Greg Swann (born 1962) is an

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL)

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

, an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

club based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

competing in the

. He has been in the role since July 2014.

Sports administration career

From 1995 until 1998, he was the president of

VFA/VFL The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

club Williamstown, presiding over the club when the VSFL attempted to force the club into a merger with

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...

at the end of 1995; he had previously played about 100 games for Williamstown during the 1980s.

Collingwood Football Club

Swann was previously Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

from 1999 until 2007. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Collingwood, oversaw improved on-field results after lifting Collingwood up from the bottom of the ladder, the previous years, by being a strong supporter of club president

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter, journalist, Australian Football League commentator and former TV executive. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosted C ...

, club senior coach

Mick Malthouse Michael Raymond Malthouse (born 17 August 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After finishing his playing career, ...

and club captain

Nathan Buckley Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Collingwood Football Club, also oversaw Collingwood's two grand final losses in the 2002 Grand Final and 2003 Grand Final, both times to

. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Collingwood in the off-field position area, also oversaw the development and construction of the club's new training and administrative facilities at the Lexus Centre and

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

in 2004. On 23 March 2007, Swann stepped down as CEO of Collingwood Football Club.

Carlton Football Club

Swann was also previously the CEO of

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

. On 23 March 2007, former Carlton Football Club CEO Michael Malouf stood down and it was announced that Swann would be Malouf's immediate replacement. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Carlton, oversaw the trade of

Chris Judd Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is regarded as one of the grea ...

from

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

to Carlton. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Carlton also oversaw the club prosper in the on and off field performances. Off the field, Swann witnessed the club's membership increase with the total revenue of the club that also increased from $18 million in 2006 to $57 million in 2013, while Carlton’s historical debt was also significantly reduced. Under Swann’s guidance, Carlton was also able to secure long-term deals with key major sponsors and build strong relationships with global brands including

Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...

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and

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. Furthermore, Swann led the way in the redevelopment of the $18 million training facility that opened at Visy Park in 2010, working closely with federal, state and local governments, along with the AFL, to deliver a world-class training and administration facility. The on-field performance also witnessed successful results for the club where under Swann’s leadership as CEO, after finishing at second from the bottom of the ladder in 2007, Carlton managed to play finals in four out of five seasons in his tenure. Swann served as CEO of Carlton until 22 June 2014, electing to step down at the same time as club president

Stephen Kernahan Stephen Scott Kernahan (born 1 September 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and for the Glenelg Football Club in the South Australian National Football ...

handed over his position to Mark LoGiudice.

Brisbane Lions

In July 2014, Swann was appointed CEO of

. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Brisbane Lions has overseen the period at the club, where the Lions had dark periods where there was poor-on field performance and financially off-field struggles as well. The club then had to keep going to the AFL to get additional funding. The situation at the club, then slowly turned around with improved successful on-field results and a return to a stable position off-field. Swann in his tenure as CEO of Brisbane Lions has also overseen the development and construction of the club's new training and administrative facility at The Reserve, Springfield.

Personal life

He attended Wesley College (Melbourne, Australia).

References

External links

Official Website of the Carlton Football Club

Profile from Blueseum
1962 births Living people Businesspeople from Melbourne Carlton Football Club administrators Collingwood Football Club administrators Williamstown Football Club players Australian chief executives People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1960s-stub