Commissioner Election StatementFriday, December 8, 2023 - 9:35 AM

The results of the elections for Commissioners of the West Australian Football Commission were endorsed last night, Thursday 7 December 2023, at a meeting of WA Football stakeholders. 
  
Martina Crowley has been appointed as the new Commissioner for a term of two years.

Ian Callahan, Dixie Marshall and Phil Lamb were reappointed as Commissioners for a term of three years each.

The appointment of Crowley means the Commission has gender parity, with four male and four female Commissioners.

WAFC Chair, Hon Wayne Martin AC KC congratulated the Commissioners on their appointment and thanked the voting members for their support throughout the process. 

“The WAFC is excited to appoint these quality individuals to the Commission and allow them to play a part in supporting the growth and development of football in Western Australia,” Mr Martin said. 
  
“We welcome Martina to the Commission as we embark on an exciting next chapter for football.
  
“I would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who nominated for this election.

“The Commission was fortunate to have such a high calibre of individuals nominate and I wish all candidates all the best for the future.” 

 
Brian O’Donnell will conclude his current term on 31 December 2023, after serving six years as a Commissioner between 2018 and 2023. 
 
“I would like to thank Brian for his continued and significant contribution to the Commission and his commitment to improving our great game, in particular his role as a previous Deputy Chair, Chair of Finance, Funding and Commercial Committee, and Chair of Risk & Governance Committee," Mr Martin said.  
 
The endorsed Commissioners will commence their terms on January 1, 2024. 

ELECTION RESULTS 
                                                                                                                        
Martina Crowley
Appointed for a 2-year term from Jan 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025. 

Martina is the National Lead Partner for People and Quality in Financial Advisory which comprises four businesses: Tax, Deals, PwC Private, Energy Transition.

She is responsible for leading the Financial Advisory’s implementation of a governance and culture review across a business of more than 2000 people and partners.  

Martina also recently led the National PwC Private Business for 3.5 years and was a member of the Executive Board and a Member of the PwC Global Private business leadership team.

Martina has been practicing as a professional for over 25 years, advising clients on a broad range of tax, accounting and advisory matters on both a domestic and international level. 
 
Ian Callahan 
Re-appointed for a 3-year term from Jan 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026. 

Ian brings considerable commercial and financial experience to his role as WAFC Commissioner, this is complimented by an understanding of football gained through, playing and umpiring in several of the football competitions in Western Australia. Ian is currently Chief Operating Officer at Curtin University, Ian has a broad commercial knowledge, skill base and experience gained from CEO, COO and CFO roles across a variety of industries.

As a Chartered Accountant and drawing on experience from his executive and Board roles, Ian brings to the Commission sound financial, commercial and strategy skills with a significant people and culture, health and safety, audit, risk management, digital innovation and governance background upon which to draw.

Dixie Marshall
Re-appointed for a 3-year term from Jan 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026.
Dixie comes from a football family with intergenerational involvement in the game. She is a member of two WAFL Clubs, has family playing WAFL league/reserves and amateurs.

She was the first woman AFL commentator on Australian television in 1986, for the 7 Network in Melbourne and the 9 Network in Perth, winning awards for football journalism and hosted the national sports programme, Sportsworld, with Bruce McAvaney. Dixie now runs content agency, Flare, and is the Managing Director of the Marketforce Group - part of the global Omnicom network.

Dixie brings contemporary media, data, digital marketing and communication expertise to the Commission, along with a sound understanding of Australian/WA Government structure and policy, crisis management skills, and extensive traditional media knowledge and relationships.

Phil Lamb
Re-appointed for a 3-year term from Jan 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026.
Phil has been involved in football 44 years, including being actively involved in the WAFL. As a player of 227 WAFL league games, a selector at club and state level and a commentator of WAFL and AFL matches, he possesses a combination of experience across the various aspects of the game, an affinity with the clubs, club personnel, as well as many of the important stakeholders in WA football.

Phil has been self-employed for over thirty years, as Joint Managing Director of Bay Financial Services, a finance broking company specialising exclusively in negotiating and arranging the financing of vehicles, plant and equipment for businesses.

He is also the Founder and Managing Director of White Line Management, formed in 1995 to manage and support listed AFL and aspiring AFL Footballers as well as athletes from various disciplines.

The West Australian Football Constitution was amended at the July Football Forum after endorsement by the members of the WAFC.

The amendments made to the constitution were done to fix an anomaly which had occurred to the rotation of Commissioners due to a Casual Vacancy which occurred in 2021.

Therefore, for the 2023 the three highest placed Candidates received a three-year term, whilst the fourth placed candidate received a two-year term to bring the rotation of Commissioners back in line with previous years.