MELBOURNE has appointed two new directors to its board: entrepreneur Jane Martino and experienced business executive David Robb.
Chairman Glen Bartlett said the club now had a settled board for the long term.
“The renewal of the board of the club is now complete and I couldn’t be more pleased with the calibre and experience of the people who have joined our board in recent times. We have a board whose members have significant experience relevant to the activities of the club and it is diverse and united,” he said.
“This board will provide a stable platform for our management and football department in the next few years.”
Martino has built upon the success of the media/communications agency Undertow Media, which she founded in 2002 and subsequently sold to the Bastion Group in 2009.
Early in her career she was recognised as an entrepreneur, being a finalist in the 2006 Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year. In late 2012, Martino co-founded not-for-profit organisation Smiling Mind, centred around delivering free online mindfulness meditation programs to young people.
Martino is currently co-founder and CEO of a high profile tech start up called Shout and is currently on the Board of the Australian Women Donor's Network and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute.
Martino said she was “truly excited at the prospect of bringing my skills in building successful brands to the Melbourne Football Club”.
“This coupled with a deep understanding of the community sector and the need to be looking at every strategic decision through a digital lens, I hope will create a new and very positive dynamic on the board. I feel honoured to be a part of a new era at Melbourne,” she said.
Bartlett said Martino’s experiences and skill set made her a valuable addition to the board.
“I am delighted that Jane has joined our board, adding to the diversity of skills in the area of public relations, communication and branding,” he said.
Robb, a lifelong Melbourne supporter (he was once a member of the club’s cheer squad), has almost 40 years of business experience in large public companies, including director and chief executive roles.
He also played amateur football in Victoria and Western Australia and was president of the University Football Club in WA.
Robb said he was particularly interested in “organisational alignment and in the power of clearly articulated business objectives and culture”, believing both are prerequisites to high performance, particularly in ‘turnaround’ situations. He added he “wants to help return the Melbourne Football Club to being widely acknowledged as a great club and an embodiment of all that is Melbourne”.
Bartlett said he was delighted Robb had accepted a position as a club director.
“I am rapt to have someone like David join our board with his senior leadership and strategic experience including with Wesfarmers and Iluka Resources,” he said.
“I think it says a lot about our club given he is both a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program and of our beloved Demon Army.”
