Really curious to know just how many PBR fans are really shocked at the news of CEO Randy Bernard’s resignation??
After last year’s PBR World Finals, I was wondering just how long he would stick around. And now I know!! What came as a surprise is the news of him leaving, but where he landed.
Some of us on the PBR fan side understand what he has done for the PBR and for the sport of bull riding. What he means to the fans, the sponsors and the supporters. We also know what kind of a kindred spirit he is.
On the other side of the sports world, there was plenty of shock and awe. As the news of Randy Bernard taking over as CEO of the IRL (Indy Racing League) hit the web, it brought out the proverbial redneck armchair quarterbacks in droves.
IRL fans may not realize that their new leader will be what that sport desperately needs right now. A smart, young and energetic leader with some brass balls to do some new things to get people back into the empty seats.
Many IRL fans seem to be attacking him for being a cowboy and not knowing jack squat about car racing. The common question is “What the heck do bulls have in common with race cars??”
Having had the honor of meeting Randy and interviewing him several times, plus had some conversations with this man while covering the PBR World Finals here in Las Vegas, I can say they actually have the question wrong.
Randy will be the first to tell you that he is not a cowboy. That he didn’t know the tail from the horns when he started with the PBR. Now look at where he and the sport are.
So the question should be: What the heck is a smart, well liked business leader, who took a relatively new, untested, no name, no money sports niche and turned it into a multi-million dollar international sports niche, doing taking over another sports niche that is in its decline??
If there is one person who can turn the IRL around, my money will be on Randy. Whatever they paid for him to leave PBR, it will seem like chump change in two years.
I believe the answer to that question is that with all the changes at PBR since the takeover/buyout, I am sure there wasn’t much arm-twisting involved to get him to leave. And that is a shame.
That the PBR has changed dramatically for the worse in its culture since the suits took over. Making some of the original founders multi-millionaires is nice and I am proud of them for their new found wealth and success, but it killed the soul of the company.
Now is he walking into the same mess at IRL that he is leaving at the PBR? Mostly time will tell. But it’s the opposite in culture. The IRL is corporate structure in disarray. It lost its soul years ago and is looking for that new commonality. A need to get back in touch with the fans of today is something I think Randy can bring to that sport.
Randy is a very personable guy. He has no problem getting into the stands with the fans and he can schmooze the sponsors just as easily. They can relate to him better than most of the current leaders of the sport.
Randy is also a businessman. He knows how to make a deal, when to walk away from a deal and he has no problem taking the heat for a deal gone wrong. With him, the buck really does stop here.
We will miss him in the sport, but will wish him well in his new challenges with the IRL. The race fans will soon see what a great leader their favorite sport has and wonder why the PBR ever let him go.
