Douglas Struth named new Edinburgh Rugby managing director, replacing Jonny Petrie

Edinburgh Rugby have appointed Douglas Struth as their new managing director.

Douglas Struth has taken over from the recently-departed Jonny Petrie as managing director of Edinburgh Rugby. Picture: SNS Group

He moves from his current post as the SRU’s head of legal to fill the role vacated when Jonny Petrie left to become CEO of Ulster at the start of the year.

Struth said: “It is a real privilege for me to be appointed as Managing Director of Edinburgh Rugby. As a long-time Season Ticket Member I care passionately about the club and have done for many years.

“Through my current role, I have developed first-hand knowledge of the club and a real understanding of what its objectives are and what it wants to progress from a business, stakeholder and operations perspective.

“I now look forward to applying all of that as Managing Director and working with our supporters, partners and the whole team at Edinburgh Rugby to build on what has been achieved so far and to take the club forward.

“I cannot wait to get started.”

SRU chief operating officer Dominic McKay said: “We wanted someone who understood the important role of the club in the city and how, working with Scottish Rugby, we could continue building on the proactive work currently under way.

“Having worked closely with Doug, I know he is passionate about rugby in Edinburgh and it is a positive step to have someone develop within the organisation to the extent that this role is now one they are well equipped to step into.

“Edinburgh Rugby is at an exciting point in its history, reaching the Heineken Champions Cup Quarter-Finals and progressing well off the field. There is a good, dynamic team in place and I’d like to thank Craig Docherty for managing the club so well over recent months.

“I’m confident Doug will continue this progression of the club in the Managing Director role.”

Originally from Edinburgh, Struth trained as lawyer with Maclay, Murray & Spens (now Dentons) in the city and built up a strong commercial legal background over a six-year period with Royal Bank of Scotland (both in Edinburgh and through a three-year role with the bank’s international legal team based in Jersey).

He then spent a further three years as a Senior Lawyer at Virgin Money, working on a range of high-profile strategic projects and acquisitions, before joining Scottish Rugby in 2014 and progressing to Head of Legal.

In his current role, Struth leads Scottish Rugby’s internal legal department and is Secretary to the Scottish Rugby Council. He has worked across all areas of the organisation, including working with Edinburgh Rugby on sponsorship, player contracting, ticketing, broadcast, retail, media and marketing matters. He has also been involved in supporting the delivery of Edinburgh Rugby’s new stadium development project.