Brian Cook (football administrator)

Brian Carlyle Cook (born 14 November 1955) is a Scottish-born Australian businessman and former Australian rules football player and coach who is the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cook played for a number of different clubs in several Australian states and territories, including the Box Hill Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and the East Perth and Subiaco Football Clubs in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL), and later captain-coached the Ainslie Football Club in the Australian Capital Territory Football League (ACTFL). After his retirement from coaching, Cook occupied positions with the Australian Sports Commission and the West Australian Football Commission, before being appointed CEO of the West Coast Eagles in 1990. He quit this position in 1999 to take up the same role with Geelong.

Brian Cook
Personal information
Full name Brian Carlyle Cook
Date of birth (1955-11-14) 14 November 1955
Place of birth Peebles, Scotland, United Kingdom
Original team(s) Box Hill (VFA)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1977 Melbourne (VFL) 4 (0)
1979–1980[1] Subiaco (WAFL) 25 (1)
1981 East Perth (WAFL) 6 (0)[2]
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1981.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Playing and coaching career

In 1973 and 1974 Cook played in the Victorian Football Association with Box Hill for a total of 27 senior games and 20 goals with that club.

Cook played four games with Melbourne Football Club in 1977 after moving from Hawthorn Football Club where he played nearly 50 games in the reserves team (although none at senior VFL level).[3]

He moved to Western Australia to pursue a Master of Education at the University of Western Australia whilst continuing his playing career with East Perth and Subiaco.

Playing for Rockingham in the Sunday Football League Cook won the 1983 Bowden Medal for fairest and best player.[4]

Turning to coaching, he guided East Perth to two WAFL reserves premierships and was later senior coach at Ainslie in the ACTFL in 1986.

Administration career

Cook moved to Canberra in 1986 and took up the post of National Sports Research Coordinator with the Australian Sports Commission.

He then returned to Perth and spent two years as the general manager of the West Australian Football Development Trust and a further two years as CEO of the West Australian Football Commission before being appointed as CEO of the West Coast Eagles in 1990.

During his nine years at the Eagles, the club quadrupled its membership, dramatically increased revenue and became the first non-Victorian club to win the AFL premiership, in 1992, and also winning the 1994 AFL flag. Both successes were achieved against Geelong.[5][6]

Appointed as CEO of the Geelong Football Club in 1999, Cook has overseen a complete overhaul of the once-struggling club's finances as well as being a key supporter of former coach Mark Thompson along with club president Frank Costa.[7]

Cook has been suggested as a potential future Australian Football League CEO,[8] and was also suggested as a possible CEO for the new expansion teams, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.[9]

gollark: It begins.
gollark: For me this is 06:39. So very early.
gollark: I fell down with laughter at that!
gollark: and it's lower time.
gollark: https://dragcave.net/view/iOW16

References
  1. "Twelve new AFL life members announced". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  2. "Abraham – Dwyer – East Perth FC". East Perth Football Club. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  3. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2002). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 123. ISBN 1-74095-001-1.
  4. Everett, Les (13 February 2009). "Never on a Sunday". australianrules.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  5. Clarke, Tim (18 July 2008) Cook turns down Gold Coast Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Honour Roll". West Coast Eagles. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  7. Timms, Daryl (1 October 2007) Costa, Cook turn tables
  8. Costa gives Cook a plug for AFL job (19 April 2003)
  9. Denham, Greg (4 July 2008). "Geelong boss chased by rivals". The Australian. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011.
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