Peggy O'Neal (lawyer)

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Peggy O'Neal

AO
O'Neal at the unfurling ceremony for Richmond's 2017 AFL Premiership flag
Born
Peggy Yvonne O'Neal

(1952-04-19) 19 April 1952 (age 71)
Killarney, West Virginia, USA
NationalityAmerican
Australian
OccupationPresident of Richmond Football Club

Peggy Yvonne O'Neal AO (born 19 April 1952) is an American-born Australian lawyer who, since October 2013, has served as the president of the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). She is the first woman in AFL history to serve as a club president.

Early life and education[edit]

Peggy Yvonne O'Neal was born on 19 April 1952[1] and raised in the now-abandoned small mining community of Killarney, West Virginia. She comes from a family of coal miner, and was the first in her family to go to university, studying law at the University of Virginia.[2]

Career[edit]

Law[edit]

O'Neal moved to Australia in 1989, after falling in love with an Australian backpacker while on holiday in Greece. She settled in the suburb of Richmond, Victoria, where she was introduced to football by friends.[2][3]

O'Neal worked as a lawyer with Herbert Smith Freehills and later with Lander & Rogers, and served on the boards of MLC Limited and the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation. She was also chair of the Law Council of Australia's superannuation committee, and served as a consultant to the Rudd Government's review of the superannuation system.[4]

Football administration[edit]

After moving to the suburb of Richmond, O'Neal became a fan of the club due to sheer proximity, and later became financially supportive, acting as a player sponsor. In 2003 she worked on the establishment of a club supporters’ business networking group, the Tommy Hafey Club.[1]

In 2005, O'Neal was elected to the board of the Richmond Football Club. She chaired the board's risk and compliance committee and was a member of the governance committee, as well as being chair of the Tigers in Community Foundation.[5]

O'Neal was elected club president in October 2013, in place of the retiring Gary March. She defeated two other candidates, investment banker Maurice O'Shannassy and former International Cricket Council CEO Malcolm Speed, becoming the first woman elected president of any AFL club.[6]

As president, O'Neal oversaw Richmond's 2017 premiership win – the club's first since 1980 and Richmond’s 2019 and 2020 Grand final wins – as well as its successful bid for an AFL Women's team, set to enter the competition in 2020.[7] Following a disappointing 2016 season, she had been subject to an unsuccessful board challenge.[8][9]

Recognition and honours[edit]

In 2014, The Australian Financial Review named O'Neal in its list of "Top 100 Women of Influence".[10]

In 2019 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to Australian rules football, to superannuation and finance law, and to the advancement of women in leadership roles.[11]

She was appointed Chancellor of RMIT University in October 2021.[12]

In the media[edit]

O'Neal features in the 2021 fly-on-the-wall documentary TV series Making Their Mark, which showed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several AFL clubs, players, and staff.[13][14] Players Nic Naitanui, Eddie Betts, Stephen Coniglio, and Rory Sloane, were featured, along with Gold Coast Suns football club coach Stuart Dew, and Richmond staff leaders O'Neal, Damien Hardwick, and Brendon Gale.[15][16]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peggy O'Neal (lawyer).
External videos
video icon One Plus One: Peggy O'Neal, One Plus One, ABC News

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bartlett, Rhett (March 2019). Richmond F.C.: The Tigers. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Slattery Media Group. p. 354. ISBN 9780958029063.
  2. ^ a b "The American battler who made the Tigers roar". theaustralian. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Peggy's Tiger passion". richmondfc.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Peggy O'Neal the new Richmond president". richmondfc.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Tigers' Peggy O'Neal becomes AFL's first female president". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Richmond appoints AFL's first female club president". theage.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Peggy O'Neal says Richmond Tigers have created their 'own history' with 2017 grand final win". theage.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  8. ^ "AFL Grand Final: Peggy O'Neal's bursting with Tigers pride". The Australian. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Richmond board challenge: Tigers president Peggy O'Neal responds to rivals". theage.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Peggy O'Neal named among Australia's top 100 Women of Influence". richmondfc.com.au. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  11. ^ Mayers, Lily (10 June 2019). "Hugh Jackman, Kevin Rudd and Ita Buttrose recognised in Queen's Birthday honours". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  12. ^ Carey, Adam (19 October 2021). "RMIT takes a punt on Peggy O'Neal as chancellor amid turbulent times". The Age. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  13. ^ Bilton, Dean (16 March 2021). "Making Their Mark, Amazon's AFL documentary, offers genuine insight into the faults and fears of modern professional athletes". ABC News. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  14. ^ Baum, Greg (9 March 2021). "AFL 2021: Amazon documentary reveals the tension of Richmond Tigers' premiership season". The Age. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  15. ^ Knox, David (15 February 2021). "Making Their Mark: trailer". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Richmond president won't set expectations of another Tiger flag in 2021". 3AW. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
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