KEYNOTE SPEAKER
ADAM GOODES
Dual Brownlow Medallist, dual premiership player, four-time All-Australian,
member of the Indigenous Team of the Century
and representative in the International Rules Series
www.go-foundation.org
There are not too many names bigger in Australian sport than Adam Goodes. Dual Brownlow Medallist, dual premiership player, four-time All-Australian, member of the Indigenous Team of the Century and representative in the International Rules Series, Adam Goodes holds an elite place in AFL/VFL history.
But his is a name that transcends the football field. In 2014, Adam was named the 2014 Australian of the Year. This distinguished award was in recognition of Adam’s community work aimed at empowering the next generation of Indigenous role models as well as his advocacy in the fight against racism.
Born in South Australia, Adam moved to Victoria as a young boy and developed a passion for Australian Rules Football. His natural ability saw him ascend through the football ranks early, being drafted by the Sydney Swans from North Ballarat U18s. Adam soon became one of the game’s leading scorers and had a much-celebrated career spanning over seventeen seasons.
He announced his retirement from AFL in September 2015, leaving the game as the Swans games record holder on 372 games and one of the most decorated of all time. Among the many accolades Adam received during his career are the prestigious Rising Star medal in his debut year (1999), leading his team as co-captain (2009-2012), celebrating premierships (2005 & 2012) and being awarded the AFL’s highest honour of Brownlow Medalist twice (2003 & 2006)
Adam is equally known for his involvement and leadership within the Indigenous community. In 2004 he was invited to join the National Indigenous Council (NIC), an advisory body to the Federal Government on Indigenous affairs. In 2009, Adam set up The Goodes-O’Loughlin Foundation (GO Foundation) with fellow Indigenous teammate Michael O’Loughlin. GO Foundation’s vision is to create a brighter future for Indigenous children through education. In 2014, he joined the board of Supply Nation, a government-funded body aimed at growing the Indigenous business sector through the promotion of supplier diversity in Australia. Adam’s work within the corporate world extends to advising various organisations, such as retail giant David Jones and Lend Lease, on their Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP).
Adam is also passionate about the elimination of discrimination in society. He advocates for the Recognise Movement along with Racism: It Stops With Me campaign. Much like Nicky Winmar before him, Adam will also be remembered for taking a stand against racism after being racially vilified on field by a young member of the crowd. The exemplary way in which Adam helped turn the incident into a positive public message of education and non-tolerance will be remembered for generations to come.
Adam is an ambassador for many prominent brands including Toyota, David Jones, Qantas, Lend Lease and CMC Indigenous Services. He is also an ambassador for Woolworths and board member for Support Through Australia Natural Disasters (S.T.A.N.D), a disaster relief program founded by Woolworths and The Salvation Army. Since retiring from AFL, Adam has enjoyed investing more time in the GO Foundation and being CEO for a new business Indigenous Defence Consortium (IDC) along with getting involved in other opportunities that he is passionate about.