I was lucky to have someone who understood," he recalls. Michael Warner and Ashley Argoon 5 min read December 12, 2013 - 5:27PM HeraldSun And all I know (about) what we did was as a game (we) always put the players first to protect the integrity of the game., When pressed later about his own level of culpability Demetriou was firmer: I do not accept any responsibility for people who seek to infiltrate the game, who inject young men with god knows what substances, to introduce substances which are abhorrent to the game and to families.. We've never underestimated them. Western Bulldogs great Luke Darcy tells Sarah Olle the one piece of wellbeing advice he'd give to his younger self, Sarah Olle and Josh Gabelich with the latest footy news, Join us as 'The Journey' begins for the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, Nat Edwards with all the latest footy news, The Fremantle coach admits he could have done things differently to try to keep some of his big-name players, Jeppa and Fry have been providing rookie content for years and pick the best of the 2023 crop, Take a look back at the highs and lows from the glory days of the old pre-season cup, Brad Scott tells Callum Twomey how his time at North Melbourne has him primed for a second crack at senior coaching, The priority signing period has officially kicked off! Demetriou's lasting impression was of his parents' deep commitment and love for their family, but also the pain for them of distance and separation. Andrew Demetriou is the CEO of the AFL Commission (which runs the AFL competition) and, like Lindsay Lohan, he's a consistent performer. [8] North Melbourne rejected that offer and, in January 2008, the AFL chairman, Mike Fitzpatrick and Demetriou announced that the Gold Coast Football Club would enter the AFL in 2011. [5], In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking A$780 million TV rights deal. He looks momentarily uncomfortable, as if he's never thought about it. These are good qualities. "We are living in an age of scrutiny that we've never experienced before and it's not just football. The day of our interview, he leaves work early to go to his four-year-old daughter's birthday party "at one of those Japanese restaurants where they throw things in the air". The AFL are incredibly good at leveraging causes into money. In recent months, he's been condemned for his lack of action over the St Kilda/Ricky Nixon scandal (involving a teenage girl) and pilloried for earning twice as much as the top players in his code. But I think it was 28." Demetriou was made CEO of the AFL in 2003, replacing Wayne Jackson. But, Mrs Demetriou, you're going to have to stop him putting up his hand - he's too smart for his own good.' We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 14 April. I wasn't that gifted; I made the most of the ability I had. If you'd said I was going to be working in football 20 years later, I'd have thought you were mad.". His best memory was the elation of a come-from-behind triumph over Carlton in the elimination final of 1985. What followed next was his second marriage in 2002 with Symone, who is currently his wife. He was a good, though never a great, player. I'll read junk, too. Free market forces might not deem Demetriou's playing career worthy of football's pantheon - a 1985 Scanlen's card of the moustachioed player was selling for $1.99 on eBay last month - though anyone who gets to pull the boots on for more than 100 matches can't be too shabby, a record that would mark a Demetriou boy a potential father-son recruit. And it was possibly a greater asset to him than his kicking, which could be a bit hit and miss. She and Andrew married soon afterwards (friends recall him saying he wished he'd done it earlier), and Bassett fought the illness for three years. "Nine years on, having moved from football operations to the top job, football's consensus is that Demetriou has done anything but stuff the league. As the only indigenous code in the country, it regards itself as the one true national code, and since 1982 it has put six teams into states outside Victoria, two of them - the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions (formerly the Brisbane Bears) - far beyond its traditional boundaries. Demetriou is the youngest son of Greek Cypriot immigrants. Andrew Demetriou's AFL career was shaped by family and tragedy, Andrew Demetriou will stand down as AFL CEO at the end of 2014 AFL to begin 2-3 month search for a replacement Deputy CEO Gillon McLachlan among leading candidates for top job Demetriou denies AFL could have done more to prevent Essendon supplements crisis. She died in 2004. But it's not all beer and skittles. "But that boyfriend Scott. He has the air, sometimes seen in confident people, of not needing to charm you. I've said to my staff and to myself that everyone's got to modify their lifestyle. And some suggested a life in politics back in 2005, when he openly questioned whether Australia had become mean-spirited compared to the optimistic country that welcomed his parents in the 1950s, challenging directly the Howard Government's tough asylum-seeker laws in the wake of the Tampa incident. There are 70+ professionals named "Andrew