Todd Greenberg is set to be unveiled as Cricket Australia’s new chief executive as soon as this week after the board made its final decision on Nick Hockley’s replacement.
According to two senior sources with knowledge of the process, speaking anonymously because the decision had not been announced, former NRL chief executive and current Australian Cricketers Association chief Greenberg was the successful applicant for the role. Three candidates made the final interview stage of a global search run by the recruiting firm Spencer Stuart.
Australian Cricketers’ Association boss Todd Greenberg (right) with former fast bowler Brett Lee (left).Credit: Getty Images
The others included one Australian-based senior executive and one overseas-based candidate. All three candidates were men.
The Cricket Australia board, chaired by former New South Wales premier Mike Baird, had a final call to confirm their decision for Greenberg on Sunday night.
Greenberg and Cricket Australia were contacted for comment.
Current chief executive Hockley has committed to staying on until the end of the season in March, after this masthead revealed his decision to leave the job in August.
Among the Cricket Australia board’s stipulations for Hockley’s successor are that the new CEO moves to or is based in Melbourne, to be closely connected to the governing body’s head office in Jolimont.
Outgoing CEO Nick Hockley with Ricky Ponting.Credit: Getty Images
Hockley, who took on the job in difficult circumstances after the departure of predecessor Kevin Roberts at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, has remained based in Sydney throughout his tenure, with frequent visits to Melbourne.
Greenberg, who played grade cricket in Sydney and worked for Cricket NSW before moving into rugby league, was chief executive of the Canterbury Bulldogs before he took on the NRL’s top job, replacing David Smith and presiding over the league for four years.
His tenure came to an end in early 2020.
NRL chairman Peter V’landys stepped in to broadcast rights negotiations, becoming perhaps the highest profile sports administrator in Australia, while Greenberg moved to his current role with the cricketers’ union, where he has overseen a period of industrial relations peace in cricket.
In his NRL roles, Greenberg worked closely with Baird when he was NSW premier, and the pair have enjoyed a friendly relationship – epitomised by how the most recent players’ pay deal was negotiated without any public mudslinging.
Recently, Greenberg called for an independent review into how the women’s game was run in Australia, following revelations about the former Victoria coach Dulip Samaraweera.
“These are extremely serious findings that may shock and upset many in the cricket community,” Greenberg said at the time.
“The safety and wellbeing of our members remains paramount. The leaders in Australian cricket now need to ensure that every possible measure is taken to ensure things like this never happen again. We have raised this imperative with Cricket Australia.”
While other sports such as the AFL have previously appointed a players’ association chief to the top job – Gillon McLachlan’s predecessor Andrew Demetriou – cricket has tended to a more conservative position.
However, Greenberg has made a point of looking at the overall picture in his role, and also been a conspicuous presence on overseas tours such as the drought-breaking trip to Pakistan in 2022, and Test tours of India and England last year.
