Carter still planning to hand over reins
12-YEAR STINT ON BOARD IS UP
GEELONG president Colin Carter is confident the coronavirus crisis will not affect his long-held plans to stand down at the end of the season.
Carter has backed his successor to steer the club through financial hardship as the club braces to be $10 million in debt by year’s end.
The veteran Geelong administrator confirmed last year he would stand down from the presidency at the end of this season, having reached his maximum tenure of 12 years on the club’s board.
He said the change in economic climate was unlikely to change his or the club’s plans.
“It’s a good board, we’ve always planned well for succession and find candidates who could do it,” Carter said.
“The current situation doesn’t knock those plans off course.
“My expectation is that that’s what’s going to happen, but I can honestly say, it hasn’t been discussed.
“We’ve been spending all our time trying to figure out how to help the club survive.”
The Cats have not publicly discussed potential replacements for Carter.
Long-standing board member Diana Taylor was elevated to vice-president late last year
— the first time a woman has held the role. Taylor has been a board member for a decade.
The appointment of former Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to the board last October also sparked speculation about whether he could take on future leadership roles.
Geelong is one of several clubs that will seek financial assistance from the AFL this year to help keep its head above water.
The club will go without tens of millions in dollars from seat and gate receipts and food and beverage sales this year with crowds locked out of games.
The Cats will also fall well short of their membership target of 70,000. It is currently sitting at about 60,000.
Only about 1-2 per cent of members have asked for refunds after the club last week revealed a series of incentives and trade-offs for fans to leave their cash with the club.
Geelong took in $30 million last year across the key pillars of membership, seating and gate receipts, and food and beverages — about half its total income — but those areas have been ravaged by COVID-19.
Carter said the board had agreed in recent years to set a limit of 12 years that a director could serve.
It means his tenure expires at the end of this year, having been on the board since 2008.
He took over as president at the end of 2010 from Frank Costa.
The new president will be handed the task of helping the club recover but Carter said there was no reason to change his plans.
“That’s always been my plan and I’d have to say this year’s been a completely unexpected (year),” he said.
“At this stage, nothing’s changed, but none of those things are ever set in stone either. It’s not a constitutional issue, I introduced a tenure limit.”