Essendon Football Club wishes to advise the Board has implemented a number of important changes to the Club’s executive structure ahead of the 2014 season.
The Club recently completed an exhaustive interview process for the position of Chief Executive Officer, and as a result of this process determined the position would remain vacant until further notice.
As a result, the Board has decided to implement an alternative strategy within a new executive structure. The revised structure includes the elevation of certain existing roles and the creation of new positions, to improve the overall strength of the Club’s management.
The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Xavier Campbell to the position of Chief Operating Officer.
The Chief Operating Officer will be the senior executive role at the Essendon Football Club under this new structure.
Essendon Chairman Paul Little and Finance Director Paul Brasher will spend significantly more time at the Club to help recruit additional executive members and support the new executive team during this period.
Xavier has been promoted from his role of General Manager Projects and Partnerships and has overseen significant growth of the Club’s sponsorship and strategic partnerships over the last 5 years.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Ray Gunston will formally finish his role on 31 December 2013 but has agreed to return to the club as required in January to help with the handover to Xavier.
The other changes included in the restructure are the elevation of Justin Rodski to the role of Chief Marketing Officer and an increased portfolio of Chief Financial Officer Kevin Dixon.
Justin has been promoted from his role of General Manager Communications & Digital Media to oversee all marketing components of the business including brand, membership, marketing, merchandise, communications and digital media.
Kevin’s role will include finance, strategy and planning as well as the introduction of a Compliance Manager role to increase the governance and risk management accountability across the organization.
As a result of the new structure, Chief Commercial Officer Richard Burnet has elected to pursue other opportunities outside the club.
Richard has been with EFC for 5 years and has played an integral role in driving significant increases in commercial returns across the business including record member numbers and new major sponsorship deals. Essendon Football Club would like to thank Richard for his valuable contribution and wish him all the best for the future.
Chris Pehlivanis, Financial Controller and Anita Fox, General Manager Consumer Business, will remain on the executive team with some increased responsibilities.
To complete the executive team, the Club will shortly commence recruiting for three new executive roles:
- General Manager Football
- General Manager People & Culture
- General Manager Commercial Sales and Events
Essendon chairman Paul Little said the new executive structure would give the club greater management leverage and transparency across the organisation.
“The Board is excited to be implementing a fresh strategy within an alternative structure,” Little said
“The revised structure includes the elevation of certain existing roles and the creation of new positions, to improve the overall strength of the Club’s management.”
“The Board decided the short-listed candidates for the CEO role didn’t provide all of the qualities we believed required to adequately fill this demanding role.”
“It was determined the Club would promote from within and create a new Chief Operating Officer position to manage the key areas of the business.”
The Club will begin the recruiting process for the vacant executive roles shortly.
