Carlton president and Sayers Group chair Luke Sayers resigns after nude pic scandal

Luke Sayers has quit as Carlton AFL club president and will take leave from leading his consulting firm, Sayers Group, after being investigated over a penis picture scandal.

Former PwC chief Luke Sayers at a Senate inquiry into consultancy services at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

Carlton Football Club president Luke Sayers will quit the AFL team and step aside from his namesake consulting firm, saying he has drawn a line in the sand on a nude photo “hack”, despite being “cleared” over the posting of a picture of a penis.

Mr Sayers, who previously ran audit and consulting giant PwC Australia, announced on Wednesday he would step down as president of Carlton after being investigated over a tweet sent from his X account, formerly known as Twitter.

The message contained an image of penis and tagged a female marketing executive at health insurance giant Bupa – a club sponsor.

The AFL’s Integrity Commission said it had cleared Mr Sayers over the incident and that the image had been posted after his X account was “compromised”. It said the image was the work of “a person not being Mr Sayers”.

However, the AFL, Mr Sayers, and Carlton declined to reveal who posted the image.

Luke Sayers with Carlton deputy chief Graham Wright and chief executive Brian Cook at Ikon Park. Picture: Carlton FC

Mr Sayers will also step aside from his consulting firm and has told fellow partners he would take a leave of absence from business, which the veteran professional services partner established after exiting PwC Australia in 2020.

An eight-person leadership council at Sayers Group will take on the running of the firm, and chief executive Sammy Kumar remains in the role.

In an email to all staff, Mr Kumar said Sayers Group had grown rapidly to more than 16 partners and 50 staff. He said the leadership team that would run the firm was “a well-established group of leaders from across the business”.

Sayers Group partners, including James Collins and Justin Papps, are understood to be among those who will head up the firm in Mr Sayers’ absence.

Mr Sayers’ foray into consulting came after a tilt at wealth management, in the wake of leaving PwC after two terms at the top.

He owns almost 25 per cent of Sayers Group, which is backed by a number of powerful business figures, including Lindsay Fox.

His time at PwC was during a period when the firm supercharged its growth, however it was marred by scandal – including revelations its tax practice systemically misused confidential government information to circumvent new tax laws.

Mr Sayers denies all knowledge of the confidentiality breaches, which have torn PwC apart.

This is despite evidence being put to parliament that Mr Sayers was repeatedly warned over the issue, which was elevated to PwC’s board and senior leadership.

A lewd image that appeared on the X account of Luke Sayers.

Carlton will be led by vice-presidents Robert Priestley and Patty Kinnersly, who will take the role on an interim basis as the search for a new president begins.

The club is due to hold its annual general meeting on February 19, and sources said a president would not be required

The incident involving the offensive picture was referred to the AFL’s integrity panel two weeks ago.

In a lengthy statement Carlton said it had found that Mr Sayers’ X account had been “compromised”, which resulted in the picture being posted. 

“Accordingly, the AFL has determined that Mr Sayers did not breach AFL rules in connection with the posting of the image,” it said.

“While considering all relevant details relating to the matter and despite no finding of wrongdoing via the AFL integrity unit and the club’s independent process, in the best interests of the club Sayers has made the decision to stand down from the board and will continue to prioritise time with his family.”

Carlton said it brought in silk Christopher Townshend, KC “to ensure the club gathered an informed and impartial understanding of the matter”.

Mr Townshend was previously a Carlton director for four months, alongside Mr Sayers.

Bupa has been increasing pressure with the club, and senior figures at the health insurer have demanded a full accounting of the incident or an apology.

Sayers Group founder Luke Sayers at his Melbourne office. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

Members of Carlton’s board have also been scrambling to respond to the posting of the image and silence from Mr Sayers, whose only intervention in recent days had been to double down on claims he had been “hacked” and warn he would get to the bottom of the matter.

In a statement, the AFL said Mr Sayers, Bupa and its executives had “all assisted the AFL in its inquiries”.

“Once he was made aware of the post, Mr Sayers immediately acted to have the image removed and to shut down his X account,” the AFL said.

Mr Sayers said he did not “post the image, either deliberately or accidentally”.

The now former Carlton president, who is in Italy on a family holiday, has engaged lawyer Leon Zwier, a consultant to Sayers Group, to examine the issue.

He said he fully co-operated with the AFL’s investigation “which concluded that access to my X account was compromised”.

“I am aware of speculation that the naming of another person in the post explains why it happened,” Mr Sayers said.

“It does not, and that narrative is wrong. I am so sorry for the hurt that has caused.”

Mr Sayers said he would “now deal with this away from the glare of the public and media spotlight”.

“This decision draws a line in the sand,” he said.

Mr Sayers did not respond to questions from The Australian.