Demetriou", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. The chief executive, who joined the AFL first as its football boss in 2000, will vacate the role which has become the most powerful in Australian sport, was questioned about whether he should be blamed at all for Essendons dangerous drug program. It had got a lot easier by the time Andrew went through - his cohort was that big '60s influx of migrants - but I know he copped it on the footy field. "In year 12 he had major issues with a couple of teachers who took exception to his brashness and his confidence and the way he excelled. And Andrew's allowed me to express them. ", "What is out there is our bread and butter. "Except, perhaps, the meta-narcissism of some of the best political leaders. He met his second wife, Symone, then a corporate sales executive at the AFL in 2001 and they married a few years later. "It's an amazing game," he says, smiling. View the profiles of professionals named "Andrew Demetriou" on LinkedIn. He still has this quality of que sera sera effortlessness, say those close to him. "I think anyone who has strong views about things and seeks by dint of their own strength of personality to force things through, always runs the risk of alienating people," observes Sydney Swans president Richard Collis. In the dedication of a final book, she made an unusual reference to her husband. Jokes about people's mothers hurt people!". "The business is a good business. In 2011, Demetriou was involved in securing a record breaking A$1.25 billion TV rights deal for the period of 20122016. It hurts people. Even Demetrious fellow commissioners enjoyed his press conferences - despite the odd misstep - as much as anything and they would not have been disappointed by his first farewell performance on Monday morning at AFL headquarters. 2023 Getty Images. His first wife died in 1999. "Andy Demetriou" redirects here. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Aug 2020 - Present2 years 7 months. Acquire Learning entered voluntary administration in May 2017, shortly after Demetriou left the company. "James Brayshaw, the North Melbourne chairman and media personality who crossed swords with Demetriou when the AFL was pushing hard for North to relocate to the Gold Coast, says the AFL boss can bury the hatchet if he has to. "Yep, she let her guard down there!" He should not be content with just doing better than the other children.". "The answer is, 'I don't know', because the things I've done are all very, very different - garbage, false teeth, football, so I think anything's possible. he says. "He spoke about where the game had been 100 years ago. They'll have a women's round, an indigenous round, a tie-a-ribbon-around-everything round. I played golf once three or four years ago, and when I got home after six hours " - he pauses, smiling - "no, no. I'm the little chairman. Former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou is a strong family man. There, above the Norm Smith medals and behind the gang of administration girls admiring a new engagement ring ("Show me that rock!" [21], Demetriou's first wife died in 1999. Demetriou became emotional when he talked about those loved ones and colleagues he had lost during his time in the game's administration - his first wife Jan Bassett, mother Chrysi, former AFL . But that's just part and parcel of the job. "Those who work closely with him reckon Demetriou has achieved all of that. "And in return? It's based in northern Italy. [citation needed], Demetriou is best known for his position as CEO of the Australian Football League. We spent a hell of a lot of time travelling in the last two or three years, we did some really wonderful things together, and in some ways, she changed quite a bit as a person in that time, too. "Well, nobody said anything about my mother, thank God. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options await you. "Symone and my children are my . "History will tell.". That would leave a massive hole at the competitions governing body and the game at the crossroads. That always amuses me. "The Sydney Swans went there in 1981. This is in itself quite charming. Andrew Demetrious income source is mostly from being a successful Player. And we're just going to give them an option to get involved in another game. Credit: The high-profile Melbourne identity, who has been a director of the casino giant since 2015 and is chairman of Crown . "I'll never forget the phone calls," he says of the jarring interruption of bad news from afar. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 59 years old? 