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The name Kevin Rountree rang a bell straight away so it's no surprise they've appointee from within. As expected of course, but GW's problems really require someone with new ideas. The suspicion is that under Rountree it'll be service as usual. And that just isn't washing for GW right now.

Well, if you're publicly stating that you're hiring not for skill but attitude... then promotion from within GW seems like a great idea! From the design team that brought us Santa Grimnar to the legal team that would sue their own mother for using the letter "c" if they could to the corporate types that lead us to the "if we let everyone buy everything at the expense of the game's remaining balance, we'll be rich!"... they're an an endless pit lacking in skill but brimming with (bad) attitude.

Mission Accomplished, GW!

In all honesty did anybody really and truly expect GW's new CEO would change the status quo?

I have always expected nothing to change with the new CEO.

*Business as usual*

 MrFlutterPie wrote:
In all honesty did anybody really and truly expect GW's new CEO would change the status quo?

Expect? No.
Hope? Maybe.
As the old saying goes, "hope for the best but expect the worst." As long as Kirby is still there in any capacity, nothing will change.

Even if Kirby did leave, things might not change. The entire upper management has been shaped by Kirby. If he left, they might still carry on the same way.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:

 MrFlutterPie wrote:
In all honesty did anybody really and truly expect GW's new CEO would change the status quo?

Expect? No.
Hope? Maybe.
As the old saying goes, "hope for the best but expect the worst." As long as Kirby is still there in any capacity, nothing will change.

I totally get that but you know what they say about hope and the first step to disappointment

It doesn't really matter who they promote to CEO.

The way I see it, the GW board operates like a think-tank in that they've weeded out all opposing ideas by the time people make it onto the board leaving only like-minded people to push the same ideas and agenda.

At this point there's nothing the board can do to change itself due to the nature of think-tanks; anyone who suddenly has a different plan of action would be outed. Only the investors potentially smiting the board with a (war)hammer will do anything, and they're still getting big enough dividends to not bother*.

*Yet! Market share collapse will change this at some point.

I bet they choose him for the best qualifications

Sad...truly sad.

Let the GW decline continue...

Makes me wonder if the sudden stock drop 6 months ago was Kirby cashing out.

As others have said:

"Move along. Nothing to see here."

It could be said that instead of him being Kirby's puppet maybe he has the same opinion and POV that Kirby has.

That still won't change anything, it was just a thought.

So this is kinda like when Putin stopped being President and became Prime Minister (or whatever) for a while. He was still in charge, just not in name.

squidhills wrote:
So, what I'm gathering from this news is that we can look forward to someone picking up the 40K IP in three years when GW tanks, right?

Probably GameZone! Who's in for Space Crusade?

And congrats to Mantic on their future success!

 Azreal13 wrote:
Kirby was worse than an accounts man, prior to joining GW, he was a tax man.

That explains it all really.

Two things are unfortunate about this. One, that Kirby is still with company. Two, that one of the fools that was helping run the company into the ground before was put in charge.

Alot of people with the inside scoop on the new guy in here.

Fill me in then chaps, what's this guys background? I'm assuming this isn't over-reaction and baseless comment, that just ain't Dakka!

His bio is right on the investor relations page under board members. Go read it. He's an accountant and prior to being the CEO was both the COO (chief operating officer) and the (CFO) chief financial officer. He's been implementing the board's plan for years and now he's in charge of spearheading the plan, all under the direction of the same person as before.

I wonder if they'll be promoting someone to CFO or COO as well, because expecting one person to do all three c-level jobs is asking them to put in 100 hour weeks.

I'm disappointed by the lack of GW apologizing ITT.

"You guys constantly whined about Tom Kirby, now Kirby's gone and you're whining about that! GW just can't win!"

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Alot of people with the inside scoop on the new guy in here.

Fill me in then chaps, what's this guys background? I'm assuming this isn't over-reaction and baseless comment, that just ain't Dakka!

His background is in running GW as a member of the board and heading up GWs financials, so he's already ball deep in GWs current strategies and unlikely to change anything.

However I would like to point out that GW are undergoing some changes that look promising even before Kidby left and some it must have been in the works for at least 2 years due to the lead time on projects.

Then while everyone goes on about rising prices maybe you should do some price comparisons and check your figures, Yes there was a point when prices went bonkers but now things seem to have settled a fair bit.
For example Nids are a good track.
A couple of years back we got the Tyrannofex/Tervigon kit at £35 in january an example of the serious price hikes on new kits we got the Haruspex/Exocrine at £44
Now 6 months later they have kept the price at least the same as the Jan release for the Maleceptor/Toxicrene at £44 with past trend I would have expected them to match the Harpy/Hive Crone at £48 if not breaking the £50

now just one batch of kits isn't going to convince me of a change in methods but just look across the range a little, using the Wraithknight as a benchmark as a big kit released during a time when it was undeniable that GW where price hiking like mad.

now in the nid release we're getting the Tyrannocyte that's rumoured to be as tall as the wraithknight yet is only just over half the price, with the likely popularity of the kit I was genuinely expecting it to be around the price of the harpy if not more.
Likewise Nagash a 1k point model, similar in size yet far more complex than the knight is £5 less, and The Glotkin is £66, the list goes on through the End times releases, yes they are still getting things wrong (£200 for the realm of battle board if far to much) but nowhere near as shocking as some of the things earlier this year and last.

