Rampart Talks: Gillon McLachlan

Well, the response to James Packer’s exclusive sit-down interview with Rampart – released three weeks ago now – was nothing short of phenomenal. I certainly got James on a good day. When Australia’s most famous businessman labels Australia’s most divisive political leader “human filth” on the launch episode of your vodcast, you know the gods are smiling on you. I’m really grateful to all of the major media outlets who were so generous in acknowledging Rampart in their stories about James’ remarks.

Today, I’m launching the second episode of Rampart Talks and my guest is Tabcorp chief executive, and former CEO of the Australian Football League, Gillon McLachlan.

Our conversation was extremely wide-ranging. We talked about his footy legacy, from his regrets over the handling of the Adam Goodes racism scandal to the blockbuster commercial growth of Aussie rules (now comfortably the richest sport in the country) to the messy succession to Gil’s lieutenant Andrew Dillon led by the AFL Commission in 2022 and 2023.

I also pressed Gil on the normalisation, on his watch, of gambling advertising in sport.

That was an easy segue to his new job at Tabcorp, and he was very frank with me about his belief in the renaissance of racing and the resonance of the Tabcorp brand with young consumers, and his plans to catch up with digital market leader Sportsbet.

Here’s a great passage on why he decided to retire from the AFL:

I just looked at people in public life, and I took the role and thought, if I’m lucky enough to go for eight to 10 years, that there’ll be enough. I need to resist the temptation to stay because things are going well, because with every decision… you accumulate scar tissue, and one day you’re bound in it.

Whether I was taking things too casually or potentially not going to make the big calls again because [I was] protecting legacy – all those things that mean people should have a finite tenure, I could see that coming in. I was doing Neil Mitchell without enough prep in the end. Or I was close at a couple of presidents meetings to not having to really substantially justify [my] decision, which is my job.

Those things are the why. I’m proud of what the team did over my 10 years; I feel we left it in great shape. You have some moments, but I made the right decision. I feel very good about it, and I've moved on.

Only Rampart subscribers can watch the full 56-minute version. A 16-minute cut is viewable for Rampart free list members as well as on YouTube, Spotify and all the major podcast players.

I hope you enjoy it – and share it with others. Look out for the next episode, with former Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci, coming on January 4.