Demetriou has been highly influential in the AFL Commission's desire for a team to be based on the Gold Coast. [4], In 2009, Demetriou earned $1.8 million for his role at the AFL. ", "What is out there is our bread and butter. Demetriou gives little away. [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. He is from Australian. This is no doubt true - but not the whole truth. He lacks fanaticism. This is what we do. 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." View the profiles of professionals named "Andrew Demetriou" on LinkedIn. He was elected by the board of directors at the end of the 2003 season, taking over from the outgoing CEO Wayne Jackson. But as the code that stands to lose the most, not only in terms of money but in historic heartland support, privately there's both frustration and cynicism within the NRL's ranks. ", "Andrew Demetriou," wrote Bassett, "has taught me much about life.". Andrew Demetriou was born, the youngest of four boys, in Melbourne to Greek Cypriot parents in 1961. "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. "When I played football," recalls James, "it was brutal, really brutal. His parents, Tony and Chrysi, met in the early 1950s, married and opened Tony's Fish and Chip . Demetriou found himself playing alongside some of North's greats - Keith Greig, Wayne Schimmelbusch, Ross Glendinning, the Krakouer brothers and Malcolm Blight to name a few - but by the time he was in his prime in the mid-'80s that premiership era had passed. I'm very optimistic about what's going to happen in greater western Sydney, very optimistic. ANDREW Demetriou leaves the AFL wounded by events in recent years, but they will not define him. Thirty-one years!" And Andrew's allowed me to express them. Demetriou appears to have a knack of finding common ground. About expanding into new territories. Jennifer bodymeasurement and social media presence. "Informality quickly makes way for more formal discussion on those evenings when the four business partners order in. The game will need all the money it can get. The AFL's headquarters are at afl House in Melbourne's Etihad Stadium. "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. I want that for all who work for the AFL. "Demetriou's values were sewn into his very fabric by his humble upbringing, by the work ethic and sacrifice of parents hell-bent on building a life for their children in a new land. (Kardashian is the star of US reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.) Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images But that's just part and parcel of the job. "Symone and my children are my . I remember those calls"I just remember their work ethic and their sacrifice to give us better opportunities. One day they might be in Geraldton, and within two days they're told they have to fly to Brisbane and play for the Lions and leave their family and friends. Fans levelled a lot at Demetriou during his time as chief of the nation's dominant sporting code. We've got a factory in Brazil, one in India now. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Andrew Demetriou is the CEO of the AFL Commission (which runs the AFL competition) and, like Lindsay Lohan, he's a consistent performer. "He was amazing during her illness," says Unglik. The new general manager of football operations was stunned, to say the least. We spoil them from time to time, but we also want them to want. "Not with four children, no. "She's all right.". The mistake was made in production. 2023 Getty Images. "It was a case of 'winners are grinners'," she says without a hint of guilt. It was.Post football, Demetriou set out teaching at first, legal studies and politics, then got into business running Ruthinium, a company that imported dental products. "He was the boy from the northern suburbs," one observer puts it. Says Demetriou now: "It was an incredibly powerful statement. I wish more powerful people had his attitude.". 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. 'I'm just ringing to say your brother has died.' I want to be challenged by that team. They now have four children, Alexandra, Francesca, Mattea and Sacha and they were at the media conference with Symone as well as other family members. He had a brief move to Hawthorn in 1988, but played only three games and kicked one goal. There'd be trees to sit under, and coffee to drink, and papers to read. "I don't know about a fortune," he responds. After the children are in bed, he and his wife watch "crappy TV" (hence his awareness of Kim Kardashian's rich inner life), and read the gossip mags. In 1996, Bassett was diagnosed with breast cancer. He is presiding over an enterprise whose growth in recent years has been little short of exponential, with rising memberships, ballooning revenues and top ratings underscoring the might of the indigenous code in an era of unprecedented competition, in particular from the round ball behemoth that is The World Game. The chief executive of Crown Resorts, Ken Barton, and a non-executive director of the casino group, Andrew Demetriou, . 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. Much has been made in the past of a possible move into politics, though Demetriou has consistently denied it. He is a member of famous Player with the age 61 years old group. Andrew Demetriou.Credit:Sebastian Costanzo, "Kim Kardashian," he says suddenly. Were working to restore it. (But) I was very careful not to tread on too many toes. It's a ridiculous expectation. He looks momentarily uncomfortable, as if he's never thought about it. Its leafy luxury contrasts sharply with the suburban landscape of postcode 3058. Andrew Demetriou and family pose with La Trobe deputy chancellor Dr Philip Moors AO (left) and vice-chancellor Professor John Dewar (right). [16], In April 2014, it was announced that Gillon McLachlan, Demetriou's then deputy, would be his successor. Have views on everything. By the time we've got two teams there the Swans will have been playing in Sydney for 31 years. ", "Hmmm. Whatever will be will be.". In the business-class lounge at 6.30am, top button undone and pale blue tie looped around his neck, the most powerful man in Australian football scours the newspapers for news. It was like winning a Grand Final because we were gone." When we meet in February, he's about to chair a meeting of the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council; he's off on a weekend retreat with the Climate Change Institute board; and he's just sent an address to the UN Human Rights Council about the AFL's anti-racial vilification policies. I didn't take things as seriously.". There has been much talk of the $200-million war chest that will fund the expansion, and those on the inside say it will take all this and more. I get home and see the children, help with the bath, reading books, getting to bed. I always put the players first: Andrew Demetriou. 