CEO Insights India

The Indian Super League(ISL) has been a welcoming change for Indian football. The combination of top professional players and world-class coaches from across the globe coming to the country has not only helped the young Indian players to gain valuable experience, but it has also helped the sport to grow in popularity in the country. Out of the many teams playing in the ISL, Kerala Blasters Football Club(KBFC) has been a revelation with almost all the home matches of the club attracting a vast number of supporters into the stadium. Joby Joseph holds the position of Chief Revenue Officer at Kerala Blasters Football Club and under his guidance, the club has been able to attain commendable commercial success. "I was so interested in the process of venue management and turf construction when I first started. KBFC winning best pitch award in 2018, awarded by the league, is something that gives great personal satisfaction,"Joby when asked about what motivated him to pursue this career.

In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Joby talks more about his professional journey and how he has been able to make a name for himself in the industry.

Give us a brief detail about your educational background and professional background. How has it helped you in your journey so far?
Well, my entry into the sports industry was quite unusual. I started my career in the merchant navy

after completing my bachelor's degree in Nautical Science. While I was serving as the Chief Officer there, I got an opportunity to work at Kerala Blasters Football Club, back when the season was only two months. My journey with the club started in 2015 as a Venue Operations Manager. Though the role was new and the sports industry totally different to what I was used to, my experience handling operations as a Merchant Navy officer (with very little margin for error and people's lives in my hands), helped my transition into the new role at KBFC handling venue operations. By 2016, I was also overseeing the venue management and football turf consulting. In fact, a short trip to the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium earlier that year inspired me a lot in that aspect of the sport. I grew more interested and took a TAFE NSW course on Horticulture(Turf)and honed my skills in pitch consulting.

The CRO plays a pivotal role directly influencing the future of a company, and covers new business sales, installed client base sales, marketing, and partner strategy. What different roles have you been under taking at Kerala Blasters Football Club?
It is funny because I disliked sales and marketing early in my career. However, fate had other plans for me and now I am serving as the Chief Revenue Officer of one of the biggest football clubs in the country and I thoroughly enjoy my work. I am blessed to have worked in different roles with the club and it has helped me understand all the areas of operations around the club. Like I said earlier,I started here as Operations Manager and then handled Venue Management. By 2019, the club entrusted me with more responsibilities and assigned me as the Sponsorship and

Operations Manager. That year, I was able to increase the sponsorship revenue of the club. Later, the club promoted me to Chief Revenue Officer and so far, it has been a fulfilling journey for me.

As the CRO, what are the key drivers that you deploy to ensure that the company's Accounts are used appropriately to meet its short/long-term needs?
Well, my responsibility as a CRO is primarily to maximize existing revenue streams and to identify new revenue channels for the club. We have a well-maintained structure in place inside the organization to oversee and regulate the revenue and expenditures. As far as revenue is concerned, we have plans for the short and long term. We want to ensure that new revenue initiatives not only add value monetarily, but also to the overall brand value of KBFC.

In sport,on-pitch performance tends to impact the financials. Fortunately, our brand has grown tremendously despite our setbacks on the field, thereby enabling us to push our revenue initiatives. In the long term, we’re looking to expand our commercial grass roots program, explore licensing in Kerala, and try our hands with retail and structure a sports education model. We have the potential to be amongst the top sports clubs of India and we’real ways looking to find new opportunities.

How does your experience help you to chalk-out efficient business modules at Kerala Blasters Football Club?
My Motto is simple, 'If we work hard and smart, the results will follow'. Like I said, before taking over as the CRO of the club, I had also worked in other departments of the club. This helped me a lot in honing my skills that I now try to utilize. We're also a very lean team which ensures that every member of the club top to bottom is working with just as much passion, determination, and hard work.