The Greater Western Sydney Giants have announced the appointment of David Matthews as Chief Executive Officer for the next three years.
Matthews joined the Giants last November for an initial period of 12 months after a career spanning 14 years at the AFL.
Chairman Tony Shepherd said the board of the Giants were delighted to secure Matthews for a further three years as the club continued to grow across Western Sydney and Canberra.
“This is the biggest and most exciting challenge in Australian sport. Since he joined the GIANTS, David has led the club with distinction through its first 12 months in the AFL competition and shown why he is a highly respected figure in the game,” Shepherd said.
“In that time membership has exceeded 10,000, we have attracted significant corporate support, opened the world class Skoda Stadium and announced the establishment of a new, state of the art training facility at Sydney Olympic Park.
“We have also won our first matches in Sydney and Canberra, extended contracts of the majority of our exciting young players and appointed Leon Cameron as senior assistant coach and successor to Kevin Sheedy in 2014.
“These achievements are in no small part due to David’s leadership and he has helped lay the foundations for what is a very exciting future for the Giants.
“This has been a brave and visionary move by the AFL to develop a team in WesternSydney and Canberra and we were very pleased when they made one of their most talented executives available to us 12 months ago.
“We are even more delighted that David has now chosen to join the club and commit to the Giants. He knows the game inside out, possesses excellent people skills and has strong networks across the country that will be of tremendous benefit to the Giants,” Shepherd said.
Matthews said he had enjoyed his time at the Giants and relished the opportunity take the club forward over the next three years.
“The AFL is a fantastic place to learn and work and I have felt very privileged for the opportunities I have had to develop the game. Leading the GIANTS is another great opportunity to create something unique and important for the AFL and, in particular, the people of Western Sydney and Canberra,” he said.
“Any organisation is only as strong as its people and we have a terrific group of people at this club both on and off the field and are building a strong culture to give us the very best chance of achieving ultimate success in the years to come.
“We want to become a club that values success but also has strong values and a club that everyone can be proud to support. A club that is bold, innovative and inclusive and strives for excellence in everything it does.”
Matthews, 42, joined the AFL in 1998 after previously working with the Geelong Football League and the Victorian Country Football League. He was NAB AFL Auskick participation manager for five years before being appointed to the AFL Executive as General Manager of Game Development in 2004.
In 2008, Matthews was appointed as AFL General Manager National and International Development and transferred in that role to be based in Sydney in 2010. He was appointed CEO of the Giants in November 2011 for an initial period of 12 months.
