MELBOURNE CEO Steve Harris is to step down from his position after three-and-a-half years with the club.
Harris said his decision to leave was a difficult one to make at the start of the club's 150th anniversary year, but after a series of discussions with the chairman, Paul Gardner, and other directors, he had decided it was the best time for him and the club to move on.
He and the club have agreed he will stay on until the end of March.
In a statement, Melbourne said this was “to ensure minimum disruption to the club's operations, and to ensure continuity of extensive work currently underway with sponsors and brand, the delivery of the club's 150th celebrations, and performance management frameworks across the whole club and its broader network”.
Harris said, "I was given a challenging brief in 2004 to bring the club's operations into a more contemporary environment for the sport business we are in, and in a sense to try to put the club's chequered performances on and off field for too many years into the dustbin of history, to get the club on its feet across a wide range of areas, and deliver some challenging short and long-term outcomes.
"I am proud that in a difficult operating environment, and a very competitive marketplace, that with the support of some very hard-working staff we have brought this club a long way.
"I have put in a huge effort to deliver the brief, and to be uncompromising in prosecuting whatever I strongly believed to be the best interests of Melbourne, and whatever the personal cost that might have entailed.
"The club has come a long way, and still has a way to go, but I am confident that if all sectors of the club network get behind the strategies now in place, that this club has much to look forward to.”
Gardner said, "This decision is one reached after much deliberation, especially on the timing.
"Steve has given this club an extraordinary amount of effort and energy, and been the key driver across a wide range of activities.
"From a financial point of view, in terms of delivering profits in successive years, albeit one that was disappointing in 2007, cutting our unsustainable debt, and being able to lower the debt while also allowing some overdue re-investment in the football department and in the business, is a very solid outcome.
"In terms of operations, the club has had a renewal of its administrative staff, and yet has delivered record sponsorship, membership and fundraising revenue. Under his direction we also had the most professional process for the appointments of Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly, and we are already seeing that their appointments will leave a very positive legacy.
“While we have disappointments about Steve's tenure not continuing, we are confident that the progress to date, and the opportunities with a new football team, revitalised stakeholder engagement, and the 150th, that the momentum can be continued with even more success.
"I am delighted Steve has agreed to provide every assistance to the club before he departs next month so we undertake an extensive executive search for a new CEO."
