Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Chair, Lynne Anderson today announced that former Bulldogs premiership winners Peter Mortimer and Joe Thomas have been appointed to the Football Club Board.
“We are delighted to welcome to the board two great clubmen and successful businessmen in Peter and Joe, and we look forward to their insights and contribution,” said Anderson.
“Peter and Joe were unanimously chosen by the board under Section 38 of the constitution allowing for Director Appointments. They replace two other former club greats in Chris Anderson and Steve Price who recently stepped down from Director duties.
“While the board was initially inclined not to replace Chris and Steve, the strong feedback from our members who were keen to build on the momentum created over the back end of the season prompted further discussions. We listened again at the member forum last week and we have responded.”
Chair Lynne Anderson said several very good applications were received and reviewed during this process.
“The Board spent time considering the skill set needed going forward, as we did when putting together our ticket at the last election. While many of the same challenges remain, we felt it was time to put more focus on the commercial opportunities that we believe can be achieved by a reinvigorated Bulldogs brand. We have been fortunate to achieve this with people steeped in our Bulldogs values of hard work, loyalty and success,” Anderson added.
“Peter and Joe are both proud beneficiaries of what it means to be a Bulldog and are incredibly passionate about not just giving back, but importantly helping develop the next chapter in the club’s proud history. They are strong advocates for embedding our Bulldogs DNA and supporting the next generation of Bulldogs.
“We are thrilled that the work we have done since starting the rebuilding of the Club 18 months ago, is attracting people of this calibre wanting to be a part of what we know will be an exciting future for all.”
Anderson highlighted Mortimer and Thomas' vast experience across a number of key areas in business.
“Peter’s commercial, marketing, and media skill set will be incredibly valuable to the board in the highly competitive and fast-moving business of sport.
“In addition to his wealth of knowledge on rugby league, Joe’s successful business career has been forged through understanding his customers and building a relationship with them, which is a key focus for the Bulldogs, our Members and fans. Importantly, his support and ongoing relationship with our Ambassadors Club will be of huge benefit as we go forward in galvanising club support for our young but committed team,” Anderson said.
Peter Mortimer Bio
Peter Mortimer became the 426th player to play for the club when he made his debut in 1977. He went on to play 190 first grade games across 11 seasons and was a member of the 1980, 1984 and 1985 premiership winning teams. Peter enjoyed a fine career at Canterbury as a winger or centre and was a popular and respected player amongst his teammates and opponents.
Peter became Canterbury’s Marketing Manager in 1987 during his final season and continued in that position until he became Cronulla’s Chief Executive Officer in 1992. He returned to the Bulldogs in 2002 where he took up a position as Director of the Football Club.
As the owner and founder of the very successful family business Mortimer’s Wines in Orange, Peter has led the evolution of the business from its establishment in 1995 into a well-established brand across Australia and Asia. Peter also has extensive knowledge of the media landscape having spent a number of years working at Prime and WIN television before making the wine industry his sole focus in 2008.
Joe Thomas Bio
Joe Thomas played three seasons as hooker for the Bulldogs, including as a member of the successful 1988 premiership winning team.
Joe has been a member of the Bulldogs Ambassadors Club since 2003 and became the Chairman from 2007 through until 2012. He still remains on the committee.
Since the year 2000, Joe has owned his own business, CEJ Fashion Promotions, a Uniform and Promotional Merchandise Company. With two decades of experience in the Promotional Merchandise field, he understands the secret to servicing customers is built around the characteristics of any worthwhile brand – quality, trust, reliability and value.
