Quick Q: Andy Marinos’ love of sport, family and Andrea Bocelli

Welcome to Quick Q – Monday Media’s weekly Q&A series dedicated to finding out more about the personalities that matter most in the Australian media landscape.

Every week The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age asks key figures across corporate media, business, sport, federal politics, radio, television and culture to answer a series of questions about their lives, careers, hobbies and news habits.

This week’s conversation is with Andy Marinos, chief executive of Rugby Australia.

How did you get your big break?
I was the Captain of my Welsh Club side, the Newport Dragons, and the owner asked me to consider retiring and taking over as CEO. My immediate reaction was, “I didn’t think I was playing that badly!”

I had another two years to run on my playing contract, however I had always been interested in the business side of sport, and the broader growth and development of Rugby. I spoke with my wife, and sought the advice of the club owner, Tony Brown, and the then-CEO of Welsh Rugby Union, David Moffatt. Ultimately, I went from being a player at a Rugby Club to being its CEO.

What are your daily news media habits?
I wake up and go through the phone apps of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and The Daily Telegraph in the morning. Then I look through our daily media monitoring summary for RA.

Which living person do you most admire?
My wife, for her calmness and resilience in raising a family of six across three continents, and for her support and guidance throughout my playing and professional career.

Your guilty streaming pleasure?
Sport.

Which phrase do you overuse?
Perception drives reality.