Seven weeks after his retirement party, this veteran footy boss is back to help the Demons

1 week ago 10

Veteran administrator Brian Cook has been hired to mentor novice football chief executive Paul Guerra at the Demons.

Cook, who retired from full-time work at the end of this season after more than three decades in football administration, culminating in his term as chief executive of Carlton, will mentor Guerra for a day a week on football matters.

Former Carlton CEO Brian Cook, left, with former president Luke Sayers and Cook’s replacement Graham Wright.

Cook was one of the longest serving chief executives in the AFL system having spent nine years at the West Coast Eagles before moving to Geelong where he was in charge for 23 years and finally four years at the Blues, the last of which was handing over to his successor Graham Wright.

The Demons are aiming to tap into Cook’s vast experience and, more importantly, his football network to mentor Guerra, who was previously chief executive of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and had not worked in the AFL industry.

The appointment also comes less than two months after football powerbrokers and politicians gathered for a luncheon in the MCC committee room to honour Cook’s career in what was billed as a farewell to footy.

“The idea [of appointing Cook] was really to provide a mentor for Paul with his lack of football experience,” Melbourne’s new president Steven Smith said.

“Brian is an old teammate of mine - he played with me in the few senior games he played in the late 70s - and he has vast experience in the game that could be really important and helpful to us.

Melbourne president Brad Green, new coach Steven King and CEO Paul Guerra.

“The timing was right for him and for us. Brian is one of the most highly respected administrators in the comp so he is ideal for Paul. We were lucky with the timing.

“It won’t be full-time, it will be about a day a week, it might be three to four hours a week, we will see how it goes.”

The position will only be advising on football matters and he not a review the executive or business structure.

The Demons want to access Cook’s long relationships in the game, to support Guerra as he delves into the nuances of football industry politics.

The appointment comes after a season of huge change at Melbourne. Aside from Guerra’s appointment, the club changed senior coach with the appointment of Steven King after the premiership coach Simon Goodwin was sacked mid-year.