THE TUMULTUOUS reign of Stephen Kernahan as Carlton president will come to an end at the end of next season.
The former Carlton champion, president since 2008, confirmed on Wednesday night that a succession plan was now in place that would see either Luke Sayers or Ahmed Fahour take his place in October 2013,
Sayers is the chief executive and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) while Fahour is chief executive of Australia Post. Both were invited to join the board on Wednesday night.
"I believe it is in the best interests of the club to set a date now as it gives everyone time to plan for the future," Kernahan told carltonfc.com.au.
"I am certainly appreciative of the board in supporting this decision and giving me their full support for another 13 months."
Kernahan assumed the presidency after Richard Pratt fell ill and later passed away. Under his watch, the Blues dragged themselves off the bottom of the ladder and made the finals from 2009-2011 and the club's financial position improved immeasurably. The club's new administrative and training facility also opened at Visy Park.
But on his watch, the Brendan Fevola saga was allowed to drag on over a number of years while he also presided over the messy sacking of coach Brett Ratten and the hiring of Mick Malthouse as his replacement.
Ryan Trainor and Craig Mathieson will also join the Carlton board in October, while Mark Harrison and Ari Suss will step down. That will leave the Blues with 13 board members, although Kernahan said the club remained committed to whittling that number down over the next few years.
Meanwhile, the Blues will offer rejuvenated midfielder Brock McLean a new contract, reports the Herald Sun.
"It's good news for him and a good reward for hard work," McLean's manager Dan Richardson told the newspaper.
"They have indicated to us that he's a required player. We'll work through all the details of that, but it's obviously a positive start in that regard."