Dear Members,
The metaphor that a week is a long time in football has never felt more accurate.
I want to start by congratulating our outgoing Chief Executive Xavier Campbell for his service to the Essendon Football Club. Xavier became CEO in our most challenging of times and led the Club through that period with care and tenacity. His passion for our football club was a constant during his time as CEO and I thank him for his commitment to the role. Xavier leaves the Club in a very strong position, and we wish him well for his next endeavour.
I would also like to acknowledge the significant impact of Paul Brasher and Simon Madden who both resigned from the Board. Their contribution to this Club as directors has been considerable. Paul dedicated over 11 years to the board including two as President and Simon was on the board for nine years in total. These are two great Essendon people and I thank them for their commitment to the Club.
When I wrote to you last week, I said I would have more information regarding our plan to reset the Essendon Football Club and today I’m pleased to share with you the details of our coaching sub-committee and the structure of our Club’s external review. I said we would be bold, decisive and that we would move quickly.
Today as well, we are announcing the 6 person sub-committee that will lead the appointment of our next AFL senior coach, as well as our overall External Club Review.
The Coaching Panel is a diverse and talented group, that will consist of our Executive GM of Football Josh Mahoney (Chair), Robert Walls, Jordan Lewis, Simone McKinnis OAM, Andrew Thorburn and Club Director Dorothy Hisgrove.
Josh Mahoney will chair the committee as our Club football lead. Josh has over 20 years of AFL experience. As a premiership player himself, Josh is well placed to provide his unique insight on the coaching process having previously been a member of the selection committee that appointed Melbourne’s premiership winning coach Simon Goodwin.
Robert Walls’ football credentials stands alone. A three-time premiership player and a premiership winning coach, Robert will bring enormous experience from over 50 years of involvement in the game. Robert was on the coaching committees who appointed Rodney Eade at Sydney and Ross Lyon at St Kilda.
Jordan Lewis will bring a modern lens to the committee. He played a crucial role in Hawthorn’s move from a developing squad to a premiership powerhouse before moving to Melbourne to assist a young developing group with his leadership and by driving standards. Jordan is a four-time premiership player, whose experience of being coached by Alastair Clarkson and Simon Goodwin will be a valuable tool for the committee.
Simone McKinnis OAM is a highly credentialed leader, manager, and teacher, who will bring another coaching view to the panel. Simone has over 30 years of experience in netball and other elite sports. McKinnis is a premiership winning captain and represented Australia on 63 occasions in netball. She is the current coach of the Melbourne Vixens and has coached them to two premierships, most recently in 2020. I am very excited to have Simone on this panel and look forward to working with her.
Andrew Thorburn will bring deep leadership experience and business acumen. Having led large scale and complex organisations, most notably as CEO of NAB from 2014-2019, and Bank of NZ from 2008-2014, Andrew’s leadership and strategic mindset will be an asset to the Club. More recently, Andrew’s experience as a Senior Advisor at BCG, and as a Director of Not for Profit/For Profit organisations will be relevant. Andrew will also help drive the broader external Club review, which ties in well with this appointment and provides continuity and integration.
Dorothy Hisgrove is a proven business leader in leadership, culture, and business performance. Dorothy has over 30 years’ experience in these fields and will bring the people and culture lens to the panel and provide the latest testing protocols to ensure the panel has a clear picture of the personality and leadership capabilities of each candidate.
The coaching process will be thorough and rigorous. This is a well credentialled group of individuals who all bring diverse and unique skillsets.
I have been clear that we cannot continue to only review ourselves and this external review is critical for the Club’s success moving forward.
This review will be comprehensive, robust and integrated. It will be led and co-ordinated by EY and supported by Andrew Thorburn, an experienced business leader. This group will work closely with Nick Ryan who will be Acting CEO until a permanent appointment of a new CEO is made. Dorothy Hisgrove will also be involved from a board viewpoint, as an expert in culture and people. The group will also have access to other non-Essendon Football people as they conduct the review.
We will leave “no stone unturned” in this process.
The External Club Review has been commissioned by the Board and will be complete around Mid October. The review involves 4 key streams:
- Board effectiveness and composition;
- A review of Leadership, Operations and Culture (including the Football Department);
- A Senior Coach appointment;
- The appointment of a new CEO
The External Club Review and the Coaching Sub-committee will make recommendations to the Board, who will make the final decisions.
We are committed to making the necessary changes to deliver our Club its next AFL premiership.
Finally, tomorrow marks our first ever AFLW game against our archrivals Hawthorn. This is a momentous occasion for the Essendon Football Club, and I encourage everyone to be part of history as we look to pack out Marvel Stadium with red and black.
I will continue to communicate with further updates, but it is now time to look ahead and put in place clear actions to take the club forward
Go Bombers,
Dave Barham
