The Essendon Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Bolton to the role of Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.
Bolton re-joins Essendon following an impressive post football career, where he has held several key leadership roles across a diverse range of industries.
Following his retirement, Bolton co-founded Ladder a youth homelessness organisation which would become the official charity partner of the AFLPA. Bolton served as the Chief Executive Officer of Ladder from 2007 to 2015.
Bolton then transitioned into the technology industry, leading the SEEK Learning commercial strategy between 2015 and 2018, before moving abroad to London in 2019 to take up the role of UK General Manager of Go1, where he led the UK market entry of that company. In 2021 Mark was appointed as Vice-President for Go1.
Essendon CEO Craig Vozzo said the recruitment of Bolton was an important and exciting step for the Club.
“Mark is a high-quality person and leader, and it is wonderful to have him back at the Club as part of our Executive Team,” Vozzo said.
“His extensive and diverse experiences in business development and operations, combined with his expertise in building successful community programs, make him the ideal person for this important role.”
Mark will commence with Club on Monday, 19 June. He will oversee a broad portfolio with a focus on:
- Developing and enhancing the Club’s Community footprint and strategy
- Developing alternative revenue streams for the Club and the optimisation of existing non-football revenue
- Leading the development and implementation of our Club Sustainability Action Plan
- Overseeing the Club’s Data and IT functions
"I am thrilled to be returning to the Club in a new capacity. I love the direction that the Club is heading, and I hope I can contribute by combining the insights I've gained from the technology and community sectors with my deep respect for the Club's history," Bolton said.
The Club engaged external recruitment firm Maritana Partners to facilitate the recruitment process.
Bolton played 124 games across his 10 seasons at the Bombers.
