The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has today announced two changes to the APL board.
Rob Morrison, current Chair and owner of Wellington Phoenix Football Club, has been appointed to the APL Board.
Mr Morrison has a distinguished career in finance and investment in the APAC region, and has been owner and Chair of Wellington Phoenix Football Club since 2011. Under his ownership, the club established a Liberty A-League Women’s team, developed a new club academy for talented young footballers, and Phoenix’s teams moved into their $100 million home at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport.
Chair of the APL Board, the Hon. Stephen Conroy, said: “Rob brings extensive experience in financial management, investment and governance, and has been involved with the A-Leagues since 2011.
“His internationally respected business career, combined with his passion for Australasian football and experience in building a successful football club makes him a hugely valuable member of the APL board.”
Former Chair of the board and Western Sydney Wanderers’ current Chair and owner,Paul Lederer, will depart from the APL board.
Paul chaired the APL board from its inception in December 2020 until September 2023, when the Hon. Stephen Conroy was appointed as an Independent Chair.
The Hon Stephen Conroy said: “I want to thank Paul for his long-standing commitment to, and investment in, the Australian Professional Leagues.
“He led the board through a period of extraordinary transformation and as the owner and Chair of Western Sydney Wanderers he remains a vital part of the A-Leagues.”
Paul Lederer said: “In the last two and a half years, the Australian Professional Leagues have undergone an extraordinary transformation and I formally step down from the board with endless pride at the foundations which have been built, and gratitude to my fellow board members and to our talented management team.”
Rob Morrison Biography
Rob Morrison has been owner and Chairman of Wellington Phoenix Football Club since 2011 and is currently Chairman of H.R.L. Morrison & Co in 2012, a leading specialist investment and asset manager which invests in infrastructure through both private and listed markets.
He was appointed as an independent director of Kiwibank, the largest New-Zealand-owned bank, in 2009, and was Chairman until 2017. He retired as Chairman of Hong Kong based CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, a capital markets and investment group in 2009, having held the dual role of CEO and Chair from 2002-2008. Prior to joining CLSA, Rob was an Executive Vice President and Head of Equities at Bankers Trust Australia and CEO of Bankers Trust New Zealand.
Rob is a council member of the Asian Corporate Governance Association, a director of the Asian advisory board of The Nature Conservancy and an advisory professor at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. Rob also chairs Pure Advantage, a group committed to helping New Zealand capitalise on the opportunities available from a global shift to ‘green growth’.
