In 2002 he married his current wife Symone, and they have three daughters and a son.[22]. One of the more significant challenges he has faced was his first wife died of cancer in 1999. The new general manager of football operations was stunned, to say the least. My mother, who passed away three years ago, was an incredible woman. But are they role models? In April 2014, it was announced that Gillon McLachlan, Demetriou's then deputy, would be his successor. We run a football code. I've said it 3000 times. Today it's like heaven in comparison. If the other person feels they've been dudded, it's not a negotiation worth having. He was betraying the sports . . I remember those calls"I just remember their work ethic and their sacrifice to give us better opportunities. Demetriou, of course, knows this very well. "It was relatively innocuous, but at the same time I thought, 'This is very unlike Andrew.' ", "But it's completely unacceptable today. Crown director Andrew Demetriou becomes the third board member to resign from the gaming giant but claims the NSW gaming authority's comments about him are "unfair and unjust". In fact, Demetriou's term as chief is almost certain to be judged on the success of the AFL's latest foray. And, he adds, "You've got to be fair. So we have a population that is very diverse, that's very proud of what it's achieved. Two years later, Demetriou had begun to learn his lesson. The comic wore a white tuxedo with a matching black tie. Beyond this foundation, the brothers' childhoods combined both genuine acceptance and deep-rooted racism. If you'd said I was going to be working in football 20 years later, I'd have thought you were mad.". [14] Sydney won the 2012 premiership implementing a style of relentless tackling and attacking play. She was quite a reserved person. He had a brief move to Hawthorn in 1988, but played only three games and kicked one goal. just moments after touching on the death of his first wife. "She said to the teacher, 'How's Andrew going? It's not worth it." Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. "It's an amazing game," he says, smiling. Andrew finished his tenure with the AFL in June. It was like winning a Grand Final because we were gone." " Red Symons recalls. Andrew . He was awarded the University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 and a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in 2015 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to sport management and to Australian society through his leadership and support of important social issues, and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor. [citation needed], Between 1998 and 2000, Demetriou was CEO of the AFL Players Association. We spent a hell of a lot of time travelling in the last two or three years, we did some really wonderful things together, and in some ways, she changed quite a bit as a person in that time, too. Demetriou, who has sat on Crown's board since 2015, told the inquiry that the company's risk management processes were good but that important information was not escalated to the board. He's there strictly for his business acumen, she insists, not his sense of kids' couture. ""When (players) leave the game they're infinitely better people, more rounded, because they've been educated, involved in a club, they've got experts talking to them. And he dismisses those who have branded the AFL incursion into western Sydney mere bravado or "bigger-than-Jesus hubris", as one Sydney rugby league commentator damned it. As the son of working-class migrants, says sports writer Richard Hinds, "he really taps into the psyche of the left. He was a good, though never a great, player. ", Demetriou had spent his years with Bassett teaching and developing his business interests, primarily in a company manufacturing acrylic teeth, called Ruthinium. But there's something about his knees, as if he were once pigeon-toed, or injured in some way, that makes him kick out his feet as he walks. It's the largest multicultural area in Australia. ", Finally - and perhaps most importantly - he believes (or persuades others he believes) that no deal is worth dying for. Demetriou himself rejects the idea of deliberate discrimination in his early life, but it seems more likely that, for an able and confident kid, it did exist and he simply brushed it off. Demetriou gives little away. There's no doubt he would hate for history to say the same thing about him.". Andrew Demetriou. Chief executive Andrew Demetriou is kissed by his wife Symone as his daughters Francesca and Alexandra look on during an AFL press conference at AFL. Demetriou's negotiating skills have gained almost mythological status. "What people don't realise is that it hasn't been easy for him," says James. ("Bizarre, I know," he told one reporter. "He has all the qualities of a good politician," says Don Watson, who, as Prime Minister Paul Keating's speech writer, should know. Of course, the less you appear to care, the more you are likely to care. And the heads of other codes - Buckley, the NRL's David Gallop and the ARU's John O'Neill - have all maintained upbeat public attitudes towards expansion. "Two bunk beds and four boys in one room," recalls his eldest brother, lawyer James Demetriou. He passes a few remarks about Peter Costello's criticism of Australian Football League players visiting schools, and reflects on the launch of rugby union's new Melbourne team. "Andrew Demetriou's first appointment to the Australian Football League hierarchy in May 2000 was characterised as a case of poacher-turned-gamekeeper. "He was the boy from the northern suburbs," one observer puts it. Demetriou found himself playing alongside some of North's greats - Keith Greig, Wayne Schimmelbusch, Ross Glendinning, the Krakouer brothers and Malcolm Blight to name a few - but by the time he was in his prime in the mid-'80s that premiership era had passed. Eventually, the Australian arm bought out its Italian parent. I've said to my staff and to myself that everyone's got to modify their lifestyle. This is true for the AFL Commission as a whole, and for Demetriou personally. "He was absolutely a source of help and advice.". Andrew Demetriou and family pose with La Trobe deputy chancellor Dr Philip Moors AO (left) and vice-chancellor Professor John Dewar (right). "I think - and I'm sure Andrew knows this - that GWS is the biggest challenge by far that the AFL has ever bitten off. His parents, whose fathers were both dead, had left Cyprus in 1951 and didn't return until 1983, until after their sons had completed their university studies. More importantly, they're great institutions for the community and economy in this state.". I want to be challenged by that team. (But) I was very careful not to tread on too many toes. