Collingwood name interim co-presidents as search for McGuire’s replacement begins
Collingwood have named Mark Korda and Peter Murphy as interim co-presidents to replace Eddie McGuire while the club undertakes a search for a long-term successor to the long-serving McGuire.
The Magpies said in a statement on Thursday, after holding a board meeting on Wednesday, that former Australia Post chief executive and board member Christine Holgate would head up the search for candidates both internal and external.
“The board believes that there are a number of high quality internal candidates and wishes to consider external candidates for the vacancy. In replacing both the president and the casual vacancy role, the board wants time to determine what further professional expertise it wishes to bring to the board table,” the statement said.
The Magpies are also searching for a board member to replace the vacancy created by McGuire on what had been a seven-member board. The process is expected to take eight weeks.
The statement also addressed initial plans for implementing recommendations from the Do Better report, which said there had been “systemic racism” at the club.
“The implementation plan of the Do Better report findings was also addressed at Wednesday’s meeting. It was determined that the expert advisory panel recommended by the Do Better report will be established as a priority and report directly to the board,” the statement said.
“This work has already commenced and an announcement on the formation of the panel will be made next week.
“Further, the club will employ a strategic advisor to provide expert advice as the club begins to implement all the recommendations of the Do Better report across the organisation. This role will report directly to chief executive Mark Anderson. This appointment is also expected to be announced next week.”
Murphy presided over Collingwood’s review in 2017, which saw the club re-appoint Nathan Buckley as coach and rise up to a grand final (loss) and to a revamp of football and administration.
But one of the recommendations from that review - that there should be term limits for board members, a move that would have forced McGuire to finish up sooner - was not adopted by the board in the review of governance.
Korda has been influential in the oversight of Collingwood’s finances and in the disposal and purchase of assets, such as pubs, bringing his long-standing high-level experience as one of business Australia’s most-established corporate recovery specialists.
A view was taking shape on the board last week - and which gathered momentum as the club and McGuire were subjected to heated criticism over the findings and the president’s handling of the Do Better report - that the club would be best served by McGuire stepping aside, a position that he had accepted by Tuesday when he quit after 22 years.
The club’s Indigenous board member Jodie Sizer was a key driver of the Do Better report and of the appointment of two academics, led by Professor Larissa Behrendt, to complete a review of past racism at Collingwood, a review initially sparked by the allegations of 2010 premiership player Heritier Lumumba.
On Thursday, Lumumba called for the club to acknowledge the harm that past racism had caused, and he said the two media conferences involving McGuire since the release of the leaked report were a “train wreck” which cast doubt on the Pies’ capacity to deal with the issue with “transparency, honesty and action”.
Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.