ACU High Performance Sport experts

Dirk Melton

Dirk Melton has spent the last 10 years working as a senior executive within the sports, media and entertainment sector. Roles have included Commercial Director at Ticketek, Head of Marketing and Consumer at St George Illawarra Dragons, Chief Operating Officer at the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, CEO at Sydney FC, and GM Strategy at the NSW Rugby League.

Dirk is widely acknowledged within the sports industry for his capabilities in strategic thinking, research and analysis, planning and organising, facilitating change, and brand management. Achievements associated with his work include the turnaround of the Bulldogs brand and commercial program, record game day attendances for the Dragons in a losing season, the first person in sports marketing to gain access to both the Avatar and Star Wars brands and the second for the UNICEF brand, and the NSW Blues ending their State of Origin drