Jim Hopson leaves some pretty big shoes to fill for Craig Reynolds, who was introduced on Tuesday as the next President and Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
In his ten years at the helm, Hopson transformed the franchise from one struggling to get by into the powerhouse of the Canadian Football League and one of the premier sports brands in the country.
Reynolds – a 39-year-old from Foam Lake, Saskatchewan – appears ready to take on the task of replacing the only president and CEO that the Riders have ever had.
“The attitude in this organization, and it's been here for the last three years, is to continually improve, we want to get better,” said Reynolds after being announced as the team's new hire.
“Jim's results speak for himself, but the organization is in a different place now and we have some new challenges ahead of us and I'm quite confident in my ability to lead us through our new challenges.”
For the past six seasons, Reynolds has served as the team's chief financial officer and added the title of senior vice-president three years ago. He comes from a different background than Hopson, who was hired ten years ago to be the face of the organization.
Reynolds doesn't know if he would have been right for the job then, but is confident that he can do the job now.
“The organization was in a different place back then and so I'm not sure if my skill set would have been the right skill set for the organization at that point in time,” he said. “I honestly believe it is right now, but back then, I'm not so sure.”
Reynolds has led all aspects of the Riders' involvement in the development of the new Mosaic Stadium and also was a member of the 2013 Grey Cup Executive Committee and chaired the Operations Committee.
Hopson gave him his stamp of approval during Tuesday's announcement.
“I feel very good about where we're going,” Hopson said. “The organization would not be what I hoped it would be if we didn't have sustainability and with the appointment of Craig, we've got sustainability and I feel very good about where we're at.
“Six years ago, I wouldn't have said that he's the next CEO, but I saw a young man that was extremely bright, that had a great set of skills and had worked in Europe and Alberta. Every time we gave him a challenge, he stepped up to it, whether it was the Grey Cup Legacy project, Grey Cup, he just responded.”
Hopson is leaving the Riders in a much better position than when he took over. The team continues to grow each year and are expecting more growth on the horizon with the new stadium around the corner.
He feels like he was able to accomplish what he wanted to over his ten years with the team.
“At the time I definitely wanted to win championships, I could envision winning championships, but I did not envision that one day we would have a new stadium,” said Hopson. “I envisioned success, but to sit here and say that we would have the kind of resources we have and the kind of iconic brand, that speaks volumes of the fan base.
“Craig understands that being the next guy is tougher than being the first guy. It's like (Aaron) Rodgers taking over for (Brett) Favre and look what happened, he's turned out to be a heck of a quarterback and (Craig) will turn out to be a heck of a quarterback as well.”
Reynolds – a father of two – said taking the job was a no-brainer from a career standpoint, but he had to look at it from his families point of view before taking the job.
He will takeover on March 1, 2015.
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