LISA Lawry never really saw herself as working in footy, let alone in one of the top jobs at the AFL, despite a love for the game from a young age. 

After more than a decade spent in increasingly high-powered Human Resources roles at BP, Lawry saw an advertisement for Essendon's General Manager of People and Culture. 

"I remember seeing the ad, reading it and my first reaction was I would love to do that role, but they're not going to hire me. In my mental model, I thought that they would want a man to do it because it's in football," Lawry told the League Leaders podcast.

Not only had she chalked her gender in the cons column, but a lack of past experience within sport was, in Lawry's mind, another mark in the cons. 

A pep talk from a friend within the industry led to a coffee with then-acting CEO Xavier Campbell and within six months she had landed the role. 

It wasn't an easy introduction to footy, however, as Lawry joined the Bombers in 2013, amidst the investigation and fall out of the club's supplement breach. 

"Whilst I was a little scared, I just thought this is a dream. This is a dream job. I've had it on my list, I've just got to jump in and do it." 

Lawry rode with Essendon through the years following the supplements investigation, remaining at the club for eight years, after which a secondment within the AFL opened the door for her next move in footy. 

Six months spent as the acting Executive Manager of People at the AFL turned into a permanent role at the organisation as Lawry took on the newly created General Manager Umpiring position in mid-2022. 

"Through some of the work that I was doing on the gender equity action plan, we sort of identified that there was an opportunity in umpiring, and that was around how can we actually increase representation of women officiating our game at all levels? And that was the part together with the large team that I now have, and thinking about how can I influence the talent pathways? And how can I create this culture where men and women can actually thrive in terms of umpiring?" Lawry said. 

"So, it's really about two things. One was about elevating umpiring to have a seat at the table in terms of the leadership table. That hadn't happened before. And the second one was really thinking about the talent pathways. And how can we create a pathway, as I said, for women to thrive, and also, obviously, for the men that are already in their umpiring career." 

Throughout the episode, Lawry also discusses how she works past her self-doubt, how she navigated the supplements era at Essendon and managing COVID as a compliance officer.