Dear Members,
I write to you for the first time as CEO, a position I am truly grateful to hold – it’s been a humbling experience to receive so many messages from the Collingwood community.
Firstly, I want to thank our General Manager of Football Graham Wright for doing such a brilliant job as the interim CEO over recent months. Wrighty’s leadership and the broader Collingwood Executive team have been first class throughout the transition period and I thank them for that.
On Friday night I attended our Intra-Club match and Season Launch and it was great to connect with so many loyal Collingwood Members and supporters who came along to watch the game and then stuck around for the jumper presentations.
It was also great to meet many of our corporate partners, player sponsors, past players and the families of our current men’s players. We thank you for your unwavering support of our great Club.
There is something truly special about football clubs at every level of the game and Friday evening reminded me of just how much Collingwood means to people.
I had actually planned to send this note tomorrow but after the events which emerged last night, I thought it would be appropriate that you hear from me sooner and that I address the situation directly with you, our valued Members.
Over recent days, our Club became aware of vision being offered to media outlets for commercial gain which showed Jack Ginnivan with an illicit substance. Throughout the process that followed, Jack was strong on owning his behaviour and accepting responsibility for his actions.
As a Club, we are incredibly disappointed with Jack as our players are continually educated on appropriate behaviours and the standards expected as representatives of the Collingwood Football Club.
While we absolutely do not condone his behaviour, Jack is our player and so it is our responsibility as a Club to provide him with the care, support and continual education he needs as he continues his journey as a Pie. It is important to me that we support our people when they make and own their mistakes.
Jack has apologised for his actions and he is determined to learn from them in order to be the best person and footballer he can be.
As CEO of our Club, a key part of my job is to continue to listen to and connect with our Members and represent you as best we can across all areas of Collingwood. I want you to know that this commitment extends to all of our people across all areas of the Club.
Our organisation remains determined to get better and we will continue to invest in our people and resources to provide the best possible opportunities for our staff and athletes to achieve their potential. We’ve got a great team in place and all parts of our organisation want to continue to keep improving and going forward.
I look forward to building on the work of everyone at Collingwood – I want to be engaged and connected to our Members and supporters and will keep you updated over the course of the year.
Craig Kelly
Chief Executive Officer
