Anthony Di Pietro
Anthony Di Pietro (born 15 February 1969) is a businessman from Melbourne, Australia. Di Pietro is most known for his current and longest standing chairmanship of Melbourne Victory FC, a professional association football (soccer) club that participates in the Hyundai A-League. Alongside sport, Di Pietro is also the Chief Executive Officer and a board member of industry leading fruit & vegetable producers and marketers, the LaManna Premier Group.
Anthony Di Pietro | |
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![]() Di Pietro addresses the audience at a Melbourne Victory Function | |
Born | |
Nationality | Australian |
Occupation | Businessman CEO and Director of LaManna Premier Group (2003–) Chairman of Melbourne Victory FC (2011–) |
Known for | Chairman of Melbourne Victory FC |
Early life and education
Di Pietro was born in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston in 1969, and is of Italian descent. Di Pietro completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at The University of Melbourne in 1990, and occasionally addresses graduating students in the University's Business and Economics faculty, first appearing in 2013.[1]
Agribusiness
Di Pietro is Group CEO of LaManna Premier Group.[2][3][4][5][6]
The company's farming and marketing enterprises[7][8] cover all major Australian markets. It has farming operations in Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Goulburn Valley Victoria.
Di Pietro voiced his advocacy for an 'Australian-led Asian food boom' and was a key participant in the Victorian Government's 2013 Food Trade initiatives into Asia.[9]
Hospitality
Di Pietro was a Director of the Sovereign Hotel Group from 2007 to 2010,[10] whose flagship business was Federation Square’s Transport Hotel, Taxi Dining Room and Transit Cocktail Lounge.
Melbourne Victory FC
![](../I/Melbourne_Victory_Chairman_Anthony_Di_Pietro_with_Melbourne_Victory_coach_Kevin_Muscat.jpg.webp)
Di Pietro was appointed to the Board of Melbourne Victory FC in 2006 during its formative years and became chairman in January 2011. Di Pietro oversaw a number of key achievements, including 2017–18 Championship, making Melbourne Victory FC the most successful club in A-League history and the only club to have won three Premiership and four Championship titles, as well as winning the FFA Cup title in 2015.[11]
Di Pietro oversaw the visit of English Premier League heavyweight Liverpool F.C. to Melbourne in July 2013.[12][13][14][15] The game attracted a record crowd for a football (soccer) match of 95,446 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[16]
Di Pietro has been a strong voice on football hooliganism, saying fans "safety and enjoyment must be upheld at all times".[17]
In February 2017, Di Pietro spoke publicly regarding A-league expansion, governance and broadcast distribution.[18] Di Pietro highlighted that the time for change was 'now upon us and decisions made now will affect the future of football in Australia in the years to come'.[19][20]
Prior to the commencement of the 2020-21 A-League season, Di Pietro announced former club premiership & championship team of the decade player Grant Brebner as head coach.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
References
- Di Pietro, Anthony (November 2013). "Be prepared for change". Insights: Melbourne Business and Economics. The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business & Economics. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- "Premier Fruits Group ripe for expansion". The Australian. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/global-food-forum-lamannas-anthony-di-pietro-says-horticulture-future-enormous-labour-squeeze-real/news-story/bb066ce06a63aee47bd8a5e7c85ff363
- https://www.melbournevictory.com.au/news/ripe-innovation-a-company-reaping-benefits-progress
- https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/a-league-s-richest-club-says-virus-crisis-is-biggest-fiscal-threat-20200324-p54dgt.html
- https://www.foodprocessing.com.au/content/processing/news/lamanna-group-and-premier-fruits-group-to-merge-1006021463
- Goodwin, Sandra. "Victorian tomato grower joins Premier Group". News Ltd. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- Thistleton, Rebecca. "Tomato growers sign deal for all seasons". Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- Stensholt, John. "Di Pietro encourages food industry to think big". Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- Wilmot, Ben. "Hotel Investors Pour In". Highbeam Research. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
- "Victory's historic FFA Cup Final triumph". FFA Cup. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- https://www.afr.com/opinion/they-didn-t-walk-alone-20130726-ijcuz
- https://www.melbournevictory.com.au/news/video-liverpool-melbourne
- https://tribune.com.pk/story/530636/liverpool-to-make-first-trip-down-under
- https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/131666-lfc-announce-first-visit-to-australia
- Hogan, Jesse. "Victory wave on sea of Red". The Age. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- Lynch, Michael. "Melbourne Victory chairman blasts 'alleged' fans". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- Windley, Matt (11 February 2017). "Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro says FFA should consult clubs on A-League expansion". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- Lynch, Michael (11 February 2017). "Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro blasts FFA bosses". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- "South Melbourne extend olive branch to Victory". 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/grant-brebner-named-new-coach-of-melbourne-victory-20200824-p55op9.html
- https://www.melbournevictory.com.au/news/grant-brebner-appointed-head-coach
- https://www.a-league.com.au/news/grant-brebner-announced-victory-head-coach
- https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/bleeds-blue-brebner-named-full-time-victory-head-coach
- https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/aleague-brebner-appointed-melbourne-victory-head-coach/news-story/e469a7329e16289936e5b65f9ea0eddd
- https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/official-melbourne-victory-name-permanent-coach-552274
- https://neoskosmos.com/en/173681/grant-brebner-appointed-as-melbourne-victorys-head-coach/
- https://www.espn.com.au/football/melbourne-victory/story/4165714/melbourne-victory-confirm-interim-boss-grant-brebner-as-new-head-coach
- https://7news.com.au/sport/soccer/brebner-named-victory-a-league-coach-c-1261188
- https://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/story/6892605/victory-back-inexperienced-brebner-in-a-l/?cs=12724
- https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/08/25/brebner-details-recruitment-plans-ahead-of-victory-rebuild/