COLLINGWOOD chief executive Mark Anderson has resigned.
Anderson spent five years serving as CEO, but left his post on Thursday with the club's highly respected football boss Graham Wright to step in as interim chief executive until a replacement is named.
Having previously spent periods as CEO of Hockey Australia and Swimming Australia, Anderson arrived in March 2018 and guided Collingwood to four AFL finals appearances in five years and three consecutive AFLW finals campaigns.
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He also oversaw record membership numbers – which peaked at 100,384 as the club secured a top-four finish this season – while the club also signed and expanded sponsorship deals with KFC, Emirates and Nike during his time with the Magpies.
Collingwood now becomes the third club to be actively pursuing a new CEO, with both Essendon and North Melbourne also on the hunt for chief executives after the departures of Andrew Thorburn and Ben Amarfio respectively.
"On behalf of all at Collingwood, we thank Mark for his dedicated service to the Club," Collingwood president Jeff Browne said in a statement.
"Mark arrived at Collingwood as a highly credentialed CEO and since taking up the role at the AIA Vitality Centre he has shown great passion and commitment to progressing our club.
"We thank Mark for his guidance and expertise which has resulted in strong football and netball programs, record membership numbers, the highest home and away crowds in the competition and a club that has great momentum.
"Each of our elite teams are performing well. From a football perspective, Collingwood qualified for AFL finals in four of five seasons including a Grand Final in 2018 and two Preliminary Finals (2019 and 2022) while our AFLW team has qualified for the last three finals series and is about to embark on our next finals campaign this weekend.
"Mark has also overseen the Collingwood netball program which made great progress across season 2022, performing well to make finals.
"We recognise Mark's stewardship through the ongoing work of Do Better and we acknowledge his unwavering commitment to ensuring Collingwood continues to listen and learn from our First Nations people and their experiences.
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"From a facilities perspective, the club is currently completing a re-development at the AIA Vitality Centre which will position us well for on-field success by providing all athletes and staff with a quality high performance environment.
"As a club, our wider community programs have also continued to grow and strengthen.
"On behalf of the board, we sincerely thank Mark and his wife Michelle for their absolute commitment and support of the Collingwood Football Club. Mark is a very talented executive and I wish him well for whatever future endeavours he may turn his many talents to."
