“Critical for senior leaders to remain connected”: Lessons for businesses after Essendon CEO departs one day into new role

Essendon Football Club CEO Andrew Thorburn has tendered his resignation just one day into his new role, throwing the organisation’s plans into disarray while signaling the importance of cultural fit in leadership recruiting decisions.

Former NAB CEO Thorburn was formally appointed to the role on Monday, filling a role vacated by Xavier Campbell at the end of the 2022 AFL season.

“I’ve been a CEO for a long time. I’ve been out for a few years. And to be honest, I started to miss it,” Thorburn told SEN Sports upon his appointment.

But concerns over his former stewardship of NAB, and Thorburn’s close ties to Melbourne’s City On A Hill church, received near-instant scrutiny from fans and club stakeholders.

As NAB CEO, Thorburn was singled out by Comissioner Kenneth Hayne during the Banking Royal Commission, who in February 2019 said Thorburn treated fees with no service shortfalls as “nothing more than carelessness combined with system deficiencies”.

Thorburn resigned from his NAB role just days later.

Essendon fans, including Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, also expressed severe concern over sermons presented at City On A Hill Church in the years before Thorburn stepped into the church’s board of directors.

The sermons in question reportedly expressed the view that homosexuality is a sin, and made comparisons between abortion and murder.

Views espoused in those sermons are in “direct contradiction to our values as a club”, the board announced in the Essendon Football Club website.

“The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he couldn’t continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill.”

Taking to LinkedIn on Tuesday, Thorburn said he would not resign his City On A Hill duties, making his tenure at Essendon Football Club untenable.

“I was being required to compromise beyond a level that my conscience allowed,” he said.

“Despite my own leadership record, within hours of my appointment being announced, the media and leaders of our community had spoken,” Thorburn added.

“They made it clear that my Christian faith and my association with a Church are unacceptable in our culture if you wish to hold a leadership position in society.”

Thorburn said “I love all people, and have always promoted and lived an inclusive, diverse, respectful and supportive workplace”, while thanking the club for the opportunity to step up to its CEO role.

The club said acting CEO Nick Ryan will continue in the role as the organisation seeks a new permanent replacement.

Hareta McMullin, a leadership mentor and employee experience expert, says the turmoil should draw attention to the club’s hiring process, and why questions over the church’s past sermons did not arise earlier.

“The situation begs the question of how robust the Essendon recruitment process is,” she said.

“The appointment of such a high-profile role would usually take months and involve several interviews, multiple internal conversations and background checks before publicly announcing.”

To avoid other companies facing similar circumstances, McMullin says potential leadership candidates liaise with internal stakeholders prior to signing, to ensure a secure match in opinions and perspectives.

“To set the individual, team and business up for success, it’s critical that the potential hire meet various stakeholders at various levels of the business, prior to their appointment,” she said.

“It allows for biases to be tested, and a considered decision to be made on whether the person has the right capabilities for the role.”

Similarly, existing company leadership should always retain a solid link to customers, fans, and stakeholders, to give them a better picture of what attributes should be encouraged within the organisation.

“It’s critical for senior leaders to remain connected with employee, client and community sentiment,” she said.

“By keeping the line of communication open with stakeholders at all levels, you give yourself the best chance of making informed, sound business decisions.”