Essendon has appointed Craig Vozzo as the Club’s General Manager of Football Operations.

Vozzo will oversee football operations, compliance, medical, wellbeing, list management and Total Player Payments (TPP).

He joins General Manager of Performance John Longmire in leading the football department. The pair bring more than 60 years of combined football experience, including premiership success at their former clubs.

Vozzo was General Manager of Football at West Coast from 2013 to 2021, a period that included the Eagles’ 2018 premiership. He then served as Essendon CEO for three years and, since stepping down from that role, has worked with the Club on recruiting, list management and commercial projects.

Essendon CEO Tim Roberts said Vozzo’s experience would strengthen the Club’s football program at an important time.

“Craig has worked closely with our list management and recruiting team throughout the season, and he’s been a great support to me since I started,” Roberts said.

“Craig and John bring complementary strengths. John’s expertise is in coaching, high performance and developing players. Craig brings deep experience in list management, compliance and running a football department. Having the two of them side by side gives us a very strong combination.

“Craig did this job with great success at West Coast, and it’s fantastic to have his experience full-time in such an important role.”

Vozzo said that he was energised to return in a full time capacity at the Club.

“I’m very energised and looking forward to jumping back into the Football Department and working with Mark and John to help create the best environment we can for our players. Walking back into the Club, I’ve already noticed a real sense of excitement across the whole place.

“We have plenty of hard work ahead, but we will roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

Longmire said the appointment was a key part of building a strong football program.

“When I joined the Club, it was important to me that we had real experience in the operations role, given how central it is to running a football department,” Longmire said.

“Craig and I complement each other well, and I’m looking forward to working with him to improve our football club. We’ve got the key people in place ahead of pre-season, and that’s really exciting.”