Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Dave Barham

[BrunoV]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Just another idiot doubling down on delusion.

 

[andleanback]

I'm not really sure why a CEO at a professional footy club would need to be a person with extensive AFL experience.

You mentioned scale... the bigger the organisation presumably the more you hire underlings you trust and delegate to them. Essendon is tiny compared to a bank with branches all over the country, but it does look like football functions will be put in the hands of a well-qualified GM-Football and Senior Coach, which I suppose is part of the reason we have Brad Scott and not Adem Yze.

What's interesting about Thorburn is he's a banker, and more recently an investment banker. If he's remotely competent he'd have a pretty good idea of what a successful business looks like, either so private equity can invest in it or so a bank can authorise a loan, regardless of what the specific core business is for each one he's investing in.

Richmond - gale
Geelong - cook
Geelong - hocking
Carlton - cook
Sydney - Harley
Brisbane - swan
Melbourne - pert

Hmm is that a trend I see.

 

[eth-dog]

Have no idea what to think but yeah, big step down from NAB

 

[Lore]

Richmond - gale
Geelong - cook
Geelong - hocking
Carlton - cook
Sydney - Harley
Brisbane - swan
Melbourne - pert

Hmm is that a trend I see.

Is it a correlation or a causation?

 

[madrigal]

Richmond - gale
Geelong - cook
Geelong - hocking
Carlton - cook
Sydney - Harley
Brisbane - swan
Melbourne - pert

Hmm is that a trend I see.

5/7 have four letter names. I suggest James Hird for CEO.

 

[Lore]

He has been involved with the game for a long-time through the NAB partnership of the AFL. He impressed the board with his understanding of the AFL system but also the business of sport on a global scale. Most importantly though, Andrew has demonstrated throughout his business career that he can execute the priorities that the organisation has.

Official AFL Website of the Essendon Football Club

The official AFL website of the Essendon Football Club

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[Burzum]

Anyone else find it bizarre he's taking the Essendon job? Unless he's extremely passionate about the footy business, he's taking quite a pay cut for no real reason.

 

[frodos gardener]

Is the President building a wall around the footy department? Will part of Thorburn’s role be to keep the influential club benefactors away from Mahoney and the coaches? The coteries get access to players through sponsorships and arrangements… there’s no stopping that, but there is something to be said for allowing Scott and co to focus on footy.

I eagerly await the “sit down with new CEO” video the media guys will be madly pulling together.

 

[thepokey]

Not real thrilled about this one

 

[andleanback]

Is it a correlation or a causation?

Well tigers, geelong, Carlton, lions were all a mess before those guys arrived and on field success has followed years after they’ve set the direction for their respective organizations.

 

[Lore]

Well tigers, geelong, Carlton, lions were all a mess before those guys arrived and on field success has followed years after they’ve set the direction for their respective organizations.

I don't think this is a well constructed argument.

 

[ant555]

By all accounts a pretty decent human. I imagine The RC stuff would speak more to his inability to provide governance than the provision of direct instruction to, for example, charge fees to corpses. He wouldn’t be on his Pat Malone in being unable to be across all aspects of an organisation this size. That’s not to excuse him but I think it reflects as much on the size and structure of the organisation - it would be impossible to be across everything you need to be as CEO.Happy to be told I’m wrong, didn’t follow it closely.

It’s interesting that he’s a total non-footy person yet he is charged with restoring focus on core business, i.e footy. I remain unclear on how a layman can direct and manage a footy department. Can we not find a Gale or Cook who is qualified to manage on and off-field operations?

I think Mahoney and Scott will be running the footy department. One advantage of having Scott as a coach I guess is he has been at AFL house for 3 years so he knows that side as well . He will be supporting what they are doing.

 

[Vander18]

I think Mahoney and Scott will be running the footy department. One advantage of having Scott as a coach I guess is he has been at AFL house for 3 years so he knows that side as well . He will be supporting what they are doing.

Right…. But someone has to sign off what they propose. That would be Thorburn.

 

[Vander18]

I'm not really sure why a CEO at a professional footy club would need to be a person with extensive AFL experience.

You mentioned scale... the bigger the organisation presumably the more you hire underlings you trust and delegate to them. Essendon is tiny compared to a bank with branches all over the country, but it does look like football functions will be put in the hands of a well-qualified GM-Football and Senior Coach, which I suppose is part of the reason we have Brad Scott and not Adem Yze.

