Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[OutByEaster?]

8 minutes ago, Woody1000 said:

I think what TRO is trying to say is that just because Heck is prepared to fire the gun, as he has done in the past, it doesn’t mean he enjoys firing the gun. Apologies for speaking on your behalf @TRO!

There's plenty of evidence from his past and his time here that suggests that Mr Heck loves playing the role of gunslinger.

I've not seen any reports that suggested he was not happy with the ticket pricing and I'd be astounded if there were any.

[Woody1000]

1 minute ago, OutByEaster? said:

There's plenty of evidence from his past and his time here that suggests that Mr Heck loves playing the role of gunslinger.

I've not seen any reports that suggested he was not happy with the ticket pricing and I'd be astounded if there were any.

To be fair mate, you have met the guy and I haven’t so you would be much better placed to comment on that. I was simply commenting on what TRO had said.

[villabromsgrove]

Chris Heck is just a guy employed by a worldwide company doing what his job description dictates.

NSWE want Villa to become one of the world's top clubs, and that doesn't happen without shaking the whole of AVFC's previous antiquated modus operandi until we're left with the means to compete at the very top level.

If we don't wan't to get to the top then let's just admit that we would rather remain a cosy affordable 'community club'.

If you're one of the many posters demanding expensive signings then you have to accept that a 'Chris Heck' type President of Business Operations is essential.

I've loved supporting Villa for a very long time, and I'm excited by what may now be possible, but I realise that to achieve greatness means that we accept the costs involved.

[MNVillan]

39 minutes ago, villabromsgrove said:

Chris Heck is just a guy employed by a worldwide company doing what his job description dictates.

NSWE want Villa to become one of the world's top clubs, and that doesn't happen without shaking the whole of AVFC's previous antiquated modus operandi until we're left with the means to compete at the very top level.

If we don't wan't to get to the top then let's just admit that we would rather remain a cosy affordable 'community club'.

If you're one of the many posters demanding expensive signings then you have to accept that a 'Chris Heck' type President of Business Operations is essential.

I've loved supporting Villa for a very long time, and I'm excited by what may now be possible, but I realise that to achieve greatness means that we accept the costs involved.

Yes, Manchester United-level success does not come with Fleetwood Town-level business operations. We can’t have it both ways.

[nick76]

10 hours ago, villabromsgrove said:

Chris Heck is just a guy employed by a worldwide company doing what his job description dictates.

NSWE want Villa to become one of the world's top clubs, and that doesn't happen without shaking the whole of AVFC's previous antiquated modus operandi until we're left with the means to compete at the very top level.

If we don't wan't to get to the top then let's just admit that we would rather remain a cosy affordable 'community club'.

If you're one of the many posters demanding expensive signings then you have to accept that a 'Chris Heck' type President of Business Operations is essential.

I've loved supporting Villa for a very long time, and I'm excited by what may now be possible, but I realise that to achieve greatness means that we accept the costs involved.

Sorry but this is just not fully correct.  Yes we have to accept some increased cost, the stats show that the material increase in revenue and to be comparable with the big clubs (outside of London who have different economic demographics) is with commercial revenue from sponsorships, branding and corporate hospitality.  

Increasing GA ticket prices so dramatically is actually compensating for deficiencies in the ability to generate revenues other ways or the usual ways of increasing revenues.  It’s actually a poor reflection of his ability in some ways.

As many have suggested there are plenty of ways of generating other revenue and they have detailed it and I agree that we will suffer with less room because of the lower grounds, terrace view and other corporate hospitality, and I accept that but small additional revenue from match day tickets compared to the ability to add additional revenue from normal avenues is counter productive to the atmosphere at the club.

Heck needs to focus on revenue channels that add material revenue additions than backfilling at GA fans expense and our of line with pricing of other Midlands/Northern elite clubs.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

10 hours ago, villabromsgrove said:

Chris Heck is just a guy employed by a worldwide company doing what his job description dictates.

NSWE want Villa to become one of the world's top clubs, and that doesn't happen without shaking the whole of AVFC's previous antiquated modus operandi until we're left with the means to compete at the very top level.

If we don't wan't to get to the top then let's just admit that we would rather remain a cosy affordable 'community club'.

If you're one of the many posters demanding expensive signings then you have to accept that a 'Chris Heck' type President of Business Operations is essential.

I've loved supporting Villa for a very long time, and I'm excited by what may now be possible, but I realise that to achieve greatness means that we accept the costs involved.

I agree with this...

It's business, we either try to compete financially or end up back in the Championship. 

Football has changed, it's evolved.

For every fan that moans and threatens to demonstrate or boycott another will take your place. 

For every decision you 'think' is wrong a consequent decision will be made that makes people happy. For example the fan zone is done purely for the fans enjoyment and to see their heroes arrive.

I think we should sit back and enjoy the present and look to the future. Villa fans cannot live in the past, this is a different game and industry now.

