Michael Searle (born 16 July 1968) is an Australian businessman and rugby league football identity. He was the first Chief Executive for the Gold Coast Titans, whose inaugural season in the National Rugby League was 2007. Searle also manages an accountancy firm, an international talent management group and headed the push for an independent commission to take over the running of the NRL. This occurred in 2012.

Playing career

Son of former player

Tom Searle Tom Searle (born 26 April 1963) is an Austrian ice hockey player. He competed in the men's tournaments at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and common ...

, Michael Searle played rugby league in the forwards for the Gold Coast club of the 1980s and 1990s.

Administration career

A month after starting an accountancy firm, at age 29 Searle agreed to lead the Gold Coast's bid for an NRL licence on 15 March 1999. The Titans' first season was the

2007 Telstra Premiership The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusio ...

. During the

2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...

it was revealed that the Titans club was heavily in debt and the prospect of bankruptcy hung over the club. Gold Coast managed to recover but it would be Searle's last year in the Chief Executive role.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Searle, Michael Australian rugby league players Gold Coast Chargers players Australian chief executives Living people Australian rugby league administrators 1968 births Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league forwards