Ex-Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas open to chief executive role at Power — or other AFL clubs

Tom Jonas has outlined his ambition to one day run an AFL club after being touted by Port Adelaide chairman David Koch as a club boss-in-waiting. He speaks to MATT TURNER about life post-footy.

Former Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas is open to holding another leadership role at the club – as chairman or chief executive.

“Absolutely, it’s a little bit of a North Star, but I’m not just solely devoted to achieving that, there’s so many other great opportunities out there,” Jonas tells this masthead.

“I think if I do a good job at whatever they might be, I’d like to think that I’ll come full circle and have an opportunity to contribute to the footy club in that capacity down the track.”

The idea of Jonas as Power chairman was raised by the club’s present-day one, David Koch, in 2021 when then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison was in Adelaide to announce federal funding for the club’s Alberton Oval redevelopment.

Tom Jonas with Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley. Picture: Sarah Reed

Koch said something to the effect of Jonas would be the first ex-Power player to chair the club.

“It would be an absolute honour to be president of Port Adelaide, it’d be incredible and people would queue up for those jobs,” Jonas says.

“I don’t have the skill-set, but give me a decade, then maybe.”

For now, Jonas is building his experiences – and CV – in a range of roles, including one newly established at the Power.

He is working under Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson as a stakeholder engagement specialist on a program Jonas has helped to start called Beyond the Bounce.

David Koch has forecast Jonas as a future club boss.

“It’s a little bit engagement with our partners, donors and people who have made significant contributions to the club, but also using those networks to give our players some networking and work placement opportunities,” the ex-defender says.

The Power had been connecting players with work opportunities for years, but more ad hoc until this program began.

“I’ve tried to look at this through a commercial lens and drive some extra value for our partners,” says Jonas, who works at the club twice a week.

“We’ve got some great transferable skill-sets as footballers – goal-orientated, punctual, respectful, hardworking – that you’ve seen translate pretty well into the business world in a lot of instances.

“Spend a day with a player and they go ‘he’s a good bloke, he can certainly contribute to this workplace, we see value in being aligned with Port Adelaide’ and so we can bring those partners closer.”

Tom Jonas and his wife Millie and their children Matilda, 3, and George, 2, and their Australian Shepherd "Howard" at Millie's parents’ property at Middleton. Picture: Mark Brake

Jonas has prepared himself for life after footy better than many players.

The Rostrevor College graduate holds a Bachelor of Laws at Adelaide University, has completed an MBA, runs Hey Diddle Wines with ex-Power teammate Brad Ebert and has served as Port’s AFL Players Association Delegate.

He is now using his experience as an AFL skipper in a one-day-a-week leadership consultancy position with the South Australian Cricket Association – a role he started while still playing footy last year.

Jonas is also launching a leadership and high performance consultancy with former Australian netball captain Nat von Bertouch, to be called Bloom Leadership.

One thing that is not on the horizon is footy coaching.

“I’m excited to explore business in a wider sense,” he says.

“I’d love that still to be with a footy lens in footy operations or administration type role, but doing something a little bit different to what I’ve done for the last 15 or so years.”

The father-of-two had to quit a cadetship at logistics company Qube Holdings because he had too much on his plate.

“It’s all been part of the journey of working out what I want to do, not just this year, but moving forward,” he says.

“I’m trying to broaden my skill-set, which is essentially the same thing I’m doing in my role at Port Adelaide, so I’m living it myself.”

Originally published as Ex-Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas open to chief executive role at Power — or other AFL clubs