Melbourne is light years ahead of where the club stood when outgoing chief executive Peter Jackson took over, according to Melbourne president Glen Bartlett.
Jackson is stepping down from his role in a handover model similar to the clubs coaching succession – a handover that Bartlett said the club was not ready for three years ago. We are now, he said.
Bartlett said the club hopes to hire a new chief executive in the next couple of months, with Jackson staying on until 2019. Jackson said the length of the handover period would depend partly on the new CEO.
I cant put in words my gratitude, Bartlett said of Jacksons impact on the Demons, who lost more than $3 million in 2013 and had an $8 million debt when he took over.
Bartlett said the Demons were light years from that time, when they were on the bottom and the president had described the club as soft.
The club had slashed debt to $4 million, sold its gaming assets (for $11 million), had a successful handover of the coaching position from Paul Roos to Simon Goodwin.
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Peter Jackson (left) with Demons president Glen Bartlett.
Photo: AAP
Our footy is really capable of anything, Bartlett said. The whole narrative and dialogue (about the club) has changed.
He said Melbourne had also been a leader in womens footy and that one of Jacksons greatest legacies was in developing people at the club.
Bartlett said the club had striven to become respected on and off the field when Jackson and the chairman joined the club in 2013.
I do believe weve got that now, he said.
Bartlett said the club board would use a recruitment firm in a rigorous process to find Jacksons replacement. There is no preference for internal or external candidates.
Bartlett pointed out that Jackson – who was effectively installed in the position by the AFL – had initially been hired for six months in an interim role, but could end up serving close to six years in the job.
The club expects Jackson to be with the Demons into 2019. His contract expires on October 31.
The Demons said the process to appoint a new CEO had already started.
Jackson said the coaching succession had been a success and he and the board wanted a similar transition.
When I arrived at the club in May of 2013, I said that I couldnt do this role forever. Good leadership involves knowing when it is the right time to pass the baton to someone else and that time has now come for me, he said.
The CEO role at any club is taxing and the time is right for me to step away from the 24/7 nature of full-time employment and move onto the next phase of my life.
The succession plan for senior coach was a success and I and the board want to ensure a similar transition in the role of CEO.
The length of the handover period will depend somewhat on the successful candidate but I look forward to working with that person to transition them into the role.
While Jackson has overseen a huge improvement in their financial position, the Demons should have further growth through the new deal with the MCG made by the Victorian government.
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