Dave Barham – President
David was elected by the Board as President in August 2022.
David has been a Director of the club since December 2015, and has over 25 years of experience in the AFL industry, having established the AFL’s film and videotape library in the early 1990s.
For 10 years, David produced all of Channel Ten’s AFL programs, including eight AFL Grand Finals. From late 2010 until the end of 2015, David was head of sport for the Ten Network. He was responsible for Ten’s highly regarded BBL production. He has produced Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games and Australian Grand Prix coverages.
David was appointed to the board of the Victorian Racing Club in 2020.
Dorothy Hisgrove - Vice President
Bachelor of Business, Graduate Diploma in Marketing
Dorothy joined the Board in August 2021.
She is a proven business leader and trusted adviser to board and executive management on leadership, workforce strategy, culture and business performance.
She has held senior leadership roles across several sectors with a focus on the development and implementation of growth and transformation programs in large and complex organisations.
Dorothy is currently national managing partner of people and inclusion at KPMG Australia.
In previous roles, she was a Partner and Chief People Officer at PwC Australia; General Manager, People, Customer and Community at the Australian Football League (AFL); General Manager, Culture, Change & Communications at Australia Post; and General Manager, People Engagement, Culture, Diversity & Change at National Australia Bank, a former Director of Golf Victoria and Director of Teach for Australia. Dorothy is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of Chief Executive Women Australia and a member of the G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation – G20 Empower.
Dorothy is the chair of the People and Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nominations committee.
David Wills – Finance Director
David Wills was appointed to the Board in November 2022 and brings more than 35 years of financial and professional experience. David was a partner with Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young, before being recruited to PwC Melbourne to lead its tax and legal business.
David was appointed to the Australian Executive Board of PwC at which time he established and led PwC’s Private Clients practice comprising some 50 partners and over 500 staff. In 2017, David was appointed as the Managing Partner of PwC’s worldwide private and family business practice, a global role he held until his retirement from the PwC partnership at the end of 2019.
David is the chair of the Audit, Risk and Integrity Committee and a member of the People and Remuneration Committee.
Melissa Green – Director
Melissa joined the Board in December 2017 and is a customer-focused commercial leader with over 30 years of experience in the marketing and advertising industry.
She is currently National Agency Lead at Meta Australia. Previously she was Head of Melbourne, Agency and Government.
Prior to joining Facebook, Melissa spent five years at Fairfax Media in the roles of Sales Director (VIC) and State Sales Manager Fairfax Digital (VIC).
She held a Victorian board member position with Starlight Children's Foundation between 2002-2004.
Melissa was chair of the Women’s Football Governance Committee, in the Club’s pursuit of an AFLW licence, which was subsequently granted. Melissa is a member of the Nominations Committee.
Andrew Muir – Director
Bachelor of Economics, Post Graduate Diploma of Financial Management, Advanced Management Program – Harvard Business School
Andrew joined the Board in 2015.
He is a successful business leader and philanthropist with over 25 years of retail, leadership, strategic and management experience.
Andrew served as Executive Chairman of The Good Guys from 2005 to 2017 after being CEO of The Good Guys from 1993.
He is also co-founder of the national Best Friends Pet Supercentres chain, the founder of the digital timeline app Momatu, and the founder and director of The Good Foundation - a not-for-profit which promotes good health and nutrition, including being the sole licensee of Jamie’s Ministry of Food in Australia.
Andrew is the chair of the Nominations Committee and a member of the People and Remuneration Committee.
Kate O'Sullivan – Director
Graduate AICD, Graduate Certificate Agribusiness and Graduate Diploma Business Administration
Kate joined the Board in August 2019, bringing over 25 years of senior executive experience working across commercial, sales, marketing and leadership disciplines.
Kate’s most recent assignment was CEO of the Pegasus Leisure Group (a subsidiary of the Melbourne Racing Club), leading the management of a 13-venue hospitality enterprise.
Presently, she is the managing director of Portishead Pty Ltd, specialising in executive leadership coaching and mentoring for women, and a director of World Racing Tours Pty Ltd.
Kate is the chair of the Prahran Market Pty Ltd Board, a director at Melbourne Royal (Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria), Marcus Oldham Agriculture College Council and Melbourne Girls Grammar School Foundation and was formerly a director at the Moonee Valley Racing Club.
Kate is a member of the Audit, Risk and Integrity Committee.
Dean Rioli – Director
Dean Rioli joined the Board in November,2022.
Dean is one of Essendon’s most celebrated Indigenous players, playing 100 games for the Bombers between 1999 and 2006. A Tiwi man, Dean was recruited from the South Fremantle Football Club in the 1998 Rookie Draft.
Following his AFL career, Dean spent 15 years supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in to meaningful employment. He worked with organisations to develop a culturally safe environment to attract and retain Aboriginal workforce. Dean is the Managing Director of Bunji Hire, established in late 2019 a majority owned Aboriginal business offering a range of plant and equipment to clients across Australia. He is also the Deputy Chair for Bridging the Gap Foundation, on the Board for Melbourne Indigenous Transition School and the current Head Coach for the Moonee Valley Premier League Women’s team.
Dean is a member of the People & Remuneration Committee.
Tim Roberts – Director
Bachelor of Building, Bachelor of Planning & Design, Graduate Diploma Property
Tim Roberts joined the Board in November, 2022.
Tim is the Executive Director of WT Partnership and brings extensive experience in the property and construction industry. With over 30 years at WT Partnership, Tim has been at the helm of large and complex projects across all major industry sectors including aviation, commercial, health, hotel, industrial, infrastructure, residential, retail and sports throughout Australia, Asia, Middle East, Canada and the United States. Tim acts as Director-in-Charge of multiple airport, rail, tunnel and port capital works programs overseeing delivery of cost management and quantity surveying services for high value complex capital works projects.
Tim is a member of the Audit, Risk & Integrity Committee.
Kevin Sheedy AO – Director
Kevin joined the Board in October 2020.
He was senior coach at Essendon, winning four premierships over his 27 years, and was also the inaugural coach and a former director of Greater Western Sydney.
He has made a significant contribution to the AFL industry over many decades including creating the iconic Anzac Day and Dreamtime matches, enhancing the AFL Coaches' Association and establishing the AFL Sports Ready Program.
Kevin is an innovator in business, passionate about our Indigenous and grassroots communities, and an influencer at all levels including government.
He is an Essendon Football Club life member and Hall of Fame Legend, an AFL and Richmond Football Club life member and an AFL Hall of Fame Legend.
Andrew Welsh – Director
Andrew Welsh joined the Board in September 2022.
During his football career, Andrew established the Andrew Welsh Auskick Centre, aimed at engaging culturally and linguistically diverse youth in the Flemington area.
After football, Andrew pursued a career in sports media with Channel 7 and in construction and land development, working alongside some of Australia’s largest and most respected property developers. Andrew founded Sitetech Solutions in 2010, supplying temporary fencing, site toilets, caged rubbish bins and cross-over protection for driveways.
After founding the startup Sitetech Solutions and establishing it as a profitable enterprise, Andrew turned his focus and dedication to building Wel.Co where he is Founder & Managing Director. Wel.Co is a multifaceted development business specialising in building Australian communities. With over 100 years’ combined experience and expertise in residential, commercial and retail developments, Wel.Co has built some of Australia’s most awarded community developments and continues to set standards in the industry by building homes and communities that people want to live in.
