http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/02/1051382095575.html

Demetriou plots his next coup - king of the AFL
May 03 2003

He's known to be a tough networker. Caroline Wilson reports on football's man in waiting.

It was typical of Andrew Demetriou to choose the day of the most anticipated grudge match of 2003 to break the worst-kept off-field secret in football.

The 42-year-old former Kangaroos wingman announced that he wanted to run the most powerful sporting body in Australia - the AFL. Among his supporters is AFL commission chairman Ron Evans.

Demetriou and his partner, Symone Richards, the AFL's corporate account manager, are expecting twins in October. He concedes he has surprised himself by finding love a second time after the 1999 death of his author-historian wife Jan Bassett, but is more calculated in his professional life.

While his blunt and aggressive style has earned him a reputation as a bully among some clubs, he has at least as many admirers in the football industry for his political ability.

Demetriou is regarded as a clever networker and a decisive deal-maker. Ben Buckley, AFL commercial operations officer, and Tony Peek, communications and corporate relations, have taken responsibility for dealing with the three television networks under the rich new media agreement. But Demetriou was the heavy-hitter in the most crucial meetings last year.

Over the past year, as outgoing chief Wayne Jackson has increasingly removed himself from the running of the business, Demetriou has taken on much more than the league's football operations department.

Yesterday he took care to ensure his five-line media release announcing his application did not arrive on AFL letterhead. Although Demetriou spoke to Evans last week in a bid to ensure at least cautious support from the chairman, he is determined to avoid the impression that he has a deal.

He is a passionate left-winger whose views include disgust at John Howard's handling of the "children overboard" affair. He also opposed broadcaster Neil Mitchell's campaign to politicise the opening of the 2003 season by emphasising the plight of troops in Iraq.

All week Demetriou has cast doubt over whether he would apply for the job, citing family reasons, but those misgivings were not taken seriously.

All year the decision-makers on the commission have known that Jackson was on the way out, and in the meantime his unofficial No. 2 has subtly introduced himself to the public via the print and electronic media.

The AFL Commission will embark on an Australia-wide search to unearth candidates from the corporate sector. Whether all eight commissioners support Demetriou remains to be seen. The subcommittee overseeing the appointment consists of Evans, South Australian Bob Hammond - a Demetriou supporter - and Colin Carter. That trio will meet today in Adelaide to appoint a firm to oversee the AFL's chief executive search.

It will take an impressive resume to defeat Demetriou. Channel Nine's Melbourne head, Ian Johnson, said earlier this week he would consider applying for the job but remains uncertain. His No. 1 network star and Collingwood president, Eddie McGuire, last month publicly endorsed Demetriou for the job, while Essendon chairman Graeme McMahon said yesterday he believed the present AFL football operations chief was one of several strong applicants.

McMahon's chief executive at Essendon, Peter Jackson, who is a first cousin of Wayne Jackson, is believed to be considering whether to apply, as is Geelong chief executive Brian Cook. Demetriou, however, is the frontrunner. His most vociferous opponent was former Carlton president John Elliott, who yelled at AFL commissioner Graeme John 12 months ago outside a black-tie Hall of Fame dinner that Demetriou was a "disgrace" and should never replace Jackson.

Elliott's various axes to grind against Demetriou included the long-service-leave debacle, which briefly threatened to send a couple of clubs to the financial wall.

Demetriou came to the AFL via its players' union, which he took over in 1998 after emerging as a candidate against Brendan Schwab, who held a similar position overseeing Australia's soccer players' union. Influential player agent Ricky Nixon helped get Demetriou the role, enlisting one of his footballers, dual Adelaide premiership player Nigel Smart, to crunch the numbers on Demetriou's behalf on the players' executive. Essendon captain James Hird and retired Kangaroo John Longmire got Demetriou over the line.

Demetriou, who ran the players' union from the Rialto offices of his acrylic teeth company, the Ruthinium Group, crunched a remarkable pay rise for the footballers in the historic 2000 collective bargaining agreement.

Demetriou remains a Ruthinium director and last year was installed as chairman of the Baxter Group, a waste management company.

Demetriou played 103 matches for the Kangaroos between 1981-87. The only professional black mark during his career at North was when he departed Trinity Grammar school - where he taught legal studies during the '80s - after an incident in which Demetriou and one of his 16-year-old students together placed money on a horse. His playing career ended after a season with Hawthorn in 1988.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/mar/03/afl-eddie-mcguire-defends-adversary-andrew-demetriou

AFL: Eddie McGuire defends legacy of his old rival Andrew Demetriou
Australian Associated Press

theguardian.com, Monday 3 March 2014 14.42 AEST

Despite their frequent clashes, Collingwood president says that outgoing boss left a great record of growth

Eddie McGuire has defended the outgoing AFL chief executive’s handling of several major AFL controversies over the past two years despite their frequent clashes.

The Collingwood president predictably has ruled himself out of running for the job and says Demetriou’s deputy Gillon McLachlan is in the box seat to be the new AFL boss.

The Adelaide salary cap saga, the messy AFL investigation into allegations of tanking at Melbourne and the ongoing Essendon supplements scandal will inevitably colour any assessment of Demetriou’s reign.

But McGuire, at times one of Demetriou’s most vocal critics, has praised the AFL boss for his performance.

Demetriou announced on Monday he will stand down later this year after 11 years in the job.

“He can’t be held responsible for teams cheating – that will always happen in this game and in life,” McGuire told Fox Sports. “Even the things that went wrong, were basically done for the right reasons.

“You do have to have a whole-of-world view of this and I think ... he can leave the job knowing he has contributed greatly to the strength of the AFL.”

McGuire laughed off the inevitable question about his interest in the role.

“Why would I take a demotion from being president of Collingwood?,” he said. “We want the best-possible candidate available. But they’d need to be pretty good to knock off Gillon McLachlan.”

Demetriou is well-known for his tough management style and his critics have accused him of being a dictator.

Most recently, McGuire and Demetriou have been at public loggerheads over the AFL’s equalisation proposals.

But McGuire praised the outgoing AFL boss for working with governments on stadium funding and said Demetriou’s legacy would be the substantial growth of the game.

“In sport and particularly in football, it’s a contact sport both on and off the ground,” McGuire said.

“Having a benevolent dictator is not a bad thing at times. If anything, the benevolence is the side we should concentrate (on) today. There have been battles over the journey, but I’ve always had a wonderful working relationship with Andrew Demetriou.”