Who's going to sit in the big chair?

We assess some of the lead candidates supposedly in the running to become the next chief executive of the Hawks.

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With the news that Travis Auld is off to become the new boss of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, we can scratch one name off the list of prospective chief executives of the Hawthorn Football Club.

Auld did a brilliant job of juggling various portfolios at the AFL such as clubs, finances, broadcasting and fixturing. He was in the running to be Gillon McLachlan’s replacement but having missed out on the top job, it was for the best that he move and seek a fresh challenge?

Dingley, or Albert Park with the occasional side trip to Monaco, Las Vegas and other luxurious locales? Not a particularly tough choice, to be honest.

Auld news.

So the search continues and for the time being, the Hawks have the field to themselves. There is no other chief executive vacancy in AFL club land. But the ‘Brendon Gale to the AFL’ chatter is starting to grow and if Richmond also enters the market, then the Hawks might find themselves in a bidding war before long for their preferred candidate.

So who’s in the frame?

What follows is a quick look at some of those whose names have been bandied about. The great news for Hawthorn is it’s a blue-riband field and any of those listed below would be an excellent choice.

KYLIE ROGERS

AFL Executive General Manager Customer and Commercial

Rogers is incredibly well-regarded at the AFL and within the industry and is responsible for generating about $500 million in revenue for the League. Whereas so many sporting organisations floundered through COVID, she somehow added to the game’s already-burgeoning list of sponsors and the AFL’s digital operations and Marvel Stadium now fall under her remit.

Rogers was also under consideration for the top job at the AFL that went to Andrew Dillon, but she probably has gone as far as she can at the League for now. If she wants to remain in footy, then her next step would be to go and run a club, which would then put her firmly in the running to become the next AFL chief executive after Dillon. 

With some delicate negotiations set to take place with the AFL over the racism saga and an exit strategy from Tasmania needing to be thrashed out, having someone from the inside the AFL tent moving across to the Hawks would be an excellent move.

CARL DILENA

St Kilda chief operating officer

Don’t let the title or his current place of employment fool you. Dilena is incredibly well-regarded in the game from his time as chief executive at North Melbourne from 2013 to 2019. He oversaw the club’s debt reduction program and he put the processes in place that enabled North to totally eradicate what was an eight-figure debt.

The refurbishment of the club’s Arden Street base was also completed in his time.

A former Fitzroy and North Melbourne rover, he has all the credentials to be a very good chief executive at the Hawks, especially given the fewer financial constraints he would face at the club.

STEVE ROSICH

Victoria Racing Club chief executive

Has been in the big chair at Flemington since November 2020 but his background is football. He ran Fremantle between 2008 and 2019 and in that time he poached Ross Lyon from St Kilda to be the coach and oversaw the development of and the move to the new facility at Cockburn.

If not for a non-compete clause while at Freo that restricted him from throwing his hat in the ring, he might have beaten Justin Reeves for the job at the Hawks in 2018.

If Rosich has designs to get back into football, then he would be strongly considered, although staging the Melbourne Cup every year is a pretty big deal and would be awfully tough to leave behind.

SIMON LLOYD

Geelong general manager of football

Becoming CEO of the Hawks would complete the circle for Lloyd, who was the club’s development coach, psychologist and player development manager from 1998 to 2004.

After that he went to Collingwood in a high-performance role and then spent several years on Fremantle’s coaching staff before joining the Cats, first as director of coaching and then general manager of football once Steve Hocking moved to the AFL in 2018.

If he got the job at the Hawks, he would follow in the footsteps of Stuart Fox and Reeves, who both became CEO after working at the Cats.

Lloyd is generally regarded as a club chief executive in waiting and was narrowly beaten for the job at North Melbourne earlier this year that went to Jen Watt.

ANDREW WESTACOTT

Australian Grand Prix former chief executive

Stepped down only recently from his role at the Grand Prix after 12 years. But while his expertise might be the cars and bikes, his passion is footy (he is a massive Western Bulldogs fan) and in 2021, he wrote the ‘Love Letter to Football’ in the Grand Final edition of the AFL Record.

He is one of the most accomplished sports administrators in the country and if he chose to turn his passion into a profession, the AFL would welcome having him become part of the industry and he’d be a great get for Hawthorn.

SUE CLARK

Western Bulldogs chief operating officer

Has put in the hard yards in footy over many years with senior roles at Geelong and now the Bulldogs, in financial and commercial roles, and is one that many in the AFL industry believe deserves the opportunity to run an AFL club.

Given the extensive redevelopment at both GMHBA Stadium and the Whitten Oval, she would be ideally placed to see Dingley through to completion.

MARK EVANS

Gold Coast chief executive

Any interest in a homecoming, ‘Dougie’? Alastair Clarkson’s key offsider through his first eight years as coach of the Hawks moved to the AFL as head of footy before being sent by the AFL to the Gold Coast to sort out the Suns.

There’s a bit going on up there and he may want to be there to help the new coach settle in, but the new chairman might want to hand-pick his own chief executive. Evans remains highly-regarded at the Hawks, still has a soft spot for the club and might want to take charge of his next move before someone makes it for him.

ASH KLEIN & JOSH VANDERLOO

Klein is acting chief executive and Vanderloo heads up operations and major projects at the club. Both have been in football administration for some time in senior roles and Vanderloo when at the AFL was one of the primary architects of AFLW.

Expect both to throw their hats into the ring.

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