What's interesting about Thorburn is he's a banker, and more recently an investment banker. If he's remotely competent he'd have a pretty good idea of what a successful business looks like, either so private equity can invest in it or so a bank can authorise a loan, regardless of what the specific core business is for each one he's investing in.

Whether it’s a bank or a footy club, your CEO should understand core business.

Somebody has to sign off on whatever Scott and Mahoney propose. Better if they understand footy I’d have thought.

 

[Mootsy]

Anyone else find it bizarre he's taking the Essendon job? Unless he's extremely passionate about the footy business, he's taking quite a pay cut for no real reason.

Probably has a good amount of wealth already sowed, maybe just wants to help Essendon.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Whether it’s a bank or a footy club, your CEO should understand core business.

Somebody has to sign off on whatever Scott and Mahoney propose. Better if they understand footy I’d have thought.

I get what you are saying, I don't know where I sit, but out of interest...

Can you come up with a scenario whereby Scott and Mahoney have a proposal that a CEO's football knowledge would help them overrule the request?

I can't, because you should be hiring the experts in those roles and trusting them to do their business, while implementing robust processes that ensure there is appropriate peer review and board oversight to ensure no repeat of things like the saga.

It doesn't take football knowledge to fund the right areas, you have plenty of people both above and below who have that knowledge.

It doesn't take football knowledge to implement the appropriate health and well being plans for the players and coaches etc.

In fact as long as he acknowledges he has no knowledge and doesn't interfere (like Campbell), then that can work very well.

 

[ant555]

Right…. But someone has to sign off what they propose. That would be Thorburn.

It would but I do not see it as an issue.

 

[andleanback]

I don't think this is a well constructed argument.

Its just fact whether you like it or not. Having a ceo that truely understands the football industry and a professional football club environment as a whole is a huge advantage. Brad Scott would’ve been a better option as ceo than this bloke.

 

[Lore]

Whether it’s a bank or a footy club, your CEO should understand core business.

Somebody has to sign off on whatever Scott and Mahoney propose. Better if they understand footy I’d have thought.

We're talking about the CEO of a professional football club though, not the shift manager in a fish and chip shop.

This is sort of a mirror image of the argument against former players being on the board of directors.

 

[Lore]

Its just fact whether you like it or not. Having a ceo that truely understands the football industry and a professional football club environment as a whole is a huge advantage. Brad Scott would’ve been a better option as ceo than this bloke.

It's a small selection of not-quite facts that you've chosen to show a correlation that does not indicate a causation.

I'm not going to waste my time deconstructing or arguing against something that isn't based on logic in the first place. It'd be like playing chess with a pigeon... or Kevin Sheedy.

 

[Mootsy]

ipso factidio

 

[Vander18]

I get what you are saying, I don't know where I sit, but out of interest...

Can you come up with a scenario whereby Scott and Mahoney have a proposal that a CEO's football knowledge would help them overrule the request?

I can't, because you should be hiring the experts in those roles and trusting them to do their business, while implementing robust processes that ensure there is appropriate peer review and board oversight to ensure no repeat of things like the saga.

It doesn't take football knowledge to fund the right areas, you have plenty of people both above and below who have that knowledge.

It doesn't take football knowledge to implement the appropriate health and well being plans for the players and coaches etc.

In fact as long as he acknowledges he has no knowledge and doesn't interfere (like Campbell), then that can work very well.

The club SHOULD have a sophisticated list and salary cap management plan. The plan comes out of the footy department. The CEO should be able to review and endorse these crucial plans.

It’s not about game day. It’s about the high level strategy and planning component.

 

[Vander18]

It would but I do not see it as an issue.

It won’t be….until it is.

As an aside, would you assume Scott reports to Mahoney?

 

[ant555]

It won’t be….until it is.

As an aside, would you assume Scott reports to Mahoney?

He does but his AFL experience will be used .
From all reports Scott is running the football department ( coaching / development) and reporting to Mahoney.

 

[Vander18]

We're talking about the CEO of a professional football club though, not the shift manager in a fish and chip shop.

This is sort of a mirror image of the argument against former players being on the board of directors.

It’s a mirror image of good freaking governance if you ask me.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

The club SHOULD have a sophisticated list and salary cap management plan. The plan comes out of the footy department. The CEO should be able to review and endorse these crucial plans.

It’s not about game day. It’s about the high level strategy and planning component.

For sure, but it doesn’t require a football background to be able understand that and approve it or not.

You want your GM of football, list manager, head of strength and conditioning and senior coach to create all that and the CEO to ensure all the processes, funding and management are in place to encourage thought and creativity while minimising risk.