Mark Korda to step down as Pies president next year

Collingwood president Mark Korda says he will step down from the helm of the club and leave the board at the end of next year.

Korda has told the board he will see out his board term, which ends at the end of next year, and will then step aside, saying he had taken the role after Eddie McGuire quit with the intention of providing stability.

Collingwood president Mark Korda.

Korda and other board members have had several cordial meetings with board challenger Jeff Browne who has targeted Korda’s leadership of the club.

Browne, the former AFL lawyer and Channel Nine boss, on Thursday night told The Age he was considering his position but that the members who wanted a full board spill were unlikely to change their positions.

Browne had also been open to brokering a deal with the board, or members of the board, to assume the presidency at the end of the season.

Four board positions will now be up for election at December’s annual general meeting - Peter Murphy, Bridie O’Donnell, Neil Wilson and Christine Holgate. There had been three positions up for renewal, but Wilson will also now be up for election having been appointed as a casual vacancy for Eddie McGuire. O’Donnell was also a casual vacancy for Alex Waislitz.

“This is to ensure that as we enter season 2022 all of the current board of seven will have been elected by members,” Korda said.

“This validation is important. Directors are accountable to the members and their mandate comes from being elected by them.”

Browne said he needed to give Korda’s move “some consideration. Other members have taken action to force a spill of all seven board positions. Whether there’s a contest for seven or a contest for four remains to be seen”.

But he said he thought it “unlikely” those members pushing for a spill of all seven spots would “alter their position”.

Browne was contacted by Korda and informed that Craig McRae would be appointed as the new coach before the announcement. Sources said that Browne endorsed Collingwood’s coaching search process.

In his discussions with Korda, Browne has never put forward a proposal that did not involve his ascension to the presidency.

Collingwood will at that meeting finally seek to introduce term limits for board members and presidents.

Term limits was one of the recommendations of the searching club wide review of 2017 that was not immediately adopted by the board then led by Eddie McGuire, the club’s president for more than two decades.

“My role as president has been to see Collingwood settle, transition and reposition itself on and off the field in the wake of the departure in February of long-time president Eddie McGuire,” Korda said in a letter to members.

“With a relatively new board in place at the time, it was important to provide continuity between one age and the next.”

He said the club was financially sound and had recorded a small operating profit this year despite the impact on revenues from COVID.

He said they had settled after parting ways with Nathan Buckley and searching for and appointing a new coach.

“By declaring my intention now, our talented and passionate board will have time to develop a succession plan and work to ensure Collingwood remains stable, respected, financially sound and focused on our members, our staff and our teams across men’s and women’s football, netball, and wheelchair football,” Korda said.

“Our intention to introduce a long overdue reform of our conditions of board tenure will also be in place after consultation with members. In keeping with best governance practice, we intend to set a limit on the tenure of a director to three terms, or nine years, and limit the maximum tenure for a president to two terms, or six years.

“This modernisation of our constitution will introduce a practice in place across business and numerous AFL clubs. It will keep the board fresh and continually replenished by new ideas and energy.”

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.