever that may be. For me, that’s about really articulating a real purpose for the Union that reflects the fact rugby is more than just a game. We exist for our community and can’t lose sight of that. Obviously I’ve only been here for six months and have no plans to leave any time soon, but I’m really keen to work with the board, staff and rugby community to build some sustainable systems that will lead to long-term success, whether that be winning HP teams or healthy growth – not to mention quality experiences – for kids at the grassroots level. Again, there’s a massive amount of work to be done but it’s very exciting and certainly gets me out of bed in the morning.

• What is the best place, close to the office, to get food at lunchtime?

The Monarch is outstanding for a good pub lunch and is owned by one of our great former Steelers in Dean Sheppard. But my favourite, favourite coffee shop in Auckland – not just the Counties Manukau region – is Your Local Coffee Roasters. The coffee is the best you can get anywhere in Auckland and the customer service is second-to-none. I love popping in on the way to work and seeing Carrie, Ria and the team.