This was published 7 months ago
Andrew Thorburn to step down from all board roles
Short-lived Essendon Football Club chief executive Andrew Thorburn will quit all of his board jobs, including his role as the chairman of the City on a Hill church, amid ongoing controversy about the beliefs of the church.
The former National Australia Bank boss has made the decision after months of backlash about the church’s conservative views, which led to him resigning as the club’s CEO just one day after his appointment.
Andrew Thorburn remains in legal discussions with the Bombers about his departure from the club.Credit: Jamie Brown
“Andrew will be stepping down from all his formal responsibilities, effective February 2023,” a spokesman for Thorburn said on Friday.
“He will be taking a year off to spend time with family, and to rest and reflect.”
Thorburn’s role at City on a Hill, an evangelical offshoot of the Anglican Church, sparked a public outcry after it emerged that pastors at the Anglican church offshoot had years earlier delivered sermons that compared abortion to the Holocaust and described homosexuality as immoral.
The outcry also led to a backlash from religious leaders as well. Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli, an Essendon supporter, said at the time he was “appalled” considering and was looking for another club to support, while Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman said it was an example of the way people’s religious freedoms can be impinged upon.
Thorburn has previously taken periods of extended leave during his career to spend time with his family. This included his controversial decision to take leave at the end of the banking royal commission only to return from his holidays to be hit with stinging criticism by commissioner Kenneth Hayne in the inquiry’s final report.
Thorburn has spent considerable time since leaving NAB working with not for profits and educational groups.
Along with City on a Hill, Thorburn will next year step down from his role as chairman of social investing group Sentient Impact Group and as a board member of not-for-profit groups For Purpose Investment Partners and the Fathering Project, as well as registered training organisation owner Catalyst Education.
Sources close to Thorburn said he was looking forward to spending time with his family in 2023 when he would become a grandfather.
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