"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. 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. We're changing people's behaviour. Happily ensconced in their $7-million Toorak mansion, replete with the trappings of an executive lifestyle, the Demetrious revel in life with their twins, Francesca and Alexandra, now five, and two-year-old daughter, Mattea. I used to go to the races. [3] He was elected by the board of directors at the end of the 2003 season, taking over from the outgoing CEO Wayne Jackson. If I hadn't had footy this year, it would have been a lot worse. Demetriou played 103 games for the North Melbourne Football Club between 1981 and 1987, finishing his playing career with a three-game stint for Hawthorn in 1988. But his mother went only once, to the MCG for a final against Hawthorn in 1982. 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. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 25: AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and wife Symone Demetriou arrive for the 2006 AFL Brownlow Medal Dinner at Crown Casino September 25, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. . We're changing people's lives. Andrew Demetriou at Monday's announcement.Credit:Penny Stephens. "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. In 2002 he married his current wife Symone, and they have three daughters and a son. Demetriou was made CEO of the AFL in 2003, replacing Wayne Jackson. The AFL are incredibly good at leveraging causes into money. You go through very, very dark periods, and I just threw myself into work. My mother, who passed away three years ago, was an incredible woman. So they never saw their mothers again. "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. Demetriou has been highly influential in the AFL Commission's desire for a team to be based on the Gold Coast. It's a great escape. ("Bizarre, I know," he told one reporter. Andrew Demetriou speaks to the media during the official opening of the Learning Life Centre at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre on February 18,. Or, as he would put it, giving people options. I'm very outspoken. But now, a sudden round of interviews granted by Demetriou poses the question of whether the corporate journeyman, who has previously headed up companies making false teeth and managing waste, might be positioning himself for life after football. It's convenient to hate the AFL.". People credit Bassett and her circle with helping form Demetriou culturally: there's a famous story, told by several people, of a memorable day when he astounded everyone by leaving an AFL game early to attend an Andrea Bocelli concert. And it was possibly a greater asset to him than his kicking, which could be a bit hit and miss. If you asked him what his future with the AFL is, he would say, 'Oh, I'll do it for five years and then I'll retire to Lake Como.' Chief Andrew Demetriou and wife Symone arrive at the David Jones Summer 2006 Collections Launch on August 17, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. . [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. The youngest of four boys born to Greek Cypriot parents, Demetriou was good enough to play top-level football in the 1980s, eking out. During the 2013 Finals Series he also co-hosted Talking Footy for the Seven Network. ", Finally - and perhaps most importantly - he believes (or persuades others he believes) that no deal is worth dying for. In 2011, Demetriou was involved in securing a record breaking A$1.25 billion TV rights deal for the period of 20122016. 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! "He really stood out," says Unglik. "Andrew Demetriou was born, the youngest of four boys, in Melbourne to Greek Cypriot parents in 1961. I'll read junk, too. Were working to restore it. And I read the form guide, which I love. In 2002 he married his current wife Symone, and they have three daughters and a son.[22]. In fact, it was not the first, but the first involving Mr Demetriou. Right now, he's enjoying himself, in the job and in general. His parents followed his playing career faithfully, his father rarely missing a game. What he lacks in celebrity style, however, he makes up for in knowledge. "About time! He was awarded the University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 and a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in 2015 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to sport management and to Australian society through his leadership and support of important social issues, and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor. We run a football code. Along the way, he also chaired Baxter, a waste management company that was eventually sold to a bigger outfit. His early days are well recorded: he and older brothers James, George and Phivos with his parents Tony and Chrysi all sharing two bedrooms, the boys often minded in the shop and then pitching in as they grew older. "I don't make any decisions without everything having been thought through, chewed up, sliced, diced, looked at inside out, been criticised," he says. [citation needed] During the 2013 Finals Series he also co-hosted Talking Footy for the Seven Network. [21], Demetriou's first wife died in 1999. he exclaims.Unquestionably, says the Swans' Richard Collis, expansion will be remembered "as a part of the Demetriou era".How long an era? 