Gillon McLachlan (born 1973
[) is the ]chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
(AFL). He was appointed to the role in 2014, succeeding Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. Demetriou pl ...
, having previously served as his deputy. In 2022 he announced his resignation from the position which is expected to take effect before the end of the year.
Personal life
McLachlan grew up on his family farm, "Rosebank", located in Mount Pleasant, South Australia
Mount Pleasant is a town situated in the Barossa Council, just north of the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, 55 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital, Adelaide (). It is located in the Barossa Council and Mid Murray Counci ...
. His parents are Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
, a former first class cricketer, and Sylvia. He is the eldest of four brothers: Hamish
Hamish is a Scottish masculine given name. It is the anglicized form of the vocative case of the Gaelic name ''Seamus'' or ''Sheumais''. It is therefore, the equivalent of James.
People Given name
* Hamish Bennett, retired New Zealand cricket ...
, Will and Banjo. His uncle, Ian McLachlan
Ian Murray McLachlan (born 2 October 1936) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was Minister for Defence in the Howard Government from ...
, was an Australian government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, and was long term president (to 2014) of the South Australian Cricket Association
The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cri ...
.
After completing secondary school as a boarder at St Peter's College, Adelaide
, other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter
, seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg
, seal_size = 150
, image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg
, image_size ...
,[ he obtained a ]Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...
degree at the University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
in 1995 and a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
(Honours) degree at the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
in 1996, where he was a resident at Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
. He later completed the Senior Executive Program at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.[ He is married to Laura Blythe, who was a fellow resident at Trinity College and is the daughter of former Spotless chairman Brian Blythe.][ The McLachlans have four children.][
]
Sporting career
McLachlan played Australian football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modifie ...
in the Hills Football League
The Hills Football League (HFL) is an Australian rules football league, situated in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, to the south east of the state capital Adelaide.
The League has over 3000 players belonging to 20 member Clubs. ...
colts competition for the now defunct Pleasant Valley club. After moving to Melbourne, he played with Melbourne University Blues in the Victorian Amateur Football Association
The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4.
In addition there ...
(VAFA).[ Besides playing as a ruckman for the club (1994-2003), he was captain (2000-2002), was awarded the C. W. McLeod Trophy for best-and-fairest (2000), committee member and made a life member (2003).][ He was a regular VAFA Representative including captain. He was on the ]Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition.
Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...
supplementary list from 1996 to 1997. McLachlan has represented Victoria in polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
and has been a national selector.[
]
Business career
After leaving university, McLachlan worked as a management consultant with Accenture
Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
.[ In 2000, he was employed as a strategy consultant to the AFL by CEO Wayne Jackson.][ He proceeded to move up through key administrative posts at the league. In 2003, he was appointed General Manager of Commercial Operations. In 2008, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer.]
In 2012, it was reported that McLachlan rejected the CEO positions at the National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
[ and ]Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
, before being appointed Deputy CEO of the AFL in December 2012. During this time, McLachlan played a major role in delivering stadiums for two new teams - Gold Coast Suns
The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara.
The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...
and GWS Giants
The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
– established the AFL media department, and negotiated the media broadcast deal of $1.25 billion.[ In 2013, he supervised the AFL's investigation into the ]Melbourne Football Club tanking scandal
The Melbourne Football Club tanking scandal refers to issues involving the Melbourne Football Club and allegations that it had tanked towards the latter part of the 2009 season – that is, that it had intentionally lost matches near the end of ...
and the negotiations with the Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...
as part of its illegal sports supplements scandal.
On 30 April 2014, McLachlan was appointed as AFL CEO, replacing Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. Demetriou pl ...
. At the announcement of his appointment, McLachlan stated: "I've been part of the community of football and I know how important it is. I played over 200 games of amateur or country football, I've captained a club, I've been on a committee of a club, I'm a life member of a club. I've had my share of cold showers and freezing committee meetings. I've been part of appointing coaches and sacking coaches. I have a clear vision of where the game needs to go and how we're going to get there. For me that vision is about having an unassailable hold on the Australian community."
In 2014, McLachlan was appointed patron of the Children's Cancer Foundation. McLachlan stated: "Australian football is built on community. We are only as strong as the community in which we reside. The Children's Cancer Foundation's values reflect the AFL's commitment to effecting positive social change." Since 2015, McLachlan has also been a member of the Million Dollar Lunch Committee.
On 12 April 2022, McLachlan announced he would step down from his role as AFL CEO at the end of the 2022 AFL season
The 2022 AFL season is the 126th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season features ...
.
References
External links
Profile on the AFL website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, Gillon
1973 births
Living people
Australian chief executives
Australian sports executives and administrators
VFL/AFL administrators
People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide
People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne)
Businesspeople from Adelaide
University of Adelaide alumni
University of Melbourne alumni
Stanford University alumni
University Blues Football Club players
Chief operating officers
Australian rules footballers from South Australia
Date of birth missing (living people)