AFL set to announce Tom Harley as chief operation officer after late ‘curveball'
The
AFL
have poached a second club CEO in as many days with Tom Harley set to be appointed chief operating officer.
Channel 7's Caroline Wilson revealed the Sydney CEO will take on the highly sought after job at league headquarters.
The appointment comes the day after
Brisbane CEO Greg Swann was named the AFL's executive general manager of football performance
.
While the final details are yet to be officially signed, Wilson said there was a late curveball with Melbourne Cricket Club boss and former Hawthorn CEO Stuart Fox also in the running.
'It's extraordinary. The details are yet to be nutted out, the official offer has not been signed, but my firm understanding is Tom Harley will become Andrew Dillon's chief operating officer,' Wilson said on 7NEWS.
'He will leave the Sydney Swans after a distinguished career as footy boss and then CEO.
'But it was not without a curveball in the last 48 hours. As we reported last night on The Agenda Setters, Stuart Fox became a late contender for the job. Andrew Dillon was very keen also to poach the former Hawthorn CEO, now the MCC boss.
'In the last 24 hours, there have been conversations with Stuart Fox, and of course Tom Harley.
'My belief is that Stuart Fox has chosen to stay at the Melbourne Cricket Club and Tom Harley will take the job. Extraordinary coup for Andrew Dillon.'
The league announced earlier this year they will appoint a COO that will effectively serve as new right-hand man to Dillon.
Harley joins league headquarters after a hugely successful stint at Sydney.
The former Geelong premiership captain joined the Swans in 2014 as the general manager of football before transitioning to the CEO position in 2019.
Harley's move to the AFL is the latest in a shake-up at league headquarters.
Laura Kane was a big casualty in Dillon's executive shake-up announced last Friday, with her football operations role split in two.
Swann will take on football performance, while Kane will be in charge of football operations.
Her portfolio will now include operations for the AFL and AFLW, the strategic growth of the AFLW and managing the league's mental health and healthcare unit.
'Laura is a valued member of the executive team - she has an incredible portfolio, a big portfolio in front of her now,' Dillon said.
'What I've said is we want to make sure we have a structure that allows the AFL to continue the momentum we have, into the future.
'She's done amazing work in the three years she's been at the AFL. What we have now with Greg coming in looking after the football performance, Laura continuing to run football operations - football is at the core of what we do.
'She has a really big and important role and she's excited by the challenge in front of her.'
Another major change to Dillons' executive team is the imminent departure of Indigenous and inclusion manager Tayna Hosch.
Also, her role, which includes gender, will be folded into the corporate affairs portfolio.
'Tanya, in her nearly nine years at the AFL, did an incredible amount of work in this space,' Dillon said.
'We have incredible leaders across all tiers of the organisation - Denise Bowden, who's just joined our commission, an Indigenous advisory council that's working really well.
'What we will have is more leaders and more voices across the organisation. Our commitment to our inclusion is as strong as it's ever been.'
While Dillon's executive changes follow months of growing concerns about how the AFL is performing, he is bullish about the league.
'What the announcements from last week do is ensure we can continue the momentum we have and make sure we're set up for success going into the future,' he said.
Dillon was speaking at the announcement of free admission for children under 14 later this season.
Select games will feature the initiative in rounds 16-19 and all Victorian games will be free for kids in round 21.
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