Kooyong Tennis Club CEO Ian Robson resigns after 17 months
Kooyong Tennis Club makes a shocking move lost its general manager just 17 months later.
Ian RobsonThe former chief executive of Essendon Football Club, he has been at the helm of the respected tennis institution since January 2025.
Robson’s resignation was announced by the Kooyong chairman on Thursday afternoon. Steve Wood In a letter to members of the club, which is considered one of Australia’s most prestigious tennis clubs.
Robson is leaving the organization this week.
“I would like to inform the Board that Chief Executive Ian Robson has resigned from Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club,” reads the letter from Wood to members. AgeTo read.
“Ian will complete this week having led the Club through a period of significant operational strengthening, Member-focused service improvements and renewed stability across all areas of the Club.
“His contribution has helped lay strong foundations for the future of the Club, including the transition to an in-house model for core Member services, strengthening the capacity of the management team and shaping the strategic direction of the Club.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Ian for his dedication to the club and the professionalism he brings to the role.
“The board has asked me to assist the management team in conducting a formal search for Kooyong’s next CEO.”
Kooyong has faced headaches in recent years, including the club’s finances coming under scrutiny and having to call in independent auditors to investigate in 2023. millions of dollars in damage from food operations.
control found Poor financial management and reporting were blamed for significant losses in the dining arm.
Robson has had an extensive career in sports management, including managing director of Rowing Australia, Melbourne Victory football club, Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club.
CBD called Kooyong to find out what caused his sudden departure but was told the club was a private entity and had no comment. Robson has also been contacted for comment.
Fashion queen rises to the top
As the queen of the sartorial set caroline ralphsmith As she prepares to exit the Melbourne Fashion Festival, the departing CEO is stopping short of filling big shoes, as anyone who’s seen her extravagant “statement” platform heels will know.
Ralphsmith’s almost four-year tenure at MFF was marked this week with an intimate celebration at new inner-city hotspot The Florence – you can’t blame MFF bodies for not keeping up with the new trends in town!
The veteran executive leader announced in April that he felt it was time to hand over the reins as the festival was in a strong position. He has already resigned as CEO and will officially leave the organization at the end of June.
“When you do one of these big events, it’s always intense because there’s a fixed deadline and there’s always pressure, at least I find pressure, to do something fresh and new and represent Melbourne in the most creative way possible,” he told CBD.
“So it’s stressful working out how to continue to improve, and then getting it all done, 158 [festival] Events taking place over two weeks this year. Too much. I loved the creative side, I loved building the team, I loved seeing this beautiful growth [in the festival]but this requires a lot of effort.
Ralphsmith hasn’t given much thought to his next move yet. His priority is a getaway abroad with his family for a belated 30th wedding anniversary celebration, before short local holidays.
“I would like [her next step] “being trendy, creative, or adjacent to or within major events,” he said.
“Having worked at VRC, Fed Square and the Fashion Festival, all of this means I have a real passion for elements of Melbourne. I’m very proud of where Melbourne has come in the last 20 to 30 years and hope that’s something I can continue to contribute to.”
board member Alexandra Smart He is the general manager of the festival, and the search for a creative director and executive director is ongoing.
Artificial intelligence fears meet artificial intelligence
Few areas are as alarmed by the rise of artificial intelligence as the arts and culture sectors, where the explosive rise of the technology powering OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude is ringing alarm bells about employment and copyright protection.
So, it would be an understatement to say that we were amused to learn that the Federal Ministry for the Arts was using AI to summarize presentations by major arts and cultural organizations that included AI concerns.
Alex Ellinghausen
News reached us earlier this week that artificial intelligence was being used in the government’s consultation process on Labour’s National Cultural Policy. A senior figure in the industry told CBD that AI has become the No. 1 topic for them and their colleagues who have spent recent weeks preparing applications.
“As one artist put it, ‘Why bother writing something they won’t bother reading?'” the source said. “This has caused great distress among individual artists as well as representatives and affiliate organizations.”
Policy falls under the purview of the Minister of Arts Tony Burkedid not respond to a request for comment.
When we asked the department if anyone was actually reading these posts, we were assured that they were. Then with a little help from Microsoft’s CoPilot.
“Every submission submitted to consultations on the next National Cultural Policy is first read by staff,” a ministry spokesman said.
“Co-pilot was used to create summaries and identify common themes. This supports efficient handling of large volumes of submissions. Co-pilot summary outputs are subject to human oversight and accuracy checks.”
Good exercise contributes positively to brain health
This was never going to last long as I had one of the best communication books in Melbourne. Adrianne Sarkozy To recover from his shock dismissal from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Sarkozy has been made redundant He resigned from his position as general manager of the organization in March as part of a cost-cutting operation.
But on Thursday he announced his next move. he joined listed sports technology Focusing company HITIQ brain health and concussion managementas national campaigns and partnerships manager.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity. It felt like the right time for a new challenge and the chance to work on innovation, partnerships and growth in Australian sport. I’m energized by what’s to come,” Sarkozy said.
While in the Sport Australia Hall of FameSarkozy oversaw major national events, television partnerships, sponsor relationships, government engagement and high-level stakeholder initiatives involving some of Australia’s most respected sporting figures.
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Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
John Buckley is the CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
