Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas confirms he’ll step down after club’s 150th anniversary season
Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas has said the time is right for him to step down following nine years in the top job, but he’ll guide the club through its 150th season.
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Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas says the time is right for him to stand down after nine years at the helm but not before guiding the club through a bumper 150th anniversary season in 2020.
The Norwood legend who took control of the Power when the club was on its knees in late 2011 has revealed he will not seek an extension to his five-year contract which expires in October.
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Thomas, 58, reached the decision in discussion with chairman David Koch last month and wanted to give the club adequate time to prepare for his exit.
He believes he will be leaving the club in a strong position on and off the field and insists he is as energised and enthusiastic as ever to finish the job he started during the club’s milestone season.
“David (Koch) and I have spoken about transitioning at the right time for years, it’s always part of our thinking, and for me 2020 being the 150th year seems like a natural end point,” Thomas told The Advertiser on Friday.
“I look at the footy program and see it rejuvenated and re-energised with youth, financially we’re stable, the executive team has just presented a five-year strategic plan.
“For me it just felt like the right time, and I wanted to give David plenty of time to think about it and transition in a smooth and orderly way.
“It has been an absolute privilege to serve the club for the past eight years but this is not a farewell tour, it’s the start of an exciting year and the next great chapter of our magnificent football club.”
There was speculation about Thomas’ future in the role after he sent an emotional email to members in July admitting he had dropped the ball on some issues. But he says he never considered walking away before his contract was up.
“I’m quite amazed by that. There was a lot of heat on Ken (Hinkley) and the football program and I was trying to make a point that being part of a club is more than just footy at times,” he said.
“One of the things we hold really dear to our heart is our relationship with members, and maybe, over the course of the last couple of years we hadn’t been as finely focused as we needed to be on that relationship, and we were committed to getting that right.
“When I came in at the end of 2011 we were a heavily divided club, we were under performing on field and off field we were divided because of the constraints of being in the SANFL and the AFL.
“And I think one of the great achievements of the club over the last few years has been the ability to pull that back together, as highlighted by the Adelaide Oval game day experience and the ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ – that is a symbol of a united club.
“I felt at some points in 2019 we had lost that connection a little bit, and it was unfair that it should all be about our on-field performance. It was me saying ‘I think we can do better’ and I think we have.
“The captaincy issue was a statement, the membership price freeze for next year, the commitment to the 150th celebrations and inclusion is all part of being a united club.”
The club’s executive general manager Matthew Richardson and current West Coast football manager Craig Vozzo’s names have been linked to the role but Thomas said there was no succession plan in place and the club would go through a thorough process for his replacement.
Port Adelaide will announce its 2019 financial results in the next fortnight and Thomas said it would include an operating profit bigger than last year’s $322,000 and a “significant debt repayment”.
He said membership, which was down in 2019, had surpassed 43,000 heading into Christmas and was on track for an increase.
The club is also in “advanced conversations” with a second joint major partner to sit alongside GFG after OAK Milk’s five-year deal expired this year, and Thomas expects to make an announcement in early 2020.