KATE ROFFEY TACKLES A TOUGH JOB HEAD ON By day Kate Roffey works at Wyndham City Council, but it was when she was elected President of the Melbourne Football Club that her part time role made news headlines. Here she tells us her story.
Local Government wasn’t a sector I ever really considered
I always believe you turn up in the right place at the right
working in, but when I first was approached by our former
time for whatever reason, so really for me taking the role at
CEO Kelly Grigsby to come to Wyndham, I realised that there
Wyndham was about going with my gut instinct. When Kelly
was a big opportunity to make a significant impact on the
asked me to come and work in the west there were a number
future of a local community, so long as you have the right
of other opportunities I was considering, and while my mind
attitude toward visionary change – and are willing to push
kept saying pick one of the others – my gut instinct kept telling
the traditional boundaries.
me there is a reason to go to Wyndham. One new A-League
I always want to push the envelope – I have never been someone who was really interested in just kicking a can down
team and stadium later – I guess I now know the reason I was supposed to be here.
the road; so I choose to work in areas where people with my
Being a part of the A-League project from the day dot is
sort of working background may not usually go, but where
right up there. To start with a dream to win one of two new
they are probably most needed, to help bring about change.
A-League team licences and to build our own football stadium
Encouraging change and doing things that will make a long-
using a value-capture funding model is totally unique in
term difference for our community have by far and away been
Australia. To see our very own team of the West take to the
the most rewarding aspects of working in Local Government
field and play in the A-League and to continue to tick off the
for me.
long list of things we need to do to start building our stadium
I have only been at Wyndham (as Director – Deals, Investment
and training facility is almost still totally unbelievable.
and Major Projects) for about 4.5 years. I was the CEO of the
Of course, being critically involved in securing a $1 billion
Committee for Melbourne and before that I completed the
deal to redevelop the tennis centre and going to Wimbledon,
negotiations and masterplan for the $1 billion redevelopment
the French and US Opens and spending time with leading
of Melbourne Park for Tennis Australia, so my work history in
international sports clubs like the New York Yankees, the Mets,
the sector has been very brief.
the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Astro’s, Manchester United
I grew up on a farm in the country, so I was riding horses by
and Barcelona FC amongst others wasn’t too bad either.
the time I was seven and motorbikes by nine. As a country kid,
Cheekily, I would have to say the most enjoyable thing about
you are always outside running around and being active; and
my Council role is most definitely annoying everyone else
in the country every kid pretty much plays Saturday morning
by starting every conversation with ‘DO NOT tell me no!’
sport of some sort.
Too often we just say it can’t be done because it hasn’t been
I think growing up outside gave me a really good fitness base – in my school years I was an 800m and cross country runner; and being blessed with pretty good athletic abilities,
done before, or it seems too hard. There is so much that can be done of huge importance at the Local Government level – but you have to make an effort to push that boundary.
I probably spent more of my time at school away on sporting
There is a huge area of opportunity in the space between what
trips than in the classroom. Playing and watching sport
we can’t do because it is not allowed under legislative and
and understanding how the mind and body worked always
legal requirements, and what we usually do – because that’s
fascinated me, so it is no surprise that I went off to university
what has always been done. I get the greatest satisfaction in
and studied sports science and psychology.
my work life from taking on a challenge no-one believes is possible – and doggedly pursuing it to make it happen and I have certainly been doing that at Wyndham.
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LGPRO PROFILE WINTER 2021
