SA wine baron and former defence minister tipped to join Adelaide Football Club board
Adelaide Football Club leaders are in talks to replace up to three of their board members – and an array of high-profile South Australians are tipped to step up.
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Up to three board members are poised to leave the Adelaide Football Club, including chairman Rob Chapman, in one of the biggest overhauls in the Crows’ almost 30-year history.
As Mr Chapman closes in on unveiling his long-awaited succession plan, his highly regarded deputy, Jim Hazel, is also among directors expected to depart.
Club leaders have been talking to potential replacements and an announcement is likely to be made within weeks.
Among those involved in talks about at least two, possibly three, board vacancies are entrepreneur Warren Randall – executive chairman of renowned Barossa winery Seppeltsfield – and former defence minister Christopher Pyne, now a lobbyist.
The sweeping boardroom changes are expected to be followed by another substantial overhaul of player ranks at the end of a thus-far winless season, as the club shoots for multiple top-20 draft picks this year.
Food industry tycoon Darren Thomas also has been mentioned, but is considered unlikely because of time commitments in a $300 million replacement of a Murray Bridge meat processing plant devastated by fire in 2018. His firm is a Crows sponsor.
Asked about the board changes, Mr Chapman said only: “We are having discussions with potential new directors of the football club to go on the board this year and next year.”
Mr Chapman, who last August signalled he would stand down within a year, is believed to be resisting calls from fellow board members to convince him to stay on but confirmed he would resign as chairman this year, his 12th as chairman.
It is unclear who the third board departure would be, with regime change expected to be in place by season’s end.
Controversial football director Mark Ricciuto – a Brownlow Medallist, former captain, premiership player and club champion – is likely to continue despite external attacks on his performance and criticism of past players.
Mr Randall said: “If I can make a positive contribution, it would be a privilege and an honour because I love the Adelaide Crows.”
Mr Pyne and Mr Thomas declined comment.
Well-connected club backers have canvassed Mr Randall as a successor as chairman to Mr Chapman, who also is Adelaide Airport chairman and executive chairman of an eponymous capital advisory firm.
The Randall Wine Group, Mr Pyne’s corporate strategic advice firm and Chapman Capital Partners - Mr Chapman is executive chairman and Mr Hazel a director – all have offices in the CBD’s Westpac House.
Former Crows and Carlton chief executive Steven Trigg is Randall Wine Group/Seppeltsfield’s managing director. Seppeltsfield Barossa is an “official partner”, or sponsor, of the Crows.
Adelaide 36ers owner Grant Kelley, the chief of leading retail property group Vicinity, has been contacted by Mr Hazel as part of the discussions with potential new directors and has publicly expressed interest.
It is expected that Mr Chapman would not explicitly endorse a successor as chairman, who would be elected by the revamped board, but he would wield significant influence.
Asked in May if Mr Ricciuto could chair Adelaide’s board, Mr Chapman said “yes”, but also pointed to board talent including Mr Hazel, Assistant Police Commissioner Linda Fellows and Department of the Premier and Cabinet chief executive Jim McDowell.
Under the Adelaide Football Club constitution, the board consists of at least seven and not more than nine unpaid directors, with up to two elected by members and the remainder appointed by the AFL, following consultation with and nominations from the club.
Three of the Crows’ nine-member board have been elected by members, although Mr Ricciuto has since been reappointed by Mr Chapman after in 2015 becoming, along with fellow premiership player Rod Jameson, the club’s first member-elected directors.
It is understood the sweeping changes are part of a three-year plan triggered by the independent external club review spearheaded by Hawthorn champion Jason Dunstall, which last October outlined required changes. But it also benchmarked Mr Chapman as an elite industry leader and said chief executive Andrew Fagan ran an “extremely strong business”.
The club is one of five which has declared it will survive financially during the coronavirus pandemic without relying on AFL assistance.
After a winless start to the season, Crows officials are understood to be bracing for lowly finishes this season and next but conceding, for the first time, a rebuild phase.
This means the strategy of the past 20 years of attempting to regenerate playing stocks and shoot for a premiership without plumbing the depths of the ladder has been branded unsuccessful and ditched.
Paul Starick is an Adelaide Football Club foundation member