Alonzo Highsmith accepts offer from the Dolphins

[KYPack]

There is some palace intrigue at 1265 Lombardi avenue. But it ain't on the football side. Ted Thompson has things well in hand there and GBP President defers to TT in all things football.

On the business side, things have shifted considerably since the days of Harlan. Bob H was a Wisconsin boy had a great deal of charm. The feeling at the Packer offices was akin to Floyd's barber shop on the old Andy Griffith show. Murphy is a businessman all the way. He is distant and quiet. He is also very dedicated to future growth and the bottom line. That's great, the GBP must grow to succeed, but it has also brought a big time culture change to the Packer offices.

Murphy brought in Tim Connolly, a big time corporate shark, to shake things up and get people looking forward. Connolly has everybody looking forward, but also looking over their shoulder. He has left several bodies in his wake of the big shake -up. The most notable of Tim C's victims is Jason Wied. Wied was a Green Bay boy who was long thought to be the fair haired lad that might eventually rise to the Packer presidency. That may have happened, but soon after Connolly came aboard, he drove Wied out of the company. There have been several other instances of firings that would have never occurred in the Harlan area.

Were all these releases of corporate people necessary? Some say yea, some say no. But one thing is sure. The GBP front office is no longer the friendly little pond it used to be. Now it's more of a shark tank.

[Patler]

There is some palace intrigue at 1265 Lombardi avenue. But it ain't on the football side. Ted Thompson has things well in hand there and GBP President defers to TT in all things football.

On the business side, things have shifted considerably since the days of Harlan. Bob H was a Wisconsin boy had a great deal of charm. The feeling at the Packer offices was akin to Floyd's barber shop on the old Andy Griffith show. Murphy is a businessman all the way. He is distant and quiet. He is also very dedicated to future growth and the bottom line. That's great, the GBP must grow to succeed, but it has also brought a big time culture change to the Packer offices.

Murphy brought in Tim Connolly, a big time corporate shark, to shake things up and get people looking forward. Connolly has everybody looking forward, but also looking over their shoulder. He has left several bodies in his wake of the big shake -up. The most notable of Tim C's victims is Jason Wied. Wied was a Green Bay boy who was long thought to be the fair haired lad that might eventually rise to the Packer presidency. That may have happened, but soon after Connolly came aboard, he drove Wied out of the company. There have been several other instances of firings that would have never occurred in the Harlan area.

Were all these releases of corporate people necessary? Some say yea, some say no. But one thing is sure. The GBP front office is no longer the friendly little pond it used to be. Now it's more of a shark tank.

Yup. They also fired the lady that was their marketing director shortly after Murphy got there, as I recall.

[woodbuck27]

Vicki Vannieuwenhoven - VP of Finance

Imagine 'the stress relief' with that Lady gone. Maybe not having to remember how to pronounce her name or worse .... spell it.

Comment woodbuck27:

Seriouisly and the following. What happened here? Was there a fall from grace, or simply a resignation due to a pressing need to be at home in support of the children/teens, due to a family circumstance and her husband's career responsibility?

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2009/04/Issue-146/Sports-Industrialists/Packers-Vpfinance-Vicki-Vannieuwenhoven-Resigns-From-Team.aspx

Packers VP/Finance Vicki Vannieuwenhoven Resigns From Team

Published April 17, 2009

"Packers VP/Finance VICKI VANNIEUWENHOVEN "has resigned to spend more time with her three children while her husband, Lt. Col. TREVOR VANNIEUWENHOVEN, is deployed to Afghanistan," according to Richard Ryman of the GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE."

From the following to out the door uncerimoniously. How could that be true? Is that 'in TRUTH' the case?

Was it more than this official announcement reported in the LINK above?

" (Mark)Murphy said that Packers VP/Administration & General Counsel JASON WIED "will oversee the finance department until a replacement is found." Vannieuwenhoven said that she "will continue to work with the Packers and her successor, as needed." "

It certainly had seemed very good for 'this Lady' and her career with the Packers Organization:

Say Cheese: Pack Names First Female VP

"Vice president of finance Vicki Vannieuwenhoven, who will lead day-to-day financial operations for the Green Bay Packers, also must cope with salary-cap and revenue-sharing issues."

