Essendon Football Club is delighted to announce the appointments of Daniel McPherson to General Manager – AFL and Aysha Ward to General Manager – AFLW.

These appointments have been made as part of a revised structure within the football department, with the club now having two senior executive positions focused solely on each of the AFL and the AFLW programs.  

This structure allows for a concentrated approach on each elite program, as the club looks to maximise performance and build winning cultures in both areas.

Essendon CEO Craig Vozzo congratulated Daniel McPherson and Aysha Ward on their elevations to the club executive.                                  

“We feel that these are two great appointments that will strengthen both our AFL and AFLW programs. Dan and Aysha are both high quality people and we look forward to their leadership in driving each area forward and having a significant impact on the club more generally,” Vozzo said.

“The updated structure is designed to create clear accountabilities within each elite program and to ensure both programs have an executive member solely focused on their success.  

“Both Dan and Aysha were standout candidates for these positions, and we’re delighted to be able to promote our people from within and I congratulate them on their appointments.”

As General Manager – AFL, McPherson will work with Brad Scott to lead the AFL program. 

He joined the Bombers at the end of 2022 as the GM of Football Performance. Prior to this, he was the GM of Football Operations at the Melbourne Football Club, responsible for each of the AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW programs for four years. He was a significant contributor to the Melbourne football program during their build which culminated in the AFL Premiership in 2021 before he joined North Melbourne for the 2022 AFL season as General Manager of Football Performance. 

McPherson also played 111 games for the Sydney Swans between 1994 to 2003. 

"Dan is an intelligent and driven individual who has more than 20 years of experience as a player, coach and administrator at AFL level,” Vozzo said.

“He has played an important role in driving a winning football program and in the build of a successful off-field structure.  

“Our AFL program continues to develop and evolve under Brad Scott and the alignment between our coaching group, players and football department will be driven by Dan in this role.”

Ward joined the Bombers in 2015. Most recently, Ward has held the dual role of Head of AFLW and AFL Operations Manager.

Ward’s new role as General Manager – AFLW, will see her lead the entire Women’s Football program, both at AFLW and VFLW levels.

Ward, who formerly played in Essendon's VFLW side, has successfully assisted in leading the women’s program as Head of AFLW. In 2022, she played a major role in securing the club's AFLW licence to help establish the Bombers' first playing list and coaching structure. 

“Aysha is a highly respected football person both within Essendon and throughout the AFL industry,” Vozzo said.

"She brings great expertise, passion and commitment to our football club and it will be terrific to now have her on our executive team driving our Women’s programs and aspects of our wider community engagement strategies.”

McPherson said he can't wait to continue driving the men's program towards sustained success.

“I’m grateful to be given this opportunity at the Essendon Football Club, and look forward to working closely with Brad and the rest of the football department to continue to build and drive a world-class football program for our players," he said.

“We’ve been very active in the off-season, both on-field and off-field, to bring in quality people who we believe can help build on the foundations which are already in place.

“We have a lot of work in front of us to get to where we want to get to, but I’m confident and incredibly excited about what’s ahead for our footy club.”

Ward said she was looking forward to driving a successful women’s program at Essendon.

“I feel honoured to continue leading our women’s programs and be able to solely focus on progressing our development in the competition in the years to come,” Ward said.

“I’m proud of the club for elevating the role to the Executive and look forward to being a strong voice representing our women’s strategy. I will ensure our players, coaches and staff have everything they need to be the best people they can be and to build sustained success in the AFLW competition.

“I have loved working at Essendon for eight years and look forward to the next challenge,” Ward said.