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ATTENTION! Mighty Mark Beardsell, a former army officer, has his sights clearly set on manoeuvring a bright future for one of Bahrain’s most popular expat clubs.
The Bahrain Rugby Club is currently celebrating its 40th year in operation and the newly-appointed general manager has been commissioned to help ‘grow the club’.
Mr Beardsell, 54, who successfully helped develop rugby in schools in the UK, is a man on a mission. “I came out to Bahrain to fill what is, for me, a dream job,” he said.
The Liverpudlian has signed up after an illustrious military career. Following studies in hotel management at university he was commissioned into the Army Catering Corps from Sandhurst in 1979.
His military career took him all over the world and following a British Army amalgamation he became an officer in the Royal Logistics Corps. He completed an In-Service Master of Science Degree in Operations Management at the University of Manchester and continued his career reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
His last tour of duty was in Bath where he was Chief of Staff at the Defence Food Services Integrated Project Team for two years before being appointed the Project Manager to lead a team to re-let the UK Ministry of Defence Food Supply Contract valued at some £1.2 billion.
After seeing the project through to its successful conclusion he retired from the army voluntarily and for the past five years has worked in the UK, Africa and the Middle East.
The rugby club engagement has resulted in his first trip to Bahrain. “I am a newcomer,” he said, “and thus far I like what I see. I have to admit to finding it a bit warm having flown in from the UK, where we have had a very poor summer, but I’m acclimatising well.”
The recent unrest in Bahrain – and the international press coverage it received – did not put him off from applying for the post. “Not at all,” he said. “I have served in a number of the world’s so called ‘hot spots’ and what happened recently here is incredibly sad but not uncommon throughout the world. “Reasons behind such actions might differ but for some it is a way of protesting – witness the riots in London, Manchester and Liverpool earlier this summer. I don’t condone such action and I believe that a negotiated resolution to any situation is the best way forward.”
Mr Beardsell has two grown up daughters, Emma, 27, and Lara, 25. His wife of more than 30 years, Laura, works as a practice nurse in Liverpool and will join him here in Bahrain next year.
Working at the rugby club will also allow him to develop his passion for sport. He explained: “Rugby has always been a love and having played at a good level I coached at representative level before becoming a volunteer administrator.
“I was chairman of National Emerging Schools Rugby on behalf of the Rugby Football Union for seven years whilst still serving. This involved taking rugby into new areas to develop the boys game at Under-12 and Under-13 Level. We later extended this to Girls Under-14.”
Mr Beardsell, who also admits to being a follower of football and a devout Liverpool FC supporter, reports to the club’s executive committee, which in turn reports to the members.
“My responsibilities are wide-ranging but in essence I have overall responsibility for managing the club’s security, business, finances and facilities whilst meeting the wishes of its members.
“I have been entrusted with growing the club and improving the quality of the services that we provide. I am tasked to look after our sponsors whilst also seeking out new ones. So if there is anyone out there …
“My aims and ambitions revolve around making the club a destination of choice for the expat community in Bahrain by working hard to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s all about doing that little bit extra and going the extra mile. We have outstanding facilities and our service quality needs to be the same.
“The club’s strengths are its culture and history as well as its members and facilities. There are no weaknesses, just areas for improvement across the board.
“I am both delighted and honoured to have been selected to fill this position. This is a wonderful club with first class facilities offering outstanding value for money.
“I have always taken great pride in the service that my team has provided and that will apply here in Bahrain too.
“To current members I promise to uphold your traditions and build on the foundations laid by club and committee members over the years. I will do my utmost to serve you well. To potential new members I would say come along and have a look, you will be bowled over and want to join!”
Mr Beardsell has already made a few initial tweaks to the operation by improving the family room and bar areas and introducing new morning health and fitness classes.
