Bicycle Network Seeks New CEO

Melbourne, Victoria

Bicycle Network has begun the search for a new CEO, with news its current head will leave the organisation at the start of July.

The contract for the current CEO, Craig Richards, will end later this year after he has spent nearly a decade at the helm.

“In reviewing what’s next for Bicycle Network and with Craig’s contract ending later this year, the board took the view that now was a good time for renewal to capitalise on the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” the organisation’s board president, James Garriock, said in a statement to members.

“We will be going to market to recruit a new CEO but I hope you’ll join me and the board in congratulating Craig on his achievements at Bicycle Network, and wish him all the very best for the future.

“Craig joined us over 14 years ago and has served almost a decade in the CEO role, leading the transformation that’s created the significant advocacy force we are today.”

“We are at an inflexion point for bike riding in Australia and I want to look back at this as a time when we grasped the opportunity with both hands and made this bloody joint into a nation of bike riders”

James told the Micromobility Report that fresh leadership in the CEO position would assist Bicycle Network to capitalise on that platform and boost its capacity at a pivotal time for Australian cycling.

Pivotal Point for Cycling

“We are at an inflexion point for bike riding in Australia and I want to look back at this as a time when we grasped the opportunity with both hands and made this bloody joint into a nation of bike riders. How good will that be?” he said.

“After all the disruption people have endured over the past couple of years – social disruption, physical disruption and technical disruption – people are asking ‘what does the new normal look like in my life?’.

“They are asking how they will work, where they will work and how will they get around. How will I stay mentally well and physically fit?

“If you put all those things together, we are at a really important point and we have an opportunity to make the future better.”

James said Bicycle Network has benefitted from great stability in its leadership, with just two CEOs in the organisation’s long history.

The organisation was established in 1975 as the Bicycle Institute of Victoria and appointed its first CEO, Harry Barber, in 1996.

“Craig is probably the longest serving CEO in the industry. He has overseen growth, he’s a very good financial manager,” James said.

“He has made our brand the most recognised and respected in our field. That’s what has put us in this privileged position to renew from a really strong position.

“I think he will look back on Bicycle Network as a stepping stone as he goes on to bigger and better things.”

“The board took the view that now was a good time for renewal to capitalise on the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead“

James said the greatest challenge currently facing Bicycle Network is spanning the full gamut of issues, from the very ‘micro’ issues of getting potholes repaired and intersections upgraded, through to working with local councils and contributing the major State Government projects.

“At the more macro levels, we need to have an impact on Federal laws and policies,” he said.

“It’s not just about our capabilities, it’s about raising capabilities and capacities of groups and individuals right across the ecosystem.

“It’s also about succeeding through new and innovative collaborations with all manner of organisations and to be able the engage with a really wide range of stakeholders so when opportunities present themselves, we can take advantage really quickly.”

Entrepreneurial Flair

James said the board was also looking for a CEO with entrepreneurial flair, to build upon Bicycle Network’s success in running events.

“Due to the skill and diligence of our current leaders, which includes a dynamic board, we have a wonderfully diverse revenue stream,” he said.

“Bicycle Network has an unparalleled line-up of events, helping people from when they are at school, to riding to the office, to tackling the Peaks Challenge.

“That gives us a lot of contact points with people, in addition to our membership of nearly 50,000 members.”