The new Melbourne chief executive said it was imperative to “get the people right” across the entire club to ensure long term success.
“Whether that’s the players, the staff or coaches – we’ve got to have the best people in the best places and we’ve got to have them in the right places,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“And we’ve got to develop those people, so they can perform at their maximum ability.
“That’s just common sense and none of that’s changed. Everything goes on around it, but they’re the critical issues.”
Jackson said he can see similar parallels from when he first joined Essendon as chief executive 17 year ago to his recent appointment as CEO at Melbourne.
“It’s interesting, back in ’96, Essendon wasn’t that dissimilar to the challenges Melbourne’s got, except for one thing – we had a strong, experienced playing list, which we were able to capitalise on fairly quickly, when we got the environment right. But financially, we were challenged. By the end of ’96, we were really wondering what we were going to be able to do financially,” he said.
“We managed to turn that around and there were some political issues in the club back in ’97 and ’98, which was a long time ago, but it was a matter of public record.
“I think we built a pretty good team, a strong team in the football department and the players responded and we had an era of success.
That was the fun part, but it took a lot of hard work and it just didn’t happen mysteriously. It was good.”
Jackson said he would have no issue swapping the black for blue to join the red that’s been his constant at AFL club level.
“The interesting thing is I probably, to be honest, never would’ve joined Essendon if I hadn’t been an Essendon supporter. That’s reality.
But when you stay that long in the industry and then I’ve been involved in other aspects in between, like community football, my focus is now on football from a much broader sense,” he said.
“I don’t find it surreal or a challenge in that sense. It’s good to be involved in club land again, and I didn’t expect it would ever happen, I’ve got to say, but it’s nice to be here so far. But I don’t suffer any problems like that.”
Jackson, the cousin of former AFL chief executive Wayne, is regarded as one of the competition’s finest CEOs in the modern era. He joined Essendon as CEO in April 1996, and became managing director in September 2006. He stepped down from his position at the end of 2009.
During that time, the recently turned 60 year-old was involved in eight finals campaigns, including the 2000 premiership - coincidentally, against Melbourne.
He was also renowned for his ability to help shape Essendon into one of the most powerful clubs in the competition. Jackson’s strong business background also includes the manufacturing and mining industry.
“I knew nothing about football before I came into Essendon. I wouldn’t say I actually had a career ambition to be in AFL sports administration – it just happened by accident, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.
“Apart from being at Melbourne, I’m the chair of AFL Victoria, which is the whole of football in the state, outside of the AFL. I’m the chair of AFL Sports Ready, which is a great organisation.
“I also chair an organisation called the Buchan Group, which is a large, international architectural practice, which builds big commercial sites, so I’ve got my hands full.”
Jackson said it was difficult to have just one key message for the Melbourne supporters, given the trying times that have surrounded the club since its most recent finals appearance in 2006.
“I’m reluctant to say be patient, because they’ve been incredibly patient. It’s a hard one. Melbourne supporters have stuck strong over the last decade and they’ve been disappointed. For me, I’m not going to come in here and use that sort of language, but gee, it’s hard to deliver any sort of message,” he said.
“We are an inexperienced club, but we’ve got to get ourselves right financially and develop the playing list, and we’ve got to develop the staff.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got all the people in the footy department structured in the right way and they’re experienced and able to do what they have to do.”
Jackson said turning the club around wouldn’t just happen in an instant.
“You can’t turn on a light switch and make it happen – that’s reality. A lot of things have gone on in the last few years, particularly the last 20 months, which would frustrate a lot of supporters,” he said.
“There’s nothing I can say about that. All I can say is that I got here six days ago. I know what the situation is and I know it’s not a difficult fix, but it’s a time consuming, challenging fix.
“And we’re just going to have to go through it.”
