Melbourne Demons draft in risk consulting expert Sally Freeman

The Melbourne Football Club has added former EY and KPMG partner Sally Freeman to its Board of Directors. An experienced director, Freeman previously led KPMG’s national risk consulting practice.

Coming off the back of a dismal 2019 AFL season, the Melbourne Football Club took a bold and what many considered unwise risk in selecting ruck-forward prospect Luke Jackson with its prized number #3 pick at the AFL national draft. Two years on and the Demons have broken their 57-year premiership drought, with Jackson’s clean gather and handball out of the centre to Oliver during the third quarter grand final blitz to forever remain an iconic passage of football.

Now, the club also has another genuine risk advisor in their midst, with the board drafting in risk management expert Sally Freeman to replace the vacant seat of departed former president Glenn Bartlett.

Currently serving as the Head of Internal Audit for Transurban, as well as on the boards and committees of a range of other organisations, Freeman brings three decades worth of professional services and consulting leadership to her new role.

Dating back to 1990, Freeman spent five years as a manager with PwC, before moving on to Arthur Andersen for seven years in the area of IT risk prior to the firm’s collapse in 2002 (its consulting wing rebranding to Accenture). From there, she joined the partnership of Ernst & Young for two years before embarking on a 15-year career-stint with KPMG, including serving as the Big Four firm’s National Partner in charge of Risk Consulting.

“We are absolutely delighted that Sally has agreed to join the Board of the Melbourne Football Club,” said current president Kate Roffey. “Sally brings a broad range of experience and will play an important role on the club’s Audit, Risk & Integrity Sub-Committee. Sally’s experience in a vast range of sectors will be greatly beneficial and we look forward to the role she can play in ensuring Melbourne continues to thrive both on and off the field.”

Freeman joins a large number of current and former consulting professionals sitting on the boards of clubs around the league, including one-time Deloitte Victoria managing partner and global risk services leader John Trotter at Melbourne. Indeed, three of the state’s traditional powerhouses have consulting leaders as presidents; Mark Korda at Collingwood (for now), former PwC global chair Paul Brasher at Essendon, and former PwC Australia CEO Luke Sayers at Carlton.

In addition to her new role at the MFC, Freeman also currently serves as a non-executive director for the Regional Investment Corporation and Netwealth, as well as Eastern Health. She is also an Audit Committee Member of the Commonwealth Games and Royal Children’s Hospital, and was previously the audit committee chairperson for VicHealth – which has existing ties to the MFC through campaign partnerships with its AFLW team and captain Daisy Pearce.