I'd say the last time I scoffed at a price with the Mek Gun, £28 is far to much even though we at least get enough spares to scratch build extra options using the leftover barrels.

We can only hope (and likely be disappointed) that they are listening at least a bit (even if it's just that person who got the two year customer service consultant role) and that they see results that prove us right.

 Firefash wrote:

However I would like to point out that GW are undergoing some changes that look promising even before Kidby left and some it must have been in the works for at least 2 years due to the lead time on projects.

Then while everyone goes on about rising prices maybe you should do some price comparisons and check your figures, Yes there was a point when prices went bonkers but now things seem to have settled a fair bit.

Settling prices at a bonkers level rather than making them even more bonkers is... maybe not as hopeful as it could be.

 Firefash wrote:
We can only hope (and likely be disappointed) that they are listening at least a bit (even if it's just that person who got the two year customer service consultant role) and that they see results that prove us right.

The fact that their pricing is all over the shop is an indication of them not having any real idea of how to price their models combined with an unwillingness to address glaring imbalances in where they set their prices for different kits.

GW doesn't reduce prices - that would give the suggestion that their products are not worth as much as their pricing point!

That one is a problem for them and not something I expect to change. Especially in light of the new CEO, Though it's an excellent opportunity to announce a price evaluation and bring the whole structure into line across the board I'd be very surprised if they did.

Thread title should be changed from "internal appointment" to "eternal disappointment".

So the shareholders knew that Only GW crew is best for GW (and its customers).

Its a shame that there isn't a suitable C level exec from a mid to large company out there who is a war gaming fan and willing to troll the GW recruitment process for this job. I'd have loved to have had insight to the GW interview process for this if they had obviously qualified people applying for the job who weren't the chosen one.

 Looky Likey wrote:
Its a shame that there isn't a suitable C level exec from a mid to large company out there who is a war gaming fan and willing to troll the GW recruitment process for this job. I'd have loved to have had insight to the GW interview process for this if they had obviously qualified people applying for the job who weren't the chosen one.

There's nothing to suggest there wasn't. Somehow I doubt anyone was interviewed for the position other than Mr. Roundtree, if there was even an interview involved. This is an indicator of how hands-off the institutional investors who own majority shares are in the governance of the company; this appointment smacks completely like, "Well lads, who hasn't had a turn at being CEO yet?"

Does roundtree at least have hair? I mean we did pay for the points at least, can we at least get some hair?

 Looky Likey wrote:
Its a shame that there isn't a suitable C level exec from a mid to large company out there who is a war gaming fan and willing to troll the GW recruitment process for this job. I'd have loved to have had insight to the GW interview process for this if they had obviously qualified people applying for the job who weren't the chosen one.

From what I read (it was hinted, not specifically stated) the guy from MasterMinis/PaintingBuddha applied for the position (the guy who is a huge miniatures geek and ex-CIO of Aldi). So it's not that people didn't, it's that GW made a dog and pony show when they knew they were going to promote from within.

EDIT: Actually, he says himself on his website that he applied for it:

Michael Bartels wrote:
And I actually applied for this position as I thought that my past experience as Global CIO in a world-wide operating retail business with over 4000 stores and over 20bn in sales, combined with 21+ years of being a hardcore hobbyist and being somewhat of a miniature industry expert would be skills they might look for. Alas, like many others I know of, I wasn't even invited for an interview Maybe those are not the skills they are looking for. *handmotion*

So they knew from the start they were hiring from within, because anyone sane would have hired this guy. Executive-level experience, retail experience, hobby geek. It has GW written all over it.

WayneTheGame wrote:

Michael Bartels wrote:
And I actually applied for this position as I thought that my past experience as Global CIO in a world-wide operating retail business with over 4000 stores and over 20bn in sales, combined with 21+ years of being a hardcore hobbyist and being somewhat of a miniature industry expert would be skills they might look for. Alas, like many others I know of, I wasn't even invited for an interview Maybe those are not the skills they are looking for. *handmotion*

So they knew from the start they were hiring from within, because anyone sane would have hired this guy. Executive-level experience, retail experience, hobby geek. It has GW written all over it.

I seldom get emotional about the stupid gak GW pulls, I'm still a 40K gamer but I get as much as possible from non-GW companies now, so the prices don't phase me, if they produce a dumb model for a unit I want to field, I seek out an alternate, I'm not competitive, so while I strongly advocate for tighter, clearer, better balanced rules, I don't care if I lose as long as I have fun in the process.

I am insulated from GW as far as possible while still maintaining an interest in their product. (Let's be fair, it is essentially product singular now.)

But this?

This makes me quite angry. It simply illustrates everything we feared about GW corporate is most likely true. He shouldn't have just been offered the job, but the fact that they weren't even willing to have the conversation? Absolutely disgusting.

All I know, Is I'm still going to eBay and you guys for all my miniature buying needs.....

The new CEO is not going to change anything soon.

EVERY Captain pilots their ships different...