I have spent more than 20 years working across sport, entertainment, venues and major events. It has been a career shaped by extraordinary organisations, ambitious projects, difficult challenges and, above all, a belief in the power of sport to drive commercial growth, unite communities and create lasting social impact.

My journey began in accounting, but I quickly realised that my passion lay at the intersection of sport, business, brands and people.

Since then, I have had the privilege of holding senior leadership roles with South Melbourne FC, Hawthorn Football Club, North Melbourne Football Club, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Etihad Stadium – now Marvel Stadium – Swimming Australia, Perth Glory, Football Victoria, Football Australia, Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment and Bastion.

I have served as a CEO, C-suite executive, board director and adviser. My responsibilities have extended across organisational strategy, commercial growth, brand and marketing, communications, government relations, infrastructure, major events, media, digital transformation, customer experience and stakeholder engagement.

While the organisations and roles have varied, the common thread has always been building.

Building organisations. Building brands. Building audiences, revenues, facilities, partnerships and high-performing teams. Most importantly, building belief in what an organisation or sporting property could become.

Learning the Business of Sport

Some of my earliest and most important lessons came from football clubs.

At South Melbourne, I saw what it took to build and operate a genuine football club from the ground up. The club had history, identity, community and ambition. It taught me that the strongest sporting organisations are not simply teams that compete; they are institutions that represent people and give communities a sense of belonging.

My time with Hawthorn and North Melbourne provided a different perspective on professional sport. I learned about membership, sponsorship, match-day experience, supporter engagement and the importance of a strong and clearly understood club identity.

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games then exposed me to the scale, complexity and energy of one of the world’s greatest sporting events. It reinforced the importance of detailed planning, collaboration and execution while demonstrating how sport can shape the way a nation sees itself—and how the world sees a nation.

At Etihad Stadium, I worked across major commercial portfolios, venue operations, partnerships and customer experience. A stadium is far more than a building. It is a platform for sport, entertainment, business and human connection. Every event represents thousands of individual customer journeys, all of which contribute to the reputation and commercial performance of the venue.

Leading Organisations Through Growth and Change

As CEO of Perth Glory and later Football Victoria, I experienced the privilege and responsibility of leading entire organisations.

At Perth Glory, we worked to reconnect the club with its members, supporters and commercial partners. Membership increased by more than 50 per cent and attendances by approximately 60 per cent during a period focused on restoring belief, relevance and momentum.

At Football Victoria, I led an organisation representing more than 350 clubs and 90,000 participants. We grew revenue by more than 30 per cent, strengthened the organisation’s operating model and elevated football’s case for investment.

That experience reinforced a lesson I have carried throughout my career: sporting bodies must be able to translate their participation, community reach and social impact into compelling propositions for governments, partners and investors.

Transforming Australian Football’s Brands and Commercial Platform

My five years at Football Australia represented one of the most significant chapters of my career.

As a member of the executive leadership team, I held responsibility across customer strategy, brand, marketing, communications, corporate affairs, digital, government relations, commercial growth and major projects during a transformative period for Australian football.

We repositioned the CommBank Matildas and Subway Socceroos as distinctive national brands, substantially expanded their audiences and helped create stronger commercial foundations for the game.

The rise of the CommBank Matildas was not accidental. It was the product of sustained investment, clear positioning, athlete storytelling, audience insight, commercial alignment and an organisation-wide commitment to building a truly iconic Australian brand.

Across this period, the Matildas’ digital audience grew from approximately one million to more than six million, brand value increased fourfold and attendances grew eightfold. Their journey culminated in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, when they captured the imagination of the country and fundamentally changed the trajectory of women’s sport in Australia.

Beyond the headline moments, we helped deliver more than $80 million in annualised commercial growth, secured or influenced more than $400 million in football infrastructure investment and played a key role in establishing the $116 million Home of the Matildas.

Those outcomes reflected the collective efforts of talented teams and partners working with a shared sense of purpose. They also demonstrated what is possible when strategy, brand, commercial performance, government engagement and execution are integrated rather than treated as separate functions.

