Longtime footy administrator Graham Wright is set to join Carlton as their new CEO.
The 56-year-old will take over from current Blues boss Brian Cook after a transition period that will finish next year.
“Graham Wright will be the CEO elect at the Blues. It has been a 12-month search. It will be Graham Wright,” Sam Edmund said on Trade Radio on Wednesday morning.
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A veteran of the AFL industry, Wright was instrumental in building the Hawthorn list that won three successive premierships between 2013-2015, and oversaw four flags in total during his time at the Hawks, after starting as a recruiter for Brisbane in 2004.
Wright transitioned from recruiting and list management into Hawthorn’s general manager of football in 2018, and was headhunted for the same role at Collingwood in 2021.
He had been there ever since, until this year taking an extended break from footy to go overseas, before eventually pulling the pin on his time with the Magpies.
But the Blues have wooed him back into footy once more, as he prepares to take on his biggest job yet.
As a player, Wright came second in the 1990 Brownlow Medal and was a premiership player that same year for Collingwood in a 201-game career for the Pies.
Wright has chosen Carlton over interest from other AFL clubs, including Adelaide, who had a “red hot crack” at luring him to South Australia.
“The Crows are having a red hot crack at Graham Wright to come and be the Godfather of Adelaide’s football department,” Theo Doropoulos tweeted earlier this month.
“CEO Tim Silvers has a 10-plus year association with Wright from their Hawks days, and has formally met with the 56-year-old recently.”
Wright had initially sought to resign from the Magpies late last year but was instead urged to enjoy his holiday with a plan to return.
“Thank you to the players, staff and supporters for making my time at Collingwood an enjoyable period of my career,” Wright said in a club statement last month.
“I am grateful to have been able to serve the Collingwood Football Club.”
Wright briefly served as Collingwood’s acting CEO in late 2022 and has had eyes on a promotion after two decades in football department and list management roles.
He joined the Pies in January 2021 just months after their controversial ‘fire sale’ trade period.
Wright had his role with the AFL team replaced by Brendon Bolton, while Justin Leppitsch contributed on the list management side.
Clare Pettyfor was also leading operations for the Pies’ AFL and AFLW sides before she left for Melbourne early in the year, with Collingwood chief executive Craig Kelly helping to fill the void.