WHILE it has taken the best part of two decades, it has been a meteoric rise to the top for former Nangwarry resident Scott Munn in the business of sport.
Munn has enjoyed a impressive career, which began on the Sydney organising committee for the 2000 Olympic Games.
Then came a stint with the National Rugby League in commercial operations, followed by time with the AFL, where he was eventually moved to Queensland to head the development of expansion club the Gold Coast Suns.
He returned to Melbourne and was offered a position to help create the Melbourne Heart Football Club – now Melbourne City FC.
Five years ago Melbourne City FC was sold to the City Football Group and Munn was kept on in the new administration.
The City Football Group also owns Premier League champion Manchester City and New York City clubs, among others.
He now heads the City Football Group China operations, a far cry from his early days playing Australian Rules for the Nangwarry Saints.
His career has included many exciting times and major changes for each code he has been involved in.
At the NRL he started soon after the Superleague wars, when the league was returning to what it is today.
He took on that particular job with little knowledge of the code.
At the AFL he was the first official employee of the Suns and remembers signing “a guy called Charlie Dixon” when the club played in the TAC Cup.
He started the Melbourne City FC from nothing and helped build it to a point where one of the biggest organisations in world soccer was willing to take ownership after just five years.
Since then the rise has continued to where he is now, about to live full-time in China with his family.
“Five years ago when we sold Melbourne City FC to the City Football Group I stayed on,” Munn said.
“At the time I expected the City Football Group would bring in their own staff, but they did not.
“I have spent the last four years as CEO and over the last six months taken on a broader Asia Pacific role.
“Now I oversee the China operations, which is two-fold.
“One of those is overseeing all of Manchester City’s business in China – we have also bought a club in Sichuan in the city of Chengdu.
“China is one of the biggest markets in the world.
“They say by 2025 50pc of the global population will be based in China and India, so if you are a global football organisation you have to be in that market.”
Along the way Munn has worked with some of the biggest movers in sport, from Andrew Demetriou in the AFL, to the likes of Sheikh Mansour, owner of the City Football Group.
It is a long way from the streets of Nangwarry and the football ovals of the Mid South East league, but Munn seems to take it all in his stride.
However, it is hard to ignore the magnitude of what he now does for a living.
“I have been incredibly blessed and lucky on the way through, but it is hard work and takes a team effort,” he said.
“I remember (Manchester City manager) Pep Guardiola came and spent a week here for holidays, then you are playing a round of golf with one of the best football managers in the world.
“At those times you say ‘wow, this is pretty amazing’.
“It is a long way from Nangwarry.”
Munn said he has great support from his family, which has made the transition from one region of Australia to another, then on to different parts of the globe easier to deal with.
“I have a very supportive wife,” he said.
“When you say ‘we might move to China’, you have three children under the age of 12 and we are moving to Chengdu where English is a distant language, I know we are all up for a challenge.”
The stress involved in such a position is sure to take its toll.
However, Munn said he thinks back to his days at Nangwarry and simply pushes on.
“One of the things about growing up in Nangwarry is you cannot take yourself too seriously,” he said.
“There are incredibly stressful times and you have to be able to think through it.
“You have to be incredibly focused, incredibly driven and want to win.
“I do not lose the fact I work in sport and our biggest goal is to win silverware.
“This year we won four trophies in Manchester which was fantastic, but we did not win any in Melbourne, which was not.
“Being able to balance those things is difficult.”
Munn has some simple advice from those who want to succeed in their chosen vocation, but live in a country region like the Limestone Coast.
“Do not give up,” he said.
“Do not accept no for an answer.
“I have been lucky enough to work all around the world for unbelievable organisations.
“Everyone has challenges in their lives, everyone you speak to has had to overcome adversity at some point.
“If your adversity is you are from a small town, find the positives in that.
“The positives are the quantum of people I meet who are from little country towns in Australia have had to fight tooth and nail to get to where they are.
“I see that as an asset.
“I do not accept no for an answer.
“I always hear people tell me the reasons why something cannot be done and I think, well I am going to have a go.
“If it does not work out, nothing lost.
“If you do not ever have a go, you will never know.”
To find out more about Munn’s incredible career, he will present a talk tonight at City Hall, Main Corner, covering many aspects of his life and business, from Nangwarry all the way to China.
The night begins at 4.30pm.