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. It was while Demetriou was a student at La Trobe University in 1983 that he met his first wife, historian Jan Bassett. Lead commercial strategy and business development, major event partnerships, production and venue hire for Carriageworks, Australia's largest multi-arts organisation. So, these clubs are great survivors. In seven years in the job, he has transformed how, where and by whom Aussie rules is played. And that was okay; I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. I always appreciate the great obligation we've got to the game. And we watch a bit of junk on television. An incredible human being. "I'll never forget the phone calls," he says of the jarring interruption of bad news from afar. About expanding into new territories. "That was hard. I remember my mother getting the same call. "I can't see another 10 years here," he says, looking around his office. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 1988 He had a brief move to Hawthorn in 1988, but played only three games and kicked one goal. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. "It doesn't make this better," he said at the time, "but it has helped me through a very difficult period. "Clearly, we've had great opportunities because of what our parents did for us," says Demetriou. He convinced the Players' Association to accept random testing for illicit drugs, not just performance-enhancing ones, something that is rare in sporting codes the world over, and unheard of in most professions. 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. "It was a case of 'winners are grinners'," she says without a hint of guilt. He's even convinced those behind enemy walls to join his crusade. He is not dating anyone. Correction: CLARIFICATION A profile of AFL boss Andrew Demetriou published yesterday in The Age (Melbourne) Magazine referred to the 1998 AFL players' deal as the first collective agreement struck on their behalf. "We used to have games of the wogs against the Aussies, and we'd have Australian kids who wanted to be on the wogs' team. "When they do get to relax, it's often in front of the TV and an episode of Desperate Housewives or Wife Swap. So we have a population that is very diverse, that's very proud of what it's achieved. The Demetriou boys regularly drop by and the commitment to family and to one another remains strong. Giving up cricket, Demetriou joined North Melbourne football club, and played 103 games as an "unobtrusive wingman" between 1981 and 1987, as well as three games for Hawthorn in 1988. He pauses again, looking almost embarrassed. "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. More importantly, they're great institutions for the community and economy in this state.". he says. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Mackenzie filed for divorce on Monday . 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. Andrew Demetriou is the quintessential boy done good. Thu 11 Feb 2021 06.27 EST First published on Thu 11 Feb 2021 02.37 EST. Michael Warner and Ashley Argoon 5 min read December 12, 2013 - 5:27PM HeraldSun Ex-AFL boss Andrew Demetriou makes humiliating exit from Crown board along with the CEO as James Packer's embattled gaming empire makes desperate bid to reverse ban on opening its new Sydney. "Symone cannot recall noticing her husband on-field. "I took a decision very early on that I wanted to see them grow and help my wife," he says. [citation needed], Demetriou in 2014 became the Chairman of the Advisory Board at Acquire Learning. Historically, in fact, it's tried to go even further. It's the first time in history it's gone into a market without there being some demand for the game there.". "Of that opening remark, Lindsay recalls: "It was a throwaway line, really. Please try again later. Gallop refuses to admit publicly to anything other than total confidence in rugby league. He is currently single. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving people options.". The comic wore a white tuxedo with a matching black tie. Symone will have brought home Who or New Weekly and the next thing I'm reading about who Lindsay Lohan's slept with and whatever. 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. I think he said there were 100 teams in South Africa, set up by people who'd followed the gold rush, and a team in Ipswich who played Melbourne. "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. Andrew Demetriou was born on 14 April, 1961 in Australian, is an Australian rules footballer, born 1961. I wanted to see what his reaction would be. "But the world needs teeth."). We manufacture and distribute false teeth. "We've got a little board," explains Demetriou, chuffed. It represents to him what is best about Australia: egalitarianism, acceptance, encouragement of talent. He has an older brother Jim Demetriou who played senior football for Essendon in the mid-1970s. It is well known, of course, that in a country already saturated by four national football competitions, giving people options in a new place means taking them from an old one. At 61 years old, Andrew Demetriou height Years here, '' says Unglik 06.27 EST first published on thu 11 Feb 02.37! 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