THE Board of the Melbourne Football Club is pleased to announce two important appointments.

Firstly, Mr Peter Jackson has been appointed as Interim CEO of the Melbourne Football Club for a period of 6 months commencing 1 May 2013. Peter is a highly experienced football administrator having previously held the position of CEO of Essendon Football Club for 13 years until 2009.  Since leaving Essendon and pursuing other business interests, Peter has continued to perform advisory roles in AFL and VFL football.

The Board is the first to acknowledge that today the Club as a whole, both on and off the field, has not met the goals we set 4 years ago.  This is unacceptable and must be addressed.  The Board has appointed Peter as an interim CEO to critically assess all aspects of our club, and he has the experience to do that. Peter will oversee the day to day operations of the club through to the end of season 2013, and he will participate in the process to select a full time CEO.  

Secondly, the Board is also very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Geoff Freeman as a Director of the Club. A lifelong supporter and Foundation Hero, Geoff brings a wealth of business experience and acumen to our Board.   Geoff will have particular focus at Board level on our key relationships, particularly our sponsors and business partners.

Short biographies of both Peter and Geoff follow.

Peter Jackson
Peter held the position of Chief Executive of Essendon Football Club from April 1996 and became Managing Director in September 2006. He retired from Essendon in September of 2009.

Since leaving Essendon, Peter now holds a number of diverse roles.

He is the Principal of his own consulting practice, focussing on strategic planning, organisational design and executive leadership development.  

In December 2010 Peter was appointed by the AFL initially as Executive Chairman of AFL Victoria becoming Chairman of AFL Victoria.  He was also appointed Chairman of The Buchan Group Melbourne in December 2010. The Buchan Group is a global architectural practice and one of the largest architectural groups in Australasia.

In February 2011, Peter was appointed Executive Chairman of AFL SportsReady and in July 2012, he was appointed a Director of the inaugural Board of the State Government’s Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Geoff Freeman
Geoff Freeman was a founding partner ( 1975 ) of Freeman McMurrick.  The business went on to become the largest privately owned Insurance Broking House in Australia. In 2006, Freeman McMurrick was acquired by international insurance giant, Aon, the world’s largest insurance Broker. Geoff continues to serve on the Aon Australian Advisory Board.