The board has confirmed John O’Rourke will become the next president of the Richmond Football Club at the completion of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 December.

O’Rourke will assume the role after current president Peggy O’Neal completes her final term at the AGM.

O’Rourke joined the Richmond board in November 2015. He is the founder and chairman of Plenary, a developer, investor and manager of infrastructure projects with businesses across Asia Pacific, North America and the UK.

Before establishing Plenary in 2004, O’Rourke worked in investment banking with ABN AMRO and BZW Australia, and prior to that held corporate finance positions with Coles Myer Ltd and Caterpillar Inc. He was a board director of the Victoria Racing Club for eight years and served as honorary treasurer and vice chairman during his term. He is also a director of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

O’Neal congratulated O’Rourke on his appointment.

“John is a highly experienced director who has worked tirelessly on the Richmond board for the past seven years,” O’Neal said.

“John has outstanding business acumen. His appointment was unanimous and ensures a seamless transition into the next phase of this Club’s evolution.”

Having completed her final term, Club director Kerry Ryan retired from the board at its 20 September meeting effective 1 October 2022. The Club’s nominations committee recommended the subsequent casual vacancy be filled by Mary Padbury. The Richmond board accepted this recommendation.

Padbury is an intellectual property and trade practices lawyer with over 40 years of experience. She is a past chair of Ashurst Australia and vice-chair of the global firm. She is currently chair of the Burnet Institute and a non-executive director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Brandenburg Ensemble Limited which trades as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

O’Neal acknowledged the significant contribution of Ryan and welcomed Padbury to the board.

“Kerry has been an outstanding director during the past nine years,” O’Neal said. “She has served on numerous committees and, importantly, chaired the risk, compliance and integrity committee during a time when all sporting clubs were dealing with rapid change,” O’Neal said.

“Kerry’s passion and professionalism has been unwavering. We thank her for everything she has done for the Club during her time on the board.”

“We welcome Mary who is a highly experienced director with significant legal experience – this combined with her passion for the Richmond Football Club makes her an excellent addition to the board. I have no doubt she will make a great contribution.”