JPMorgan banker Robert Priestley to lead Carlton after Luke Sayers lewd photo scandal
AFL club Carlton has announced that JPMorgan banker Robert Priestley will become club president, replacing Luke Sayers, who stepped aside following a lewd photograph scandal.
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Veteran banker Robert Priestley will lead Carlton Football Club, after the JPMorgan Australia chair was picked as the AFL club’s 32nd president in the wake of the sudden departure of previous president Luke Sayers following a lewd photograph scandal.
Carlton announced Mr Priestley as its new president on Friday, elevating the co-vice president to fill the seat vacated by Mr Sayers after the consulting industry figure stepped aside.
Mr Sayers, who previously led audit and consulting giant PwC Australia, faced weeks of mounting pressure and public scrutiny after a lewd picture was posted on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, on January 8.
An AFL investigation into the scandal, which cleared Mr Sayers, failed to identify who sent the picture, which also tagged a female executive at private health firm Bupa, which also sponsors Carlton. Mr Sayers announced he would retire after the findings, with the consulting figure signalling he would also stand aside from his role at the top of eponymous firm Sayers Group.
Mr Priestley and fellow Carlton director Patty Kinnersly were elevated as acting co-presidents in response. But on Friday Carlton confirmed the JPMorgan banker would take on the top job, noting the decision ahead of the club’s annual general meeting on February 19 “reinforces the club’s commitment to stable leadership”. The move also positions the top banker and Sydney resident at the peak of one of the nation’s most influential football clubs.
Mr Priestley said he would not take the president’s job “for granted”. He said: “Our football club does not belong to any one individual, be it the board, the players, coaches, coteries, or administrators – it is the collective, with everybody playing their part, that will make Carlton great on a sustainable basis.”
Mr Priestley has also faced scandal, after being handed immunity by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission after the regulator took aim at a coterie of banks alleging they helped ANZ mislead investors over a failed share placement.
He provided witness statements for the ACCC. He is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Mr Sayers took on the Carlton president’s role in 2021, before being given another year to lead the club in February last year.
However, his appointment was questioned with Mr Sayers under a cloud amid scandal at PwC Australia, which was found to have repeatedly misused confidential government tax information during the time he ran the firm. Mr Sayers led PwC from 2012 to 2020.
The Melbourne businessman has kept a low profile since the lewd photo was posted on his X account, refusing to answer questions when confronted in Italy by reporters.
But Mr Sayers has tapped several advisers, including former Victorian Labor media adviser Sharon McRohan, to help manage events surrounding the powerful businessman.
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Originally published as JPMorgan banker Robert Priestley to lead Carlton after Luke Sayers lewd photo scandal
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