The AFL’s long search for Gillon McLachlan’s successor in “the biggest job in Australian sport” has ended, with the league to keep the role in-house after it confirmed the appointment of Andrew Dillon as its next chief executive.
The AFL administration veteran will take over at the end of the current men’s season on 2 October, following a period of transition that will allow McLachlan to help resolve a number of outstanding issues the game is wrestling with.
McLachlan announced last April that he would be stepping down from the top job and wanted to leave before the start of the 2023 season. But he was urged to stay on while an extensive search was undertaken to find his successor.
That search has landed on the man who already occupies an office near McLachlan at AFL House in his current role as executive general manager of football operations, legal, integrity and general counsel.
“It is a really humbling moment for me to be appointed as the next CEO of the AFL,” Dillon said. “Football has been a defining part of my life. As it has for so many of our supporters, it is a privilege and honour to be given the opportunity to lead the AFL.”
Dillon joined the AFL in 2000 and has since occupied several positions under a number of CEOs before rising to become McLachlan’s second-in-command. He was considered a favourite to win the CEO job among a field that also included Richmond CEO Brendon Gale, Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler and fellow AFL executives Travis Auld and Kylie Rogers.
“We believe this is the biggest job in Australian sport,” AFL chairman Richard Goyder said. “I want to congratulate Andrew. He was clearly the best choice take over from Gillon McLachlan.
“He is an exceptional football person, he has been a key leader in the AFL, involved in every major decision of the AFL for many years, and he is the choice of the commission amongst the field of high-quality candidates and what were the very, very competitive search process.”
Asked about perceptions of an AFL boys’ club, Dillon said “I don’t buy that one bit.”
“There’s no boys club here. We’ve got a talented, diverse workforce and everyone’s opinions are listened to and acted on. The more diverse the talent, the better decisions.”
The drawn-out search for the new CEO was due to a number of outstanding issues the league is dealing with, including the addition of a 19th team in Tasmania, the collective bargaining agreement and the inquiry into alleged racism at Hawthorn
Goyder said he did not think any momentum had been lost due to the delay.
“We wanted to deal with the Hawthorn issue and as we’ve announced over the weekend [with the government’s stadium funding], hopefully we can move things forward over the next couple of days,” he said.
Dillon’s appointment has prompted a reshuffle in senior management with Laura Kane now acting general manager of football and Stephen Meade to become the league’s general counsel.
