Renewal of the Port Adelaide Football Club
Matthew completed his Bachelor of Education (Phys Ed) in 1993 and joined the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) as a Development Officer in his final year of study. At the SACA, he progressed with to Game Development Manager, with the growth of sports development, whilst undertaking further study with a Graduate Diploma Business (Marketing) at University of South Australia and then commenced an MBA which he completed in 2009.
During his time with the SACA, he co-founded a sports management business, Athletes1 Australia, and the joined the Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) as Marketing Manager in February 2001. The sports management business continued to grow and expand and Matthew maintained a key role in strategy and business planning as a Director.
In May 2004 Matthew was appointed the Chief Executive of the Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club (SANFL) and oversaw the SANFL Club through a period of significant challenge and change, dealing with many financial and strategic issues which would shape the future of the Club.
In 2009 Matthew joined the Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL) in a special projects role focused initially on commercial growth. This quickly saw the move to Adelaide Oval and then leading the Club’s strategy to unite Port Adelaide as One Club, bringing the Magpies in the SANFL and Power in the AFL together. This led to the official reunification of the Port Adelaide Football Club in November 2011, which was a catalyst to the club’s successful move to Adelaide Oval in 2014 and membership growth from less than 30,000 in 2010 to over 60,000 in 2015.
Matthew was appointed Executive General Manager of the Port Adelaide Football Club in 2018, and in October 2020 was appointed the Chief Executive, replacing Keith Thomas with whom he had worked closely for nine years.
He has extensive experience across the journey of the Port Adelaide Football Club including;
- AFL and SANFL separation
- Port Adelaide’s brand and membership strategy
- One Club reunification
- Transition of AFL football to Adelaide Oval
- Playing the historic AFL games in Shanghai in 2017-19
- Managing through COVID
- Strategic Planning and the way forward
Matthew was instrumental in building and implementing the Club’s bold strategic vision, Chasing Greatness and is now leading the Club as it works to a new agenda in the post-COVID era of the AFL and the Port Adelaide Football Club.