Contributing to the Growth of Canadian Football

Following Football Australia, I had the opportunity to work with Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment, which owns and manages the commercial and media rights across a significant part of Canada’s national football ecosystem.

My work extended across Canada Soccer’s national teams, the Canadian Premier League, League1 Canada and OneSoccer at an important time for the sport ahead of Canada co-hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026.

I contributed to the strategic vision and brand architecture for Canadian football, the repositioning and national growth strategy of the Canadian Premier League, and the development of investment propositions designed to accelerate the sport’s commercial growth.

Working alongside the CEO, Board, Deloitte and prospective capital partners, I also helped progress a proposed $100 million private equity investment strategy for the broader Canadian football ecosystem.

The role included contributing to negotiations for premium international media rights for OneSoccer, including the Bundesliga, National Women’s Soccer League and UEFA Champions League, as well as collaborating with Canada Soccer, FIFA and Concacaf stakeholders on opportunities connected to the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The experience provided a valuable international perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing an emerging football nation preparing to host the world’s largest sporting event.

Whether in Australia or internationally, the strategic question is similar: how can sporting organisations convert participation, passion and cultural relevance into sustainable audiences, investment and commercial growth?

Broadening My Perspective at Bastion

More recently, I joined Bastion as Managing Director – Experience, broadening my work across sport, entertainment, brand experience, sponsorship, content and customer engagement.

Bastion provided the opportunity to see the market from the agency and advisory side of the table, working across different clients, sectors and commercial challenges.

Having spent much of my career as the executive responsible for appointing agencies, managing major partnerships and investing in brands and customer experiences, the role gave me a different perspective on how organisations engage external expertise and what clients genuinely need from their strategic partners.

It also reinforced my belief that the strongest advisory relationships are built on more than recommendations. Clients increasingly value advisers who understand execution, organisational realities and the accountability that comes with carrying responsibility for people, budgets and results.

Although it was a relatively short chapter, the experience helped clarify where I can create the greatest value in the next phase of my career: working directly with boards, CEOs and executive teams on important organisational, commercial and strategic challenges.

What I Am Doing Now

I have now established Intrepid Fox Group, an executive advisory practice built on the experience and lessons of my career.

Through Intrepid Fox Group, I work selectively with boards, CEOs, executive teams, investors and rights holders across sport, entertainment, venues, tourism and major events.

My work can take the form of a retained advisory relationship, a defined strategic engagement, a board appointment or an interim or fractional executive mandate.

I am particularly interested in helping organisations that need to:

• Develop a clear vision and turn it into an executable strategy.
• Establish, reposition or grow an organisation, brand, event or sporting property.
• Build stronger commercial, customer and audience strategies.
• Navigate complex government, board, member and stakeholder environments.
• Secure investment for infrastructure and major projects.
• Prepare for and leverage major events.
• Lead through periods of transformation, transition or organisational growth.

I am at my best when the ambition is significant, the environment is complex and the organisation needs someone who has not only advised on these challenges but has also carried the responsibility of delivering the outcomes.

I also remain open to the right permanent CEO or enterprise leadership opportunity where my experience can contribute to an organisation’s next phase of growth and impact.

Why I Am Writing Again

This website will be a place to share my perspectives on the business of sport.

I will write about leadership, governance, brand building, commercial growth, customer strategy, major events, infrastructure, football and the changing relationship between sporting organisations and their communities.

Some observations will draw on successful experiences. Others will reflect lessons learned when the outcome was more difficult. Both are equally valuable.

Sport is entering a period of enormous change. Technology is reshaping consumption. Audiences are fragmenting. Governments and investors are demanding stronger returns. Athletes have greater influence. Women’s sport is creating new markets, while traditional competitions are being challenged to remain culturally relevant.

Yet the fundamentals remain remarkably consistent.

Strong organisations understand who they are, whom they serve and why they matter. They connect strategy with execution. They invest in their people and their brands. Most importantly, they never take the passion of their supporters and communities for granted.

After more than 20 years in the industry, I remain as optimistic and ambitious about the potential of sport as I was when I began.

There is still much to build—and many more lessons to share.