There’s change at the top at Collingwood, as executive gets key promotion

Collingwood chief executive Craig Kelly insists he is still the man in charge and will be until at least the end of next year, as the club promotes executive Kerrie Brewer to a new role to be the clear second in charge.

Kelly said he will discuss with the board what happens beyond 2027.

The club has acknowledged there has been a need for a clear 2IC for some time.

“I am the CEO of the Collingwood Football Club and I will continue to be so for the next 12 months and from that point will work with the board on what comes next,” Kelly told this masthead.

“There is a CEO in the building and I am it. What we do need to do is have a chief operating officer and put someone in who understands the club and the AFL. Kerrie Brewer is an outstanding person. She worked here, she went to North Melbourne, went to Hawthorn and helped set up Dingley and I brought her back here from Hawthorn.

“She is an outstanding executive. Stepping her up allows me to focus on big projects, liaising with government, the renegotiation with Foxy [Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox] over the MCG, the Melbourne Olympic Park Trust, the Yarra Council and Victoria Park.”

Brewer is highly rated in the industry. She was sponsorship manager at Collingwood for eight years at the start of the 2000s, went to North in a similar role, worked at James Hird’s Gemba marketing company, then moved to Hawthorn for 10 years, moving up to the role of general manager of development infrastructure and government relations. She returned to Collingwood three years ago at executive level, covering similar areas of government relations and infrastructure.

Collingwood’s contract to operate at its current home on the Yarra at the old Olympic Park expires in six years. Kelly said the club was eager to invest in the precinct but needed to see the master plan before pursuing further investment and development.

Tennis Australia has eyed the Collingwood training oval and potentially the Glasshouse facilities for use during the Australian Open, a move Kelly said Collingwood was open to.

“We are working with Melbourne Olympic Park Trust now and the government now [about renewing the lease long term] and we have made it very clear we are a crucial part of the environment in the precinct. When you drive by, Collingwood is the hub of activity.

“We have launched The Perch temporary facility this week for people to come pre-game and post-game for the next fortnight. We are constantly investing and trying new things for the precinct and our members and fans.”

Brewer’s role at Collingwood until this promotion to COO has been to manage these venues, and she is known to have had strong relationships with the key decision-makers at each organisation. She will continue to play a role in managing these venues and contract renewals, but Kelly said day-to-day football issues meant it was important to have a COO to spread the overall workload.

Brewer has not been promoted to the new COO role as part of a formal succession plan into the CEO role when Kelly leaves, but she would be the first among equals in a search for Kelly’s replacement.

“We have an amazing executive – Susan Harper into Nadine Rabah, Chris Larkins, Lachie McDonald, Charlie Gardiner and Jess Berger – when the time comes and we are looking for a CEO we will go to market externally and internally,” Kelly said.

The promotion of Brewer has long been anticipated within the club. It was expected to be announced early this year but was delayed as the club continued to negotiate with Kelly over his future.

The club had reportedly also previously sounded out Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick for his interest in returning to Melbourne as a replacement for Kelly.