Chris Heck is here to get Villa competing on all levels, it's his remit. 

UTV

[Vive_La_Villa]

I don't know if this would be Heck's remit but it's another example of poor customer service.

A mate of mine tried to refund Everton ticket but was told no refunds which is fine. But he told them the terms and conditions clearly state tickets can be refunded. The person on the phone acknowledged this and told him he needs to make a complaint so he did. A few days later those terms and conditions have been removed from the website but no response at all to his complaint.

It's poor from the club. 

[TRO]

19 hours ago, ender4 said:

Firstly that sounds like Heck was forced to increase prices. Has this leaked from somewhere?

Secondly, i think Heck is his own worst enemy. He could have done everything he has done to date, but if he had approached fans and the media differently, i think most fans would have been more accepting of the things he has done. It's terrible communication that anyone in a senior position should know that it's not what you do but how you do it that makes a difference.

First bit....I read a quote from him somewhere, can't remember where...Where he described, difficult decisions having to be made.

secondly, I agree. It could of been communicated better, but can we be sure most fans would have been more accepting, I'm not so sure....it might have helped maybe, maybe he's not very good at PR....but it still doesn't lower the prices.

I see somewhere that journo's are being encouraged to raise the issue with Unai in the press conference.....not sure how apt that is either.

[TRO]

15 hours ago, Woody1000 said:

I think what TRO is trying to say is that just because Heck is prepared to fire the gun, as he has done in the past, it doesn’t mean he enjoys firing the gun. Apologies for speaking on your behalf @TRO!

I am stunned he didn't grasp it...unless it was a euphemistic way of saying I disagree.

I am staggered how pure speculation is being challenged, because by definition its opinions.....my argument is based on a lack of facts.

16 hours ago, DakotaVilla said:

Do you actually believe what you just wrote? I mean, just stand back and look at what he has done his entire career. 
 

 

 

No, I just wrote it to be Argumentative.

Now, if you ever read my posts, that the last thing I set out to do.

He was at the 76ers for 9 years and I presume, his work there, was sufficient to persuade our owners to hire him....but it's what he does with us that counts.

If you want to dislike the man, go ahead, nothing I say will stop you, and you are welcome to your opinion.....If I ever join in with you, I feel I need to know more, that's my position.

 

[spiezels]

6 hours ago, nick76 said:

Sorry but this is just not fully correct.  Yes we have to accept some increased cost, the stats show that the material increase in revenue and to be comparable with the big clubs (outside of London who have different economic demographics) is with commercial revenue from sponsorships, branding and corporate hospitality.  

Increasing GA ticket prices so dramatically is actually compensating for deficiencies in the ability to generate revenues other ways or the usual ways of increasing revenues.  It’s actually a poor reflection of his ability in some ways.

As many have suggested there are plenty of ways of generating other revenue and they have detailed it and I agree that we will suffer with less room because of the lower grounds, terrace view and other corporate hospitality, and I accept that but small additional revenue from match day tickets compared to the ability to add additional revenue from normal avenues is counter productive to the atmosphere at the club.

Heck needs to focus on revenue channels that add material revenue additions than backfilling at GA fans expense and our of line with pricing of other Midlands/Northern elite clubs.

Id bet all the new hospitality combined GA, and GA+ add a hell of a lot more than them old boxes in the doug ellis and north stand. 

[MrBlack]

5 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I don't know if this would be Heck's remit but it's another example of poor customer service.

A mate of mine tried to refund Everton ticket but was told no refunds which is fine. But he told them the terms and conditions clearly state tickets can be refunded. The person on the phone acknowledged this and told him he needs to make a complaint so he did. A few days later those terms and conditions have been removed from the website but no response at all to his complaint.

It's poor from the club. 

That inconsistency got highlighted over a week ago. Not sure why it took them days to correct it. There's so much incompetence off the pitch I just don't understand how a multi million pound company can get it so wrong...especially when the costs associated with infrastructure don't even impact our FFP position.

As president of business operations I'd assume making them non refundable was his call. Is this standard practice for football tickets? Not sure if we're the first to do it, but to change the rules on them, quite possibly after people have already purchased the tickets, is probably bordering on illegal. I'm sure consumer rights would be on your mates side.

If they want to change the terms and conditions going forward then fine, but it's a scummy move from someone who's shown he doesn't really care about the average fan repeatedly.

[Vive_La_Villa]

6 minutes ago, MrBlack said:

That inconsistency got highlighted over a week ago. Not sure why it took them days to correct it. There's so much incompetence off the pitch I just don't understand how a multi million pound company can get it so wrong...especially when the costs associated with infrastructure don't even impact our FFP position.

As president of business operations I'd assume making them non refundable was his call. Is this standard practice for football tickets? Not sure if we're the first to do it, but to change the rules on them, quite possibly after people have already purchased the tickets, is probably bordering on illegal. I'm sure consumer rights would be on your mates side.