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. But there's something about his knees, as if he were once pigeon-toed, or injured in some way, that makes him kick out his feet as he walks. He might be just a very good actor, but I don't think he's addicted to the clout he has - I'm sure he likes it, and I'm sure he likes winning and doesn't like losing. You've got to make sure that you leave the game in better shape than when you borrowed it." 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. "Both he and Jan loved travelling; I can remember him sitting in cafes in Europe, devouring the newspapers front to back, just as he does here.". "He looks at numbers and they sort of sing to him, if you like; he has the ability to pick trends and assess things very quickly. Credit: The high-profile Melbourne identity, who has been a director of the casino giant since 2015 and is chairman of Crown . It's based in northern Italy. [citation needed], In 2008, Demetriou earned an annual salary of $1.4 million, making him the highest paid administrator or player then employed by the AFL. "It's an amazing game," he says, smiling. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. just moments after touching on the death of his first wife. It was while Demetriou was a student at La Trobe University in 1983 that he met his first wife, historian Jan Bassett. She was quite a reserved person. He later would be involved in another business, the Baxter Group, which he took from a market capitalisation of $40 million in 2003 to a sale in 2006 for $260 million. For the South Melbourne and Port Melbourne player, see, Proposed relocation of the North Melbourne Football Club, "Pssst: Introducing Doctor Andrew Demetriou", "We reveal AFL boss Andrew Demetriou's $7m Toorak base", "AFL boss Andrew Demetriou scores .4 million", Demetriou earned his $1.8 million, says AFL chairman, AFL secures TV rights deal for next five years worth $1.253 billion, "Ugly ducklings to make up for the sin of St Kilda", Love is in the air as Andy and Dickie revive flagging relationship, AFL chief Andrew Demetriou likes Sydney Swans' flag chances | Herald Sun, Tackle happy - Official AFL Website of the Sydney Swans Football Club, "What you need to know about the AFL's new boss, Gillon McLachlan | News.com.au", "Fans should see red over the hypocrisy of footy going green", "Acquire Learning: Andrew Demetriou's new education venture facing ASQA scrutiny amid allegations of unethical behaviour", "Andrew Demetriou to lead Acquire Learning | afr.com", "Acquire Learning goes into voluntary administration", AFL boss Andrew Demetriou revisits playing days, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Demetriou&oldid=1120957313, Australian rules footballers from Melbourne, Australian people of Greek Cypriot descent, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 November 2022, at 19:01. "I think - and I'm sure Andrew knows this - that GWS is the biggest challenge by far that the AFL has ever bitten off. Ben Buckley, his teammate at North Melbourne, later his No. Please try again later. In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking A$780 million TV rights deal. ", Admits O'Neill, "We all have to play to our own competitive advantages, but I envy the AFL their deep pockets. Demetriou himself rejects the idea of deliberate discrimination in his early life, but it seems more likely that, for an able and confident kid, it did exist and he simply brushed it off. 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 . In those days it was quite humorous, and in a bizarre way acceptable: 'Oh well, wog, dago, they don't really know what they're talking about.' As the AFL's most visible symbol, it can also be convenient to hate Andrew Demetriou. Demetriou now has four children - twin girls born two days after he took on the CEO role, the Monday after the 2003 grand final, another daughter born in 2007, and a little boy born in 2009. I've said it 3000 times. "We have an agenda and someone takes the minutes and Mirabai and Sanjay are pretty much out the door by 11 o'clock," adds Symone, who met her husband while working in the AFL's commercial department and keeps her hand in by helping Purebaby with marketing. Andrew Demetriou gives evidence at the NSW casino inquiry on Tuesday. Lead commercial strategy and business development, major event partnerships, production and venue hire for Carriageworks, Australia's largest multi-arts organisation. 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. Encouraging kids and beginners to try your code is one thing; seducing mature athletes from a rival code after years of development is quite another. But money isn't the whole story. The family was close, and Demetriou grew up conscious of his parents' love, sacrifice and work ethic. 