IAN HERMAN was an accountant with an interest in shares when he played at Carlton in the late 1980s.

His captain at the time, Stephen Kernahan, was a 'chalkie' at the stock exchange
in Melbourne.

While the pair was changing into their footy gear before training, the talk was often about shares. Other players joined in, seeking tips and passing some on.

At a club with a strong following in the corporate world, you might say it was all very Carlton.

Herman, now 45, spent three years in his late teens playing amateurs for the Collegians Football Club while completing his accounting degree.

He was almost 21 when he joined Carlton, about the same time he joined Arthur Andersen, which was then one of the world’s 'big five' accounting firms.

His life then involved getting to his desk in the city before 7am and leaving for footy training at 4.15pm.

On many occasions, he went back to the office after training and stayed until 10pm.

If the Blues had played West Coast in Perth on a Sunday and arrived back in Melbourne past midnight, he was still back at his desk before seven on Monday. "I was maintaining two full-time jobs," he says.

Herman's dedication to work has paid off. He's now the Australian managing director of Grant Thornton, also one of the world’s top five accounting firms.

He's also Grant Thornton's national leader in markets analysis and is on several global committees with the firm, which has offices in 100 countries. It's a rare month when he doesn't travel interstate or overseas.

For this interview, Herman is a gracious host in the boardroom on the second floor of the Grant Thornton building on Melbourne's Spring Street.

He proves his white-collar credentials by struggling to perform the simple task of opening the blinds. The butler opens the blinds with a flick of his wrist. Herman smiles. "Have a seat," he says.

As a teen, Herman was one of the hottest junior footballers in Melbourne. He was zoned to St Kilda. The Saints tried to lure him to Moorabbin but instead he played for Collegians until the Saints' hold on him expired.

After joining Carlton, he was honoured with Alex Jesaulenko's No. 25 guernsey.

The partners at Arthur Andersen were supportive of his footy career. "That was nice to know," Herman says. "But within the first five months, they offered me an 18-month secondment in Chicago.

"Then when a partner asked how I was going at Hawthorn, I knew that business was first and football second."

Herman made his debut with Carlton in round 11, 1987, on a Queen's Birthday Monday against Melbourne. In the days afterwards, his job required him to go to Chicago for a training course, forcing him to miss the next two games.

His coach at Carlton in those early days, Robert Walls, was supportive of Herman's working life. Herman agrees he might have made a bigger impression at Carlton if he had dedicated himself to the game.

Conversely, footy held him back at work by slowing his progress towards a partnership.

"My plan was to get the best out of myself, in both football and business," he says.

Herman played 48 games over five seasons at Carlton without regret for his failing to cement a spot. He then played another 14 games over two seasons at Richmond before retiring at 28.

He says it was significant that he was elevated at work almost as soon as his footy career ended.

Herman says football certainly greases the wheels of conversation in Melbourne business circles, but his own career was not prominent enough to open doors.

He's taken some of the lessons from his football life into business, such as the need to work together as a team, but he's found that the two pursuits are very different.

In footy you know your opposition. In business, threats can come from anywhere at any time.

"I thought you could translate what happened at footy into business, but I was wrong," he says. "In footy, it's about tactics. In business, it's strategy."

Herman has a son who's four and a two-year-old daughter, with another child on the way. Beyond his family, he's been a mentor to Carlton's David Ellard.

He buys a Carlton membership every year and he hopes his family continues his link with the Blues. "I was lucky I played a handful of games with a great team at its peak," he says.