Experienced corporate executive Stephen Roche and commercial lawyer Shanti Berggren have taken up positions on the Adelaide Football Club’s Board of Directors.
Roche fills the vacancy left by Jim Hazel who recently retired after more than a decade of service, while Berggren is a new appointment on a three-year term.
Under the Club’s Constitution, the Board can comprise up to 10 Directors with two of those Member-elected.
Stephen Roche
Roche has held a number of high-level executive positions and he is currently the Managing Director of Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand.
He was previously Chief Executive and Managing Director of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries for more than 10 years, during which he led the expansion of the Priceline Pharmacy network.
The long-time Crows supporter is a Non-Executive Director of Myer Family Investments.
Shanti Berggren
As a commercial lawyer, Berggren is well known for her strategic and collaborative approach and holds the position of Deputy General Counsel, Business Legal at Optus.
She has been with the telecommunications giant for nearly 20 years and she also sits on the Board of statutory corporation HomeStart Finance.
Berggren nominated for last month’s Member election process and received the second highest number of votes behind successful candidate Nick Takos.
Crows Chairman John Olsen said the Club had a balanced and diverse Board which was well suited to the Club’s strategic focusses and direction.
“Stephen brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from many years working in varied and competitive industries,” Olsen said.
“He already has a good understanding of our strategic agenda, having served as the external party on our recruitment panel during the search for a new Chief Executive.
“Under the Club’s Constitution, we must consider our current needs and Shanti’s legal expertise and experience will prove invaluable.
“She also went through the recent Member election process and clearly emerged as one of the preferred candidates among our membership base.
“Their combined skills and expertise will complement what other Directors provide as we look to overcome the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities, which now exist in an Australian sporting landscape impacted by the pandemic.”
Olsen said the Club had opted to make available the opportunity to increase the number of Directors from nine to 10 to provide flexibility in addressing the Board’s composition, including but not limited to gender diversity and member sentiment from this year’s election process.
Adelaide’s Board Directors are John Olsen AO (Chair), Linda Fellows (Deputy Chair), Kate Ellis, Mark Ricciuto, Richard Fennell, Warren Randall, Rod Jameson, Nick Takos, Stephen Roche and Shanti Berggren.
