Western Bulldogs chair Peter Gordon has installed his finance director Gary Kent as his third club CEO in 18 months following last Friday's resignation of David Stevenson barely a year into the job.
Kent, who has been on the club's board since 2011, is a graduate of Havard Business School, a former chief financial officer of Coles Group and was chief financial officer at Healthscope and the Skilled Group.
Stevenson departed the Bulldogs after his professional relationship with hands-on chairman Gordon became unworkable. Fairfax Media understands the Bulldogs immediately accepted Stevenson's resignation which comes just over a month before the finals and was followed by a disastrous weekend that saw key injuries and a shock loss to St Kilda which saw the club drop to seventh position.
It is understood the relationship between Stevenson and his highly influential chairman had become increasingly difficult and played a key part in Stevenson's departure. Gordon is a strong financial backer of the Bulldogs and spends a significant amount of time at the club.
The two men were not strategically aligned in a number of key areas although Stevenson is understood to have enjoyed a positive relationship with the AFL. Over the past 18 months the club's membership, attendances and TV ratings had all hit benchmark levels.
The 39-year-old came to the club from outside the AFL industry after a long career with Nike. He returned with his family to Melbourne last year from that company's Portland Oregon headquarters and is expected to remain in Melbourne.
Gordon recently appointed former club champion and director Chris Grant into a full-time role directing football, largely to manage coach Luke Beveridge who is in his second year as a senior mentor and took the Bulldogs to an unexpected finals appearance last year.
Stevenson replaced Simon Garlick, who took over the role in 2011 but departed after working under Gordon for two years. Fairfax Media expects more key staff changes at the club before the end of the football year. Stevenson is believed to have indicated he is unsure whether he would return to an AFL club environment.
Since replacing David Smorgon at the helm in 2013, Gordon has transformed the club and replaced most key executive roles in a tenure that has been punctuated by off-field controversy as well as improvement on-field.
Following the departure of Paul Little from Essendon, Gordon is now the only club chairman backing his club through his personal fortune. Gordon notably sacked coach Brendan McCartney at the end of 2014 and appointed Beveridge.
While the chairman has played down his influence in key football decisions, he personally negotiated the Tom Boyd trade with Greater Western Sydney and played a pivotal role in the Bulldogs' emotive handling of the alleged game information-sharing scandal involving the Talia brothers Michael and Daniel.
A passionate Bulldogs supporter who previously presided over the club during the 1990s, he virtually worked as an executive chairman after removing previous CEO Garlick and is now expected to retain a hands-on role. Stevenson's replacement Kent is a former CFO of Healthscope, Skilled Group and Coles. He has been a Bulldogs director for five years.
He chaired the management review committee at the end of 2014 that ultimately led to Garlick's departure from the Bulldogs.
Stevenson and the club came to final terms on Friday when the chief executive departed the club for the last time. He did not attend the Saturday night game with the club, blaming his absence on illness. Both parties are expected to sign anti-disparagement clauses.
Gordon and Stevenson were at odds over the latter's long-term vision for the Bulldogs' brand among other issues with Stevenson also reportedly frustrated at being shut out of key club decisions.
Saturday night's loss to St Kilda was compounded by the shattering loss of Mitch Wallis who was hospitalised after breaking his leg at Etihad Stadium, while Jack Redpath suffered another anterior cruciate ligament injury in a round of football Beveridge described as a "devastating night" for the club.
Stevenson and Gordon did not return calls from Fairfax Media on Monday.
In a statement, Gordon said: "We are ambitious as a club, and have over the past four years made significant progress. We are determined to maximise the opportunities which this period in our history provides us."
