Andrew Dillon appointed AFL chief executive to replace Gillon McLachlan

The AFL’s long search for Gillon McLachlan’s successor has ended with the league set to keep the role in-house with the appointment of Andrew Dillon as its next chief executive.

Dillon will take over at the end of the current men’s season following a period of transition that will allow McLachlan to help resolve a number of outstanding issues, including the addition of a 19th team in Tasmania, the collective bargaining agreement and the inquiry into alleged racism at Hawthorn.

McLachlan announced last April that he would be stepping down from the top job at the biggest sporting organisation in the country and wanted to leave before the start of the 2023 season. But he was urged to stay on while an extensive search was undertaken to find his successor.

That search has landed on the man who already occupies an office near McLachlan at AFL House in his current role as executive general manager football operations and general counsel.

Dillon joined the AFL in 2000 and has since occupied several positions under a number of CEOs before rising to become McLachlan’s second-in-command.

He was considered a favourite to win the CEO job among a field that also included Richmond CEO Brendon Gale, Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler and fellow AFL executives Travis Auld and Kylie Rogers.

Club presidents and CEOs were informed of the AFL’s decision on a video conference on Monday morning and an official announcement is expected at a media conference called for 10:30am.

More to follow.