MELBOURNE Football Club CEO, Peter Jackson has today announced to staff that he will retire from full-time employment at the end of his current term.  

The Melbourne Football Club Board has been working with Peter Jackson for some time to ensure a smooth succession in the role of CEO. To achieve this, Peter has committed to a handover model where he will remain at the Club to work with the CEO elect to oversee a successful transition of the role.

Jackson is currently contracted until October 31 2018, but has agreed to remain at the Club into 2019 to ensure a smooth transition for the incoming CEO.

Peter Jackson, CEO of the Melbourne Football Club, said: “When I arrived at the Club in May of 2013, I said that I couldn’t do this role forever. Good leadership involves knowing when it is the right time to pass the baton to someone else and that time has now come for me. The CEO role at any Club is taxing and the time is right for me to step away from the 24/7 nature of full-time employment and move onto the next phase of my life.”

“The succession plan for senior coach was a success, and I and the board want to ensure a similar transition in the role of CEO. The length of the handover period will depend somewhat on the successful candidate but I look forward to working with that person to transition them into the role.

“I am incredibly proud of the progress the Club has achieved in my five years at the Club. We are a financially strong and stable Club and have built the foundations for success on the field.”

Glen Bartlett, Chairman of Melbourne Football Club, said: “Peter Jackson has been CEO of our Club since May 2013. Having initially agreed to a short-term role, Peter subsequently signed on to stay the course and lead Melbourne towards the success we all crave.”

“As members would expect, the Board is very mindful of the enormous contribution to this Club Peter has made, and is also well aware of its ongoing responsibilities, in terms of succession planning for all key roles.  We take our responsibilities to our Club including our staff and members very seriously.”

“In this regard, a smooth transition has been achieved between Paul Roos and Simon Goodwin as senior coach and the Board is determined that a similarly smooth transition to a high-quality successor is achieved in the role of CEO.”

The Club’s process to appoint its next CEO has commenced. The process includes the identification of internal and external candidates, and the objective and independent assessments of candidates. It is expected this process will be completed during the next couple of months and will be followed by a prompt communication of the Board’s decision and its rationale.