If they want to change the terms and conditions going forward then fine, but it's a scummy move from someone who's shown he doesn't really care about the average fan repeatedly.

I agree. At the very least tell fans how they can go about reselling their ticket if they can no longer attend a game rather than have an empty seat. It's a joke.

[nick76]

Bank of Heck!

Quite Amusing…

 

[Pongo Waring]

12 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Bank of Heck!

Quite Amusing…

 

Villa fans need to move on from cash. It's all about digital money. And heck is digital money! Moving the club into twenty first century finally 

Edited Saturday at 14:59 by Pongo Waring

[DakotaVilla]

7 hours ago, TRO said:

I am stunned he didn't grasp it...unless it was a euphemistic way of saying I disagree.

I am staggered how pure speculation is being challenged, because by definition its opinions.....my argument is based on a lack of facts.

No, I just wrote it to be Argumentative.

Now, if you ever read my posts, that the last thing I set out to do.

He was at the 76ers for 9 years and I presume, his work there, was sufficient to persuade our owners to hire him....but it's what he does with us that counts.

If you want to dislike the man, go ahead, nothing I say will stop you, and you are welcome to your opinion.....If I ever join in with you, I feel I need to know more, that's my position.

 

“As far as I aware, and I say this guardedly, because, who can believe anything these days....my understanding is from some reports, Chris Heck was not happy, in implementing these price increases.....Folk can take that ,anyway they see fit.”

I assumed that you actually had some inside knowledge. Please can you confirm that you have no inside knowledge whatsoever and that this is just your opinion?

[DJ_Villain]

On 13/09/2024 at 20:49, Woody1000 said:

I think what TRO is trying to say is that just because Heck is prepared to fire the gun, as he has done in the past, it doesn’t mean he enjoys firing the gun. Apologies for speaking on your behalf @TRO!

As my mum would say:

”He’s firing the gun that someone else has loaded”

[nepal_villan]

21 hours ago, nick76 said:

Bank of Heck!

Quite Amusing…

 

That's hilarious!  The photo of the Comms director is nice touch.

[sidcow]

On 12/09/2024 at 12:56, sne said:

He eats peoples pets.

 

[sidcow]

On 13/09/2024 at 13:21, CVByrne said:

No ITK knowledge, just I've worked in large organisations and specifically on large Projects. You've to report to ExCo the Executive Committee on how your business plan is progressing. There are KPIs, key performance indicators. You set out plans of where you will be in x months and after year 1, 2 etc. what the return on investment is etc..

I am sure something similar is happening with Aston Villa. There's no way it's just hiring Heck and that's the end of the owners involvement. They've got Atarios on board now so there are multiple investors and a proper board of directors now. 

Heck has a key role, growing the commercial revenue which is a hugely important thing for a business in terms of the companies valuation. 

Oh for sure. There will minimum be a Monthly board meeting where he will be directly reporting to Wes and Nas and Atarios representatives. They'll be quizzing him aggressively about how he's performing against targets, what's going on within the club, what plans are in progress. 

No way on earth does he Eg say he's going to increase stadium revenue by £x and the board don't ask exactly how, and then understand he's going to achieve this by increasing tickets by £x amount and creating X amounts of GA+ seats. They'll have reviewed all the plans for the new executive lounges and done their own sums stacking the revenue they'll generate v the investment costs. 

They'll have discussed and agreed the cancellation of the North Stand.

They may not actually get involved in the day to day minutia of running the club but they'll be fully aware of what's going on and be constantly questioning Heck about what he's doing with their investment.

And Nas is at most matches too.  No way does he sit and shoot the shit about the game with Heck whilst he's here.  He'll be continuing the questioning and feedback what he hears to Wes. 

As I've said here before, I know for a fact that a financial director of a large company won't even renew their insurance arrangements without the agreement of the board.  And the board will question that intensely, not merely accept the recommendation of the FD.

They'll be fully aware of the direction of travel on most key things happening at the club. 

Edited Sunday at 14:32 by sidcow

[sidcow]

On 13/09/2024 at 20:59, OutByEaster? said:

There's plenty of evidence from his past and his time here that suggests that Mr Heck loves playing the role of gunslinger.

I've not seen any reports that suggested he was not happy with the ticket pricing and I'd be astounded if there were any.

My brother in law was a corporate trouble shooter. Worked for a large company and used to be parachuted into each depot around the country charged with turning each one around and turn them from loss making to profit making. This involved a lot of redundancies. 

He didn't really think that much about it. It was not an emotional decision for him, purely business sense and part of doing his job. 

He was absolutely horrified when he learned that his nickname within the company was The Grim Reaper.

Anyway it has a happy ending. Once he'd worked his way around every location and fixed them he was no longer needed so they made him redundant.