Safety first as Andrew Dillon from the office next door wins AFL’s global CEO search | Jonathan Horn

By picking the company man backed by the outgoing Gillon McLachlan the league knows exactly what it’s getting

The AFL cast their net around the world. They spent more than a million dollars on the search. It dragged on for nearly 12 months. For a while, it looked as though the league was about to appoint its first female chief executive. But in the end, they went for the man in the office next door. They opted for the company man, the safe pair of hands.

For many, the appointment of Andrew Dillon as the CEO of the AFL is the epitome of the boys’ club. He ticks a lot of boxes – six premierships at Old Xaverians in the amateurs, and two decades at the AFL. His dad was the president of the Victorian Amateur Football Association. His father in law is Paul Sheahan, former Test cricketer, head of the MCC and headteacher of Melbourne Grammar.