Mark Neeld: Building Geelong’s Sporting Future | Leadership, Geelong United & the Rise of the Venom

In this episode, Reyan Fernando sits down with Mark Neeld, CEO of Geelong United Basketball, to explore a remarkable leadership journey spanning elite AFL, high-performance sport, and community impact. From his years as a player, coach, and football executive to leading one of Australia’s fastest-growing basketball organisations, Mark shares what it takes to build winning cultures, develop great people, and create a lasting sporting legacy.

Mark takes us behind the scenes of launching the Geelong Venom WNBL team in just three months, a bold undertaking that required vision, community support, and relentless execution. He discusses the challenges of building a professional sporting club from scratch, the importance of increasing female participation in sport, and why creating pathways for women and girls remains a key focus.

The conversation also explores leadership under pressure, lessons learned from his time at the Melbourne Demons, managing public scrutiny, and maintaining a high-performance mindset while staying connected to the community.

Topics covered:

• Building high-performance cultures.
• Launching the Geelong Venom WNBL team.
• Leadership lessons from AFL and basketball.
• Community ownership and engagement in sport.
• Developing female participation and coaching pathways.
• Managing pressure, setbacks, and public scrutiny.
• The future of sport in Geelong.

Whether you’re a business leader, sports fan, coach, or entrepreneur, this episode offers valuable insights into resilience, culture, leadership, and the power of bringing a community together around a shared vision.

This episode was proudly brought to you by ISO365 – ISO Compliance, as a Service.

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