The St Kilda Football Club has announced on Thursday morning that current Chief Operating Officer (COO) Simon Lethlean will succeed the club's incumbent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Matt Finnis at the cessation of the 2022 season.
While the winds of change are set to sweep up Linton Street and into the Moorabbin boardroom come September, the Saints have stated that the impending administrative shift has been in the pipeline for some time.
Having successfully negotiated funds from both State and Federal Governments for the construction of the recently opened Danny Frawley Centre for Health and Wellbeing, Finnis will depart RSEA Park with a legacy laid in brick and mortar.
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In a statement released by the St Kilda President Andrew Bassett, Finnis' 17-year tenure within AFL circles was duly praised, as was his commitment to the foundation football club.
“St Kilda owes Matt an enormous debt of gratitude for the leadership he has provided our Club to date and the changes he has made will be long-lasting,” Bassett said.
Having brought the Saints into step with a contemporary social consciousness, Finnis' litany of achievements were lauded by Bassett.
“There will be a time to properly recognise his work at St Kilda, but suffice to say, when he joined the Saints back in 2014 we faced numerous challenges and the club he leaves at the end of 2022 will in many respects be unrecognisable from that time," he continued.
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“Bringing the club home to our heartland in Moorabbin, closing in on a membership target of 60,000 members, club record sponsorship revenue, and most recently securing and launching the Danny Frawley Centre for Health and Wellbeing, has helped to establish foundations from which our club can look ahead to a very bright future.”
Bassett went on to pull the curtain back on the Saints' off-field succession plan before expressing that Lethlean - a former AFL employee - was primed to continue striding along his predecessor's path.
“A process of succession planning and transition involving Matt and Simon was initiated some time ago and recently formalised via unanimous decision of the board," Bassett announced.
“In Simon, we are extremely fortunate to have an incoming CEO who understands our club and shares our ambitious aspirations for St Kilda.
“Simon brings an unrivalled depth of experience and knowledge of all aspects of the industry – football, broadcasting, legal and game development. Since joining the club, he has won the trust and confidence of our people, attracted talented staff to our organisation and contributed significantly to our growth agenda.”
Although 2022 would be his last in the post, Finnis stressed that there were still markers to be met to steer the Saints further towards financial security.
“The last couple of years have been incredibly challenging for so many but I’m really proud that St Kilda will emerge from this period stronger on field and off,” Finnis said.
“By the end of the year, we expect to have cut our historical debt by half and have a genuine line of sight to a debt-free balance sheet, at the same time as fully financing our football programs commensurate with the league leaders."
2023 will act as St Kilda's 150th season as an entity, with their sole premiership success coming 56-years ago this September.
The Saints will kickstart their latest campaign against Collingwood at Marvel Stadium on Friday, March 18.
