Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett is pleased to announce that Director Andrew Newbold has been elected to the position of Vice President, following Thursday night’s Board meeting.

The Club’s constitution requires that the Board elect a Board member to serve as Vice President for the ensuing year at the first Board meeting following the Annual General Meeting.
 
Mr Kennett explained the succession plan that the Board has implemented in preparation for his departure at the end of 2011.

"The Board’s policy has been to rotate the position each year between Board members to bring new experiences to the fore and partly as a precursor to selecting the next President of the Club when my term expires at the end of season 2011,” Mr Kennett said.

“While the next President can come from within or outside the Board, most organisations hope that through appropriate Board selection, a candidate or several candidates, currently serving on the Board, might be considered for the forthcoming vacancy."
 
Andrew Newbold has been on the Board since 2003, is currently Chairperson of the Club’s “Corporate Governance and Legal Committee” and is intimately aware of all activities within the Club.

Andrew is a qualified lawyer and has been assisting the Club with the legalities associated with its commercial growth.

He is 46 years old and has three wonderful daughters with his wife Sarah.

"The Board welcomes and thanks Andrew for accepting this position and I know members will welcome him to the task," Mr Kennett said.
 
"I also wish to thank Geoff Harris, who has served as the Club’s Vice President for the past year. Geoff gives a great deal of his time to the advantage of the Club irrespective of whether Vice President or Board member.”

“In the last year in his role of Chairman of our “New Business Committee”, Geoff has overseen our non-football activities, as we continue to secure assets to provide income for the Club, independent of our football operations.”

As Vice President he has accepted added responsibilities and represented the Club very professionally. We are lucky that he continues to serve as a Board member. So thank you Geoff, ably supported by your wife Sue".
 
"Members of the Club can have great confidence in the quality of the Board and the Club’s officers as we hunt for our 11th premiership," concluded Mr Kennett.