AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou announced the appointment at an industry lunch on Thursday in support of Women’s Round.
Ogg, who joined the AFL just under a year ago, will step up to a General Manager role and will attend her first AFL Commission Meeting next week as part of the executive.
She becomes the 10th member of the executive, alongside Demetriou, Adrian Anderson (Football Operations), Ian Anderson (Chief Financial Officer), Andrew Catterall (Strategy and Club Support), Andrew Dillon (Legal and Business Affairs), Gillon McLachlan (Chief Operating Officer), David Matthews (National and International Development), Tony Peek (Assistant to the CEO) and the incoming Paul Waldren (Commercial Operations and Marketing).
Ogg is no stranger to being outnumbered by men at senior management level, but said she was excited to be part of an organisation that was passionate about women’s contribution.
“Women are very much recognised as being an integral part of the game over the years in the many, many roles they play, often in a voluntary capacity,” Ogg said.
“I think the AFL is very proud of women’s involvement.”
Figures from the AFL Women in Football Report 2009 show women account for 40 per cent of club and AFL memberships, 43 per cent of the television audience and 35 per cent of local club volunteers.
Ogg said the numbers demonstrated the need to ensure women’s interests were represented at a senior level.
“The reason you want a diverse workforce is because you want many different points of view,” she said. “I have a different point of view and sometimes will look at and think about things a little bit differently from the men.
“I can’t speak for all women – no one can do that – but it’s nice to be able to have ... the opportunity to be able to represent women at a senior level within the organisation, and hopefully be a role model for some as well.”
