Melbourne set to hire Victorian business chief Paul Guerra as new CEO to replace Gary Pert
According to The Agenda Setters' Caroline Wilson, Guerra will cross to the Demons from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a major Victorian business advocacy organisation, where he is its current chief executive.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Caroline Wilson reveals Melbourne's new CEO.
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His impressive portfolio of experience also includes a stint as CEO of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, as well as managing director and chairman-level roles across Asia Pacific in several different industries.
Breaking the story on 7NEWS, Wilson said the Melbourne board was still meeting to make the final call.
'The Melbourne board is still meeting as we speak, but my prediction is that an outsider in the role, Paul Guerra, the CEO of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, is the frontrunner in the board meeting,' she said.
'Alistair Nicholson presented very well, the former Melbourne player who now runs the Coaches' Association, but my tip is that Paul Guerra will win the role, an Essendon man who will change his colours.'
Guerra is set to win the role ahead of a pair of names more well-known to footy circles.
'The AFL and other people in the footy industry were quite keen on Keith Thomas, the former Port Adelaide CEO and Norwood player, who did a great job at the Port Adelaide Football Club — he stepped down from that role in 2020,' Wilson added.
'My understand is that, controversially, some positions, political positions, involving war in the middle-east that appeared on Keith Thomas's social media meant that he had to withdraw from the candidacy.
'I think it's a great pity because many people thought he would be a great candidate, but Melbourne were spooked, and so he's no longer in the running.'
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It's been a long time coming for the Demons, who have been led by interim CEO David Chippindall since Pert's departure in January.
Pert's decision, which was made in October, also came less than two months after Kate Roffey stood down as president, the pair departing just three years after leading the club to the 2021 premiership.
Speaking at the time, interim president Brad Green — who remains in the temporary seat now — said it he felt 'mixed emotions' that Pert would retire.
'After careful consideration of what is best for the club, his family, and his own future, Gary concluded that now is the right time to initiate the search for his successor,' Green said in a club statement last October.
'I want to make it absolutely clear that this decision, including its timing, is Gary's own.'
Pert, an ex-Collingwood CEO, had positioned himself as the only man to deliver Melbourne's Caulfield development and has accepted a consulting role for the remainder of the project.
His resignation as chief executive came after a review into the club's operations was handed to the board.
Pert was also involved in trade negotiations at the end of last season, reportedly contacting other clubs to gauge their interest in Clayton Oliver before the star midfielder ultimately stayed.
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