Ex-AFL executive Ray Gunston, father of Hawthorn star, dies
The AFL, Hawthorn and Essendon are mourning following the sudden death of popular former executive Ray Gunston, the father of Hawthorn star Jack.
Gunston died on Tuesday morning of a heart attack. He was 64.
He is survived by his wife Mandy, son Jack, daughter Kate and granddaughter Scarlett.
Ray Gunston has died.Credit:Drew Ryan
A key executive at the AFL under Gillon McLachlan, he worked as CFO and general manager of infrastructure, major projects and investment. He had chaired the AFL investment committee, overseen all non-operational investments and negotiations and the capital management and structuring of the AFL balance sheet. Gunston also served as acting chief executive at Essendon during the club’s crisis of 2013.
Most recently, Gunston had been one of the key negotiators of the collective bargaining agreement with the AFL players, having previously worked closely with the clubs on the league’s funding model.
“Ray was an extremely valued member of the AFL Executive in the time he worked at AFL House, with both his ability to lead and complete major projects, and for his strong values and ethical framework in how he conducted himself,” McLachlan said in a statement.
“He was a valuable mentor to a range of leaders across our industry and it was my privilege to both work with him, and to count he and Mandy as friends.
“Ray was regarded incredibly high within the industry; he was wise and tough. His inability to say ‘yes’ earned him the nickname within AFL House of ‘The Wall’. His work ethic was prodigious and his working day diet famous, surviving on plain Saladas and chewed fingernails.
“Ray was greatly loved across the football landscape and our thoughts are with Mandy, Jack and Kate and their wider family at this tragic time for them.”
AFL chairman Richard Goyder paid tribute to Gunston.
“We will long remember Ray’s contribution to the AFL and football. His legacy contributions included the acquisition of Marvel Stadium and raising a credit facility during COVID that helped the industry get through it,” he said.
“Ray was also a proud footballing father, attending Jack’s matches for Adelaide and Hawthorn and not being able to sit still in his seat, he was often seen pacing around the stadium concourse during those matches.”
Gunston had joined the AFL in 2015, having taken over as interim chief executive of the Bombers during 2013, when then CEO Ian Robson quit in the wake of the club’s supplements scandal, but he chose not to pursue the position full-time.
Gunston was a well-liked and respected member of the AFL’s executive group, bringing a wealth of experience from his days as chief financial officer of the Tatts Group and as a board member of other companies, including Sigma Healthcare.
He briefly served on the Essendon board some years before his stint as interim CEO of the Bombers.
He played with Strathmore in the EDFL for the majority of his career and for three years with Brunswick in the VFA (1979-81). He began with Strathmore in 1967 at junior level, and was a member of the 1984 premiership team. He was honoured with life membership in 1989.
Gunston and his wife Mandy were well known to Hawthorn as parents of triple-premiership forward Jack Gunston and well-liked by the leadership of the club for his principled and understated style.
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