Richmond has confirmed Shane Dunne as the club's new chief executive officer following Brendon Gale's decision to resign from his post at the end of the 2024 season after 15 years in the role.
The changing of the guard is the latest significant change at Punt Road, with senior coach Adem Yze and president John O'Rourke stepping into their respective positions over the past 24 months.
Already an executive member with Richmond, Dunne has led the club's fully-owned subsidiary business Aligned Leisure for its entire eight-year running and has held previous roles with YMCA Victoria, Life Saving Victoria and held a management role with the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Dunne has been employed by the Tigers for the past decade, a period that included a role to oversee the Richmond Institute - the club's education domain.
Following an extensive search to find Gale's successor, O'Rourke said Dunne was a suitable option to recommend to the club's board.
“The Club has entered a transition period, and we need a leader with the dynamism and confidence to harness the talents of our people to both face the immediate challenges but also capitalise on the opportunities that will present themselves through this next phase,” O'Rourke said.
“In Shane, we have a CEO who can develop, communicate with, and galvanise our broad and diverse stakeholder groups, including members, staff, commercial partners, and community groups, while providing trusted guidance and support to the leaders of our AFL and AFLW programs.
“Shane is well known to many – he is a highly valued executive and has consistently demonstrated strong, values-driven leadership. His ability to form and communicate a direction for others to align around was a feature of his presentations through the selection process.
“We identified the importance of strong commercial skills to navigate the immediate financial pressures we face and, importantly, the Punt Road Redevelopment project as a key priority for the Club in this next phase.
"Shane has navigated some tough times with the Aligned Leisure business, especially during Covid. Here, his commercial, communication, and stakeholder skills were needed as he actively leaned into the challenges. Many of these experiences and skills have helped prepare him for this role”.
Dunne steps into the role following a golden period under Gale, who helped the Tigers end their premiership drought in 2017 before claiming two further flags in the three following seasons.