'I'm just ringing to say your brother has died.' Demetriou is also the highest-paid executive in any code: last year he earned $2.2 million. I want that for all who work for the AFL. "But what I do know is that in greater western Sydney, there are 220 different ethnic groups, 220 languages spoken and 180,000 indigenous people. "Just the way he's championed the cause of women in general and other initiatives here. "Adrian Anderson, the defamation lawyer whose left-field appointment by Demetriou as football operations manager mimicked Demetriou's own path, witnessed the stand-off close up. Jill Lindsay, in charge of league grounds and one of the AFL's longest-serving executives, looked Demetriou square in the eye on day one and said: "So, you're the guy who stuffed the league." Andrew Demetriou has a distinctive walk. Beyond this foundation, the brothers' childhoods combined both genuine acceptance and deep-rooted racism. He probably should have got into law school, but he missed that. He says the national game has a record of kicking into a stiff breeze and still scoring goals, and timing is everything: key sponsors have been bedded down until 2011, the players agreement is locked in similarly and the broadcasting rights will be re-negotiated when the country is likely pulling out of its slowdown. Chairing several companies after his retirement from playing, he was appointed CEO of the AFL Players Association in 1998, and was responsible for negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players. I didn't take things as seriously.". 1988: Played three games for Hawthorn before retiring. "Andrew Demetriou was born, the youngest of four boys, in Melbourne to Greek Cypriot parents in 1961. His parents, whose fathers were both dead, had left Cyprus in 1951 and didn't return until 1983, until after their sons had completed their university studies. Sydney won the 2012 premiership implementing a style of relentless tackling and attacking play. "Our role is minimal. The commission has not guaranteed McLachlan the job and appointed an executive search team to test the market for Demetrious successor long before he told Fitzpatrick at the 2014 Super Bowl that he would officially resign in early March. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? You go through very, very dark periods, and I just threw myself into work. "In many ways, they didn't expect anything from us. As the AFL's most visible symbol, it can also be convenient to hate Andrew Demetriou. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. [citation needed], He had a brief move to Hawthorn in 1988, but played only three games and kicked one goal. "You've got to give it to her, she's a consistent performer. But to be truthful, I never thought I'd last long in football. People say it's how he made his fortune. But his mother went only once, to the MCG for a final against Hawthorn in 1982. And the heads of other codes - Buckley, the NRL's David Gallop and the ARU's John O'Neill - have all maintained upbeat public attitudes towards expansion. North Melbourne Football Club had played three home games there in 2007 and, at the conclusion of that season, Demetriou offered the club $100 million to relocate there permanently. He admits to a simple philosophy: "You should never walk away from a negotiation if one party feels dudded. This board of directors includes Demetriou, wife Symone and couple Mirabai Winford and Sanjay Gill, who founded Purebaby, a brand for babies and toddlers that sources garments made of organic cotton in Indian factories that eschew sweatshop conditions.When the Demetrious' twin girls arrived in 2003 - two days after the businessman and former player took over the AFL's top job from departing chief executive Wayne Jackson - Symone went scouting for baby clothes and was drawn to the natural fabric and styles of the Purebaby range being sold in a Surrey Hills shop.She hit it off immediately with Winford and eventually introduced the entrepreneurial couple to her husband. Not that it seems to bother him. If I hadn't had footy this year, it would have been a lot worse. ""If you started with a blank piece of paper you wouldn't have 10 teams in Melbourne. In common with other older, poorer clubs, Richmond will suffer from the wealth of talented young players (usually allocated to clubs via the annual draft) and financial support being channelled into the new clubs. Or, as he would put it, giving people options. North Melbourne rejected that offer and, in January 2008, the AFL chairman, Mike Fitzpatrick and Demetriou announced that the Gold Coast Football Club would enter the AFL in 2011. "With a chuckle, he continues: "I have to say, that board meeting takes longer than the meetings of other boards that I've been on they're talking about different designs, the manufacturers in India, what colours we should do. Andrew and Symone Demetriou moved there 18 months ago from Hawthorn, into a two-storey 1930s home with lap pool, cellar and five-car garage, essentially to be nearer their daughters' school. Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. The entire Demetriou family lived in the two-bedroom flat attached to the shop. [citation needed] North Melbourne Football Club had played three home games there in 2007 and, at the conclusion of that season, Demetriou offered the club $100 million to relocate there permanently. His parents, Tony and Chrysi, met in the early 1950s, married and opened Tony's Fish and Chip . "You can't be around for 100-plus years and not be a resilient code," he continues. The AFL is debt-free and soon will have "squirrelled away" a $50-million contingency.Overall, the league is unrecognisable as the once-bereft and bankrupt Victorian competition of 1985, the year the 12 original clubs handed control to an independent commission. We're changing people's lives. 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