Hawthorn Football Club has today announced that Vice President Peter Nankivell has secured the unanimous support of the Board to succeed Jeff Kennett as the President at the Annual General Meeting in December.
Mr Nankivell has been a member of the Hawthorn Board for eight years and Vice President for the last five years. He also acted as CEO for a number of months preceding the appointment of Justin Reeves to that role.
Mr Nankivell has been intimately involved in both the club’s strategy development and the execution of that strategy. More recently, this has included the sale of the club’s gaming venues for exceptional financial returns, and prior to that, the acquisition and planning of the Kennedy Community Centre project.
As a highly respected senior lawyer, Mr Nankivell will bring a different perspective and style of leadership to the club to ensure the interests of the members continue to remain paramount. Imperative to this is ensuring that the good governance and financial security for the club is maintained and that all employees of the club – players and staff – are provided with the environment to succeed. Mr Nankivell is the current chair of the club’s Governance, Risk, Integrity and Compliance Committee.
The Nominations Committee, of which Mr Nankivell was also the chair, conducted an extensive process to identify the next President of the Hawthorn Football Club. Candidates included Board and non-Board members.
At the conclusion of this process, it was determined that none of the candidates reviewed had the requisite club experience to be President at this particular point in time. This led to the need for the Board to consider other candidates, including those who had not initially shown interest in the position.
Mr Nankivell, who was not a candidate and did not nominate for the position, was recommended by some Independent and Board members of the Nominations Committee following their search for a successor. Subsequently, Mr Nankivell was asked by the Board to reconsider his position. After deliberations with his family, he agreed to nominate for the position of Club President.
“It is wonderful when succession of an organisation can come from within,” President Jeff Kennett said.
“This will ensure that the momentum behind important initiatives on and off the field can be maintained and nurtured.
“Peter has a deep knowledge of the club and, at this time, has been found to be the most appropriate person to lead the club’s future development and activities.
“Importantly, Peter has a value set that will continue to build our Family Club ethos.
“I thank the members of the Nominations Committee for the many meetings and hours of work they have contributed in the interest of the club. In particular, the non-Board members; Businessman, club benefactor and former Vice President Geoff Harris, former premiership captain and Board member Don Scott and former premiership player and Board member Andy Gowers.”
