St Kilda Football Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of Geoff Walsh to the role of Executive General Manager of Football.
The highly regarded football administrator brings over 35 years’ experience to the Saints, reprising the position he long held with North Melbourne Football Club and most recently Collingwood Football Club across two key terms.
Walsh will oversee all facets of the men’s football program including coaching, high performance and conditioning, strategy and recruitment to help drive change and improvement across all elements of the program.
During his time in the AFL industry, he has been involved in four premierships, 10 Grand Final appearances and 25 finals series. He was awarded AFL life membership in 2016.
Most recently, Walsh has spent time as a sports consultant where he supported the Carlton and North Melbourne football clubs through their respective football program reviews in an advisory capacity.
Walsh’s appointment comes as part of changes to the football department following the transition of Simon Lethlean to Chief Executive Officer in late September.
“Geoff has long been regarded as one of the best football administrators in the League and we are thrilled to be welcoming him to the Saints,” Chief Executive Officer Simon Lethlean said.
“It was made quite clear early in our review process, which is currently being finalised, that a key senior leader was required to help lead the men’s program and steward the implementation of the actions that will be required from the findings of the football review.
“Rather than waiting for that process to conclude, we set out to identify the best possible candidate and we are confident we have secured that with Geoff.
“Geoff holds extensive senior experience across a number of clubs and throughout his time he has been able to steer them to success with his firm but decisive nature.
“Of course, his résumé speaks for itself, but what is also clear is Geoff’s hunger to help the club build and improve, and that is exactly what we intend to do.
“As we have said around the review process, we are not willing to compromise on our ambitions and we believe Geoff’s appointment will be a key driver in getting us there.”
Walsh said he was looking forward to embracing the opportunities of leading St Kilda's football program.
“I’m excited to be joining the St Kilda Football Club in what will be its 150th year,” Walsh said.
"I respect the club’s decision to embark on a comprehensive review and I will work closely with Andrew Bassat and Simon Lethlean to ensure that we successfully implement the necessary changes.
“There is plenty of talent and potential within the list and I look forward to working closely with the whole football program as we look to further unlock this.”
Geoff Walsh will officially commence his role with the club from 1 November but will be familiarising himself with the program and staff over the coming weeks.
