Essendon Football Club is delighted to announce the appointments of Lindsay Tanner and Andrew Muir to the Board of Directors.

The new Directors will replace long standing Board members Greg Brown and Phillip Pryor, who have both recently resigned due to personal reasons.

Essendon Chairman Paul Little said the Board nominations committee had identified and recommended Andrew Muir and Lindsay Tanner join the Board to fill the vacant positions.

“We are very pleased to welcome Andrew and Lindsay to the Board and look forward to them starting with us at our next scheduled meeting later this month,” Little said

“A major part of our strategic plan for the Board has been the establishment of a nominations committee to identify areas of expertise to enhance the current Board and its contribution to the Club.”

“In particular, the nominations committee made its recommendations based on the need for improved skills in government relations, brand and communications and entrepreneurial acumen.”

“Andrew and Lindsay are highly respected individuals who will bring a diverse range of professional experience and the skills identified by the nominations committee to the Board table.”

“Following the resignations of Greg and Phil, the new appointments were ratified by the full Board of the Essendon Football Club this week.”

Little acknowledged the valuable contribution of outgoing Directors Greg Brown and Phillip Pryor.

“Greg and Phil have given great service to the Essendon Football Club over a very long period of time,” Little said

“During a difficult period in recent years, both Greg and Phil have helped the Board and management team oversee record membership growth, strong commercial partnerships and a significant reduction in the overall debt position of the Club.”

“Greg and Phil are great Essendon people and on behalf of the Board and everyone associated with the Club, we would like to thank them for their service and wish them both well for the future.”

Brown, a member of Essendon’s 1965 premiership team, has been recovering from a rare blood disease and said while he was disappointed to be leaving the Club in a formal capacity, his health was his priority. 

“It is a decision that is hard to make in one sense but the only decision I could make in regard to the club and myself after six months in hospital, 11 weeks of which was in intensive care. It was a mammoth case of recovery and rehabilitation and it’s a decision I had to make with my responsibility to the football club and its directorship,” Brown said.

“So I have to say thank you for the memories and the wonderful times but my time here is up and I have to try and get myself as healthy as I possibly can over the next few months.

“When one reflects a little bit, this is my 29th year of direct involvement with the club. Seven years as a player, one as the marketing manager, then the years as Chairman of the Dick Reynolds Club and then from late 2006 onwards as a Director of the Club. It’s been a wonderful journey for me.” 

Pryor, who has been on the Board since 2008, said the timing was right to resign following a decision to move overseas with his wife and pursue business interests.

“I’ve had a long association with the Essendon Football Club that dates back to my playing days and being involved on the Windy Hill Venue Executive Committee, as a member of the EFC Audit Committee and an inaugural co-convener of the Collins Street Dons Coterie Group, as well as being a member of the First Eighteen Supporter Group,” Pryor said.

“When I first stood for the Board, my key objectives were stated as lifting the allocation of resources for the football department and an improvement in the training facilities for our players. I leave the board knowing that the club now has elite training facilities and record membership amongst many other positive and exciting initiatives.

“My wife Helen and I intend to maintain our very close relationship with the Essendon Football Club over the coming years.”