Religion and business: The toxic cocktail that blew up in Thorburn’s face

Business doesn’t mix with religion in the same way it doesn’t mix with pleasure. Some would argue that AFL is a religion among its legion of fans, but first and foremost it’s a business. Andrew Thorburn and Essendon’s management that stupidly appointed him as the chief executive should have understood this.

Apart from Essendon needing to operate as a sustainable enterprise, its customers (fans and supporters) are a diverse church and alienating a decent sized portion of them is a recipe for underperformance. Similarly, the donors that contributed the lion’s share of the club’s cash in 2021 would be another cohort that Thorburn’s appointment risked upsetting.

The controversy that has since engulfed Essendon is a clear sign of the changing times. A decade or two ago, corporations and their stakeholders may have tolerated Thorburn’s association with a church with strong views on the homosexuality and abortion. But not today.

Whether Thorburn personally holds those extreme opinions is irrelevant, Essendon is a valuable and highly recognised brand, and it cannot afford to be tarnished by any proximity to views that are deemed offensive by a big chunk of its fan base and the broader community.

Various mainstream churches have stepped in to defend Thorburn, adding that the views spouted by the church are not in line with their doctrine. These days businesses have to work hard to earn their social licence and by extension so do their executives and the board.

While the choice to have Thorburn manage the club appears to be the latest episode in a string of governance disasters at Essendon, this looks like a misstep that could have been easily avoided. The club’s board will have a task on their hands to justify why they should keep their place.

Thorburn, who was looking to revive his public profile, had the choice of staying with his church or starting a new career at Essendon. And it’s a choice that should be respected.

Thorburn’s suitability to lead the football club has come under fire, with critics pointing to his past performance as the chief executive of the National Australia Bank.

Anyone who followed the royal commission into financial services will remember under his watch (and that of his predecessors) the bank badly mistreated customers, charging them (some dead) $650 million in advisory services that weren’t provided. Only one of the four big bank bosses ultimately survived the royal commission, and Thorburn was specifically singled out by commissioner Kenneth Hayne for not appreciating the gravity of his bank’s misdeeds.