Stephen Taub and Dave Cook - CFO.com | US

April 3, 2007

http://iousports.org/blog-news/exclusive-interview-vicki-vannieuwenhoven-vice-president-finance-nfl-green-bay-packers-nik

And:

Exclusive Interview with Vicki Vannieuwenhoven, ( the first female) Vice President of Finance - NFL Green Bay Packers

By Nikki Rashan

" Packers President and CEO, Mark Murphy, acknowledges Vicki’s dedication to both her career and family. “I enjoy working with Vicki and I’m impressed with how she handles the balance between work and her kids,” he said. “I know she will continue to do a great job with the Packers.”

Not only is Vicki a role model for girls wishing to follow in her footsteps, she is also an example for women seeking to stabilize the responsibility of work with the devotion to family. She is a woman in harmony with her balancing act." Fr. LINK

PACKERS !

[KYPack]

Murphy wants all new hires to hit the ground running. When they don't he isn't afraid in the least to make changes. 4 VP level executives have left the Packers in the last couple years due to this management philosophy

LAURA SANKEY

• Former title: Senior vice president of sales and marketing

She didn't last long and when it was obvious she wasn't going to hack the program, she was squeezed out and replaced by Tim Connolly


VICKI VANNIEUWENHOVEN

• Former title: Vice president of finance

Vicki V tried to mix family and her job with the Pack. She couldn't do it and was also given the 'ol corporate shuffle. Many locals had a problem with this. Not only is she a local, her husband was deployed to Afghanistan while Vicki was out of a job. It was handled poorly by the Packers.

BETSY MITCHELL

• Former title: Vice president of organizational/staff development

It's not thought that this was definitely another corporate murder, but it is mentioned in the list of employees who have left in the Murphy regime.

There is also the infamous Jason Wied situation. Behind the curtain in many of these situations is Tim Connolly. Connolly is infamous as a real power broker who gets the job done, but is somewhat of a corporate torpedo. Connolly has worked for the Chiefs, the Vikes, and the Jags. In KC and Minny, they had to fire him to slow him down. With the Vikings, both Dennis Greene and the owner teamed up to get rid of Connolly. There, Connolly tried to insert himself in the NFL draft and get final say on who the Vikings selected!

His big fuck-up in Green Bay was post SB. When the SB rings weren't coming out fast enuff, it was learned that Connolly had inserted himself in the process, so the ring vendor believed Connolly had the final say.

He is slick, but many GBP observers think if another situation like that one crops up, Connolly may well be gone.

[pbmax]

That is the most depressing thing I have read in a while about the Packers.

[Patler]

One thing we all have to remember, the Packers aren't the little Mom & Pop business they were not too awful long ago. It is a decent size business, with lots of complexities. The staff is expanding continuously, and just like in any business of that magnitude, personalities will clash, problems will arise and people will leave, voluntarily and involuntarily.

[pbmax]

All very true. The initial barrage of anti-Murphy sentiment came around the time Wied left but may have been fanned by other moves such as the ones KY mentioned.

I just hope Murphy is talented enough to use these moves productively. Two of his moves, the Favre retirement package and the stock offering were not well received. The stock offering was tough as it coincided like last time with a Super Bowl. But it wasn't tied as closely to new construction of the stadium, though some of those funds are being put to use now.

We'll see. Its a dicey proposition there in Brown County with financial support for the Packers. Even with Harlan's considerable sway and influence, that stadium referendum did not pass by much.

[Patler]

Wied's departure was a little different. He went on a leave of absence for several months, then resigned instead of coming back. He released a statement himself saying that he had gone to treatment for an addiction to a herbal remedy he was taking for sleep apnea and insomnia. He said to finally put it behind him he needed a less stressful situation. The leave of absence made it look less like a force out, as did his willingness to explain and accept responsibility.

Vikki Vanbunchaletters stated a willingness to work with her successor to help the Packers however she could.

Murphy didn't mince words about the marketing lady. He flat out said she didn't fit in.


Incidentally, the lady who was CEO of the Raiders quit the other day. She was said to be the highest ranking female executive in pro sports.

[pbmax]

I do remember that story for Wied. But after John Jones, the Packers front office has a Kremlin vibe going on with the illnesses, leave of absence and then departure/Siberia.

On a slightly less related note, I am not a fan of those lifers who get sent to teams out of League offices. I am sure some have worked out but several (like John Jones) were nightmares for their teams. The Browns had one when they were reincarnated the 3rd time after Carmen Policy.