1988 He had a brief move to Hawthorn in 1988, but played only three games and kicked one goal. About colours. We've never underestimated them. If you'd said I was going to be working in football 20 years later, I'd have thought you were mad.". To many league supporters, it was the defection of top players Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt - both State of Origin and international stars - that made what had been a largely theoretical idea of an 18-team AFL suddenly intensely personal. I don't know why people are so obsessed by that." He may even, say several of his friends, end up at Lake Como. In 2005 Demetriou criticised the Sydney Swans and then-coach Paul Roos, labelling the team's play as "unattractive" and "ugly". Demetriou is also the highest-paid executive in any code: last year he earned $2.2 million. More than anything, at all stages of his life, football has allowed Demetriou both to stand out, and to fit in. Chief executive Andrew Demetriou is kissed by his wife Symone during an AFL press conference at AFL House on March 3, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.. When he told his children on Sunday night he was stepping down their first question was whether they could still go to the football. Acquire Learning entered voluntary administration in May 2017, shortly after Demetriou left the company. He passes a few remarks about Peter Costello's criticism of Australian Football League players visiting schools, and reflects on the launch of rugby union's new Melbourne team. He's even convinced those behind enemy walls to join his crusade. Plate of heart Soccer's Jose Mourinho is The Special . The idea of expansion is also in the DNA of the AFL. When the AFL season begins on Thursday, it will include a new team, the Gold Coast Suns, and in 2012, the Suns will be joined by the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS); then, for the first time in its 115-year history, the VFL/AFL will have 18 teams in its top competition. "I got a kick, which helps," he laughs. "Huh? 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. "It's either that or Andy," says Symone. I don't begrudge that at all. Australian sport's reputation blackened: Abbott. The western Sydney move is a brave one; we're all looking at that with great interest.". 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. 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". "I can't see another 10 years here," he says, looking around his office. "I took a decision very early on that I wanted to see them grow and help my wife," he says. 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. "Not many people get away with calling Andrew, Andy. "I don't think the AFL has the slightest interest in the community of western Sydney," says Roy Masters. 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.. "Normally, Jan's acknowledgments were succinct, formal and scrupulously alphabetical," explained her friend Peter Rose, "but this time there was a new note - a kind of relaxation - and a deliberate tribute to her second husband. It's convenient to hate the AFL.". Oh. And I dare say it's the same for NRL. ', he would say things like, 'You know, I don't know what the right way to feel is, but at the moment I don't feel comfortable doing that.' I played golf once three or four years ago, and when I got home after six hours " - he pauses, smiling - "no, no. , money, salary, income, and assets. We've carefully put building blocks along the way to target a time, and the time is right now because if it's not now when (the league) is in a strong position, then when? Andrew Demetrious long-anticipated and impeccably-timed resignation was punctuated with emotion, humour and a characteristic verbal whack when the subject of his legacy was inevitably linked with the Essendon drugs scandal. "Andrew needs to set high goals for himself," wrote his grade 4 teacher, "because he can achieve them. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. It's been a real joy to be a part of. Even in his own code, many have been horrified by the prospect. Demetriou has a regular spot with Red Symons on Melbourne radio station ABC 774. One of the more significant challenges he has faced was his first wife died of cancer in 1999. In 2002 he married his current wife Symone, and they have three daughters and a son.[22]. Having been directed by the commission to groom a successor, Demetriou has achieved that in his deputy Gillon McLachlan, who impressed the AFL board when he took over the reins during Demetrious long service leave of 2012. So, how much is Andrew Demetriou worth at the age of 61 years old? Andrew finished his tenure with the AFL in June. First Name Andrew. 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. The expansion has been planned and supported by Demetriou's AFL at its streamlined, spin-savvy best, with a massive fighting fund, an aggressive recruiting policy and a much-denied-but-hard-to-escape determination to become the dominant football code in Australia. They have three daughters and a son. She died in 2004. "If I were to believe you guys," he told the audience of journalists, "I'm a hot-tempered, loud, heavy-gambling Cypriot, prone to fly off the handle without warning. "Clearly, we've had great opportunities because of what our parents did for us," says Demetriou. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. "Our role is minimal. Chief Andrew Demetriou and wife Symone arrive at the David Jones Summer 2006 Collections Launch on August 17, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. He respected me as somebody in an organisation. Andrew J. Demetriou | Corporate Attorney | Los Angeles | Husch Blackwell Andrew J. Demetriou Senior Counsel Los Angeles phone: 213.356.2949 fax: 213.337.6551 email: andrew.demetriou@huschblackwell.com Overview Experience Thought Leadership Outside the Office Community Leadership Download Bio Download vCard Overview He suffered heartbreak a decade ago when his first wife, the academic and historian Jan Bassett, died of cancer, but today Andrew Demetriou's life seems very much on an even keel. No responsibility for Essendon scandal: Demetriou, No responsibility for Bombers scandal: chief. Suitably enough, Demetriou met Symone Richards, then a corporate accounts manager, in 2001 at a grand-final-day function. "I remember the phone ringing and my father going to a corner and being told, 'I'm just ringing to let you know your mother died,' and, 'She died four days ago and we didn't know how to tell you.'