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "Just the way he's championed the cause of women in general and other initiatives here. He was 24. "But the world needs teeth."). He may even, say several of his friends, end up at Lake Como. She died in 2004. He also claimed that the Swans would not win a premiership with the way they were playing, and this statement was underlined when the team suffered a 43-point defeat to St Kilda in Round 10. Does he ever have time on his own? "It's hard at times," admits Symone. In the spirit of reconciliation the AFL acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. North Melbourne Football Club had played three home games there in 2007 and, at the conclusion of that season, Demetriou offered the club $100 million to relocate there permanently. One day they might be in Geraldton, and within two days they're told they have to fly to Brisbane and play for the Lions and leave their family and friends. He'd had one great relationship in his life; that was all anyone could expect. "Towards the end of the day at this function, he pointed out a woman and said, 'She's nice, isn't she?' Demetriou kicked two goals. Jennifer bodymeasurement and social media presence. I wasn't that gifted; I made the most of the ability I had. "Later, Symone qualifies her husband's involvement. First Name Andrew. And that was okay; I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. But now, a sudden round of interviews granted by Demetriou poses the question of whether the corporate journeyman, who has previously headed up companies making false teeth and managing waste, might be positioning himself for life after football. In 1996, Bassett was diagnosed with breast cancer. She and Andrew married soon afterwards (friends recall him saying he wished he'd done it earlier), and Bassett fought the illness for three years. I want equality of opportunity. The couple tied the wedding knot in November 2021, a year after their engagement. The AFL's headquarters are at afl House in Melbourne's Etihad Stadium. And I read the form guide, which I love. No, declared Demetriou, because Ill tell you what I didnt do - I never injected anyone. [3] He was elected by the board of directors at the end of the 2003 season, taking over from the outgoing CEO Wayne Jackson. "I remember the phone ringing and my father going to a corner and being told, 'I'm just ringing to let you know your mother died,' and, 'She died four days ago and we didn't know how to tell you.' "He was amazing during her illness," says Unglik. "Both he and Jan loved travelling; I can remember him sitting in cafes in Europe, devouring the newspapers front to back, just as he does here.". Demetriou was made CEO of the AFL in 2003, replacing Wayne Jackson. I get home and see the children, help with the bath, reading books, getting to bed. ", "Andrew Demetriou," wrote Bassett, "has taught me much about life.". "I thought, 'Bloody hell, what have I walked into here? Aries. The youngest of four boys born to Greek Cypriot parents, Demetriou was good enough to play top-level football in the 1980s, eking out. People credit Bassett and her circle with helping form Demetriou culturally: there's a famous story, told by several people, of a memorable day when he astounded everyone by leaving an AFL game early to attend an Andrea Bocelli concert. [citation needed], In 2008, Demetriou earned an annual salary of $1.4 million, making him the highest paid administrator or player then employed by the AFL. There has been much talk of the $200-million war chest that will fund the expansion, and those on the inside say it will take all this and more. [citation needed] He has an older brother Jim Demetriou who played senior football for Essendon in the mid-1970s. Name: Andrew Demetriou. She died in 1999, aged 47. "It wasn't whim. They now have four children, Alexandra, Francesca, Mattea and Sacha and they were at the media conference with Symone as well as other family members. He was educated at La Trobe University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 and a Diploma of Education in 1984. Business was booming, but romance, he told friends, was over. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Mackenzie filed for divorce on Monday . Andrew Demetriou knows about people yelling abuse at the footy. [16], In April 2014, it was announced that Gillon McLachlan, Demetriou's then deputy, would be his successor. "We grew up in an area where you just laughed at those things," he says. The AFL is debt-free and soon will have "squirrelled away" a $50-million contingency.Overall, the league is unrecognisable as the once-bereft and bankrupt Victorian competition of 1985, the year the 12 original clubs handed control to an independent commission. but that is not to say that he hasn't experienced challenges to get to that point and won't continue to. But his mother went only once, to the MCG for a final against Hawthorn in 1982. Demetriou has a regular spot with Red Symons on Melbourne radio station ABC 774. I just know it won't be politics." The deal included unprecedented live TV coverage of the AFL competition in all states of Australia through free-to-air, subscription and IP television. His parents followed his playing career faithfully, his father rarely missing a game. ", "What is out there is our bread and butter. In terms of game attendance, AFL is the most popular sport in Australia. His parents, Tony and Chrysi, met in the early 1950s, married and opened