Canterbury chairman Ray Dib believes former employee Todd Greenberg was destined to be NRL CEO and can help change the game's culture, bridging the gap between clubland and Rugby League Central.
Dib hailed the appointment of Greenberg as the new NRL boss on Friday, describing his former Bulldogs CEO as the perfect man for the job.
"He's been on both sides of the fence now. He knows what the issues are in terms of what the clubs think and what they want," Dib told AAP.
"But he's also worked with the NRL now for almost three years, so he knows what they're after as well."
Dib recalled the moment he plucked Greenberg from relative obscurity to rebuild a franchise that had been brought to its knees with a wooden spoon in 2008.
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The club was also still hurting from the shock departure of Sonny Bill Williams.
Greenberg healed a lot of wounds as he helped the club back to its feet, and Dib said it was a matter of before he raised the mood and level of cooperation across the NRL competition.
"I was his chairman for 4-5 years and it's just his presence, his cool and calmness when it came to adversity," Dib said.
"He was always destined to have that role and I think that was one of his ambitions.
"I always thought he was a little bit too early when he first put his hand up (when David Gallop left in 2012). I didn't think he was ready.
"But when the NRL tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to be head of football, it was just going to be a matter of time, really."
Dib said Greenberg brought back family values back to Belmore.
"He built a new executive team around him, he helped the club's profile with the media, and he brought back the family culture with the recruitment of new players when he brought to the club Mick Ennis, Benny Hannant, David Stagg, Dene Halatau, and Brett Kimmorley," he said.
"He can bring in the right personnel to change the culture."
