It was Gillon McLachlan who first tapped his friend Tim Rourke on the shoulder.
The former AFL chief had been privately sought out by Racing Minister Anthony Carbines to become the industry’s next chairman, and wanted a capable sidekick to join him on the board.
Gillon McLachlan is out of the race to become the next Racing Victoria chairman.Credit: Getty Images
Rourke, his ex-teammate at University Blues, took little convincing. He loved racing, he had business acumen, and agreed with McLachlan that together they could help calm an industry besieged by uncertainty and unrest.
But suddenly, and surprisingly, Rourke finds himself on his own.
He and Macedon Lodge chair Mark Player were on Friday appointed to the Racing Victoria board by Carbines, while McLachlan’s name was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, the one-time AFL supremo’s focus lies elsewhere, unable to commit to joining any board as he settles into a new job in the corporate world, a process that took months longer than he thought.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Friday that McLachlan had been signed on as a senior adviser to Blackstone, the New York-based private equity company that owns Crown Resorts.
McLachlan was contacted for comment.
As a result, Rourke, the CEO of the Victoria Power Networks group, has now emerged as a potential plan B: the outsider most capable of bringing stability to Racing Victoria’s under siege board.
Whether he lands the role is another matter. Two sources, who were not authorised to speak publicly because the process is confidential, told this masthead that Rourke is prepared to take on the challenging chairman’s position, but five members of the sitting board prefer fellow director Tim Eddy.
Backing Eddy would be a bold move by Carbines, who is already suffering from the poor optics of making the industry wait months for a man, McLachlan, he could not deliver.
Energy industry heavyweight Tim Rourke, pictured on a charity bike ride,........