Brian Cook to headline CfG’s Annual Leadership Breakfast

GEELONG Cats chief executive officer Brian Cook has been announced as the keynote speaker for this year’s Committee for Geelong (CfG) Annual Leadership Breakfast, to be held next month.

Mr Cook has long been recognised as one of Australia’s leading sports administrators.

With 30 years as an AFL club chief executive officer firstly with the West Coast Eagles and then Geelong, Mr Cook is the equal longest-serving chief executive officer in the league’s 122-year history.

As chief executive officer of the Geelong Football Club since 1999, Mr Cook has led the Cats from being a near-bankrupt regional club to one of the country’s leading sports brands, enjoying high levels of success both on (including three premierships) and off the field.

He has led a four-stage redevelopment of the Cats’ home ground, GMHBA Stadium, resulting in $200 million in investment into the stadium and the club’s training facilities.

Under his stewardship, the Cats have implemented a strong community outreach, featuring 10 flagship programs that look to improve the lives and decision making among young people.

The club was close to $10 million in liabilities when Cook arrived, but now is one of the most stable sporting organisations in Australia, with a membership base that has grown from 18,000 to an expected 60,000 in 2018, and has seen turnover rise from $16 million to nearly $60 million.

The Committee for Geelong says Mr Cook is known for his strong-values based leadership and looks forward to hearing him share his insights.

Mr Cook will also receive CfG’s 2019 Annual Leadership Award.

The award recognises exemplary leadership and significant contributions made in the Geelong region.

Previous speakers at the annual event include Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp, United States Ambassador to Australia John Berry, British High Commissioner to Australia Menna Rawlings and AFL Commission chair Richard Goyder.

The 2019 CfG Annual Leadership Breakfast will be held at GMHBA Stadium on February 19 from 7-9am.

For more information or for tickets, head to committeeforgeelong.com.au.