Tony's Fish and Chip . People think he's a bit of a dealmaker, but he's massively respected in terms of making money for the game.". We take these people and put them into a club environment and we expect them all to behave exactly the same. Jennifer husband is now married to news anchor Amy Robach and is co-parenting Robach two daughter together. Its leafy luxury contrasts sharply with the suburban landscape of postcode 3058. She has $200 thousand as her net worth from her career as professional florist. ANDREW DEMETRIOU | CHAIRMAN Former Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Football League (AFL), Andrew has been a CEO across a number of business sectors. I want to be part of the best team possible. They never saw their mothers after they left. Former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou is a strong family man. Folau was paid a reported $3 million for three years; Hunt was persuaded to switch to AFL by Demetriou himself. We spoil them from time to time, but we also want them to want. Demetriou married twice. "I try to get out the door of the office by five. "He'll get massive kudos, or massive condemnation out of it," says Richard Hinds. Andrew finished his tenure with the AFL in June. "I took a decision very early on that I wanted to see them grow and help my wife," he says. In the business-class lounge at 6.30am, top button undone and pale blue tie looped around his neck, the most powerful man in Australian football scours the newspapers for news. "I've said continuously that it's not going to be easy," says Demetriou calmly. "If I were to believe you guys," he told the audience of journalists, "I'm a hot-tempered, loud, heavy-gambling Cypriot, prone to fly off the handle without warning. [5], In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking A$780 million TV rights deal. Thirty-one years!" The entire Demetriou family lived in the two-bedroom flat attached to the shop. In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking A$780 million TV rights deal. Of course, despite all the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth, the NRL and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) have been stealing each other's players for years. "It was a case of 'winners are grinners'," she says without a hint of guilt. He was educated at La Trobe University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 and a Diploma of Education in 1984. With his second wife, Symone, Demetriou raised twin daughters, as well as an additional daughter and a son. Correction: CLARIFICATION A profile of AFL boss Andrew Demetriou published yesterday in The Age (Melbourne) Magazine referred to the 1998 AFL players' deal as the first collective agreement struck on their behalf. I wanted to see what his reaction would be. But should his long-serving deputy, who knocked back the NRL job in early 2013, fail to succeed him then McLachlan too would leave. Happily ensconced in their $7-million Toorak mansion, replete with the trappings of an executive lifestyle, the Demetrious revel in life with their twins, Francesca and Alexandra, now five, and two-year-old daughter, Mattea. The pairing - cheeky young footy player, independent older woman - seemed unlikely, but their friends remember them as a wonderful couple. "The Sydney Swans went there in 1981. And the caption said something like: 'That's what it takes'. "To be frank, if the clubs had had their way, there'd be no national expansion," says Gale. [citation needed], Demetriou is best known for his position as CEO of the Australian Football League. Seven years later though, Demetriou praised the Swans for their new attacking style of play under coach John Longmire and rated them as serious contenders for the premiership. ". "Andy Demetriou" redirects here. He was at his best when he was under the most stress and duress.". If you asked him what his future with the AFL is, he would say, 'Oh, I'll do it for five years and then I'll retire to Lake Como.' So my career was teaching. Encouraging kids and beginners to try your code is one thing; seducing mature athletes from a rival code after years of development is quite another. In seven years in the job, he has transformed how, where and by whom Aussie rules is played. [6], In 2011, Demetriou was involved in securing a record breaking A$1.25 billion TV rights deal for the period of 20122016. Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. That's not to say he's not respected. Even in his own code, many have been horrified by the prospect. To many league supporters, it was the defection of top players Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt - both State of Origin and international stars - that made what had been a largely theoretical idea of an 18-team AFL suddenly intensely personal. What might have been acceptable 10 years ago is not acceptable now. Demetriou became emotional when he talked about those loved ones and colleagues he had lost during his time in the games administration - his first wife Jan Bassett, mother Chrysi, former AFL chairman Ron Evans, ground operations boss Jill Lindsay and Jim Stynes. 'I'm just ringing to say your brother has died.' Andrew Schulz's wife Emma is 27 years old as she was born on February 14, 1995. "And in return? "Whatever it is, I honestly don't know. He respected me as somebody in an organisation. Symone and Andrew Demetriou, expecting their fourth child and partners in a babywear business. It's based in northern Italy. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options await you. Andrew Demetriou gives evidence at the NSW casino inquiry on Tuesday. His first wife died in 1999. Meanwhile, in February, the code announced its highest-ever revenue, for last year's season: $335.8 million; its biggest operating surplus, $23 million; and record club membership of more than 614,000. But on the advice of medical experts he incorporated a three-strikes policy that puts player welfare ahead of the urge to "name and shame" offenders, and subsequently got belted by political leaders who reckoned it was lax.He doesn't care. 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