Cup Village's helmsman resigns

By Nick Perry and Bernard Orsman

The man who controls the public's $85 million contribution to the America's Cup has resigned suddenly and without explanation.

Rob Sutherland's abrupt departure as chief executive of America's Cup Village has left a vacuum five months from the start of racing.

The village company, landlord to cup challengers and Team New Zealand, announced yesterday that Mr Sutherland was stepping down as chief executive at the end of the month, but would continue to be available as a consultant.

But no one from the publicly owned company was offering any explanation as to why he resigned almost a year before his contract expires.

Last night, Mr Sutherland refused to shed any light on his decision after putting a huge effort in over the past two years to prepare the facilities Auckland needs to host the event.

The village company is a subsidiary of Infrastructure Auckland and is financed with $85.7 million of public money to build and manage the yachting syndicate bases and other facilities around the Viaduct Basin.

The waterfront has been thick with rumours this week that Mr Sutherland was leaving. On Tuesday the village company told the New Zealand Herald he was not leaving and still had important work to do.

But sources say there have been irreconcilable tensions between Mr Sutherland on one side and Team New Zealand and Infrastructure Auckland on the other.

The chairman of the village board, Lindsay Fergusson, said it had no successor in mind but would seek a new chief executive immediately.

Mr Sutherland was based in the United States as head of Brierley Investments' North American operations for seven years, before returning to New Zealand and taking the helm of Salmond Smith Biolab in 1995.

Mr Fergusson said that under Mr Sutherland's leadership, the construction of the village had been completed ahead of time and within budget, and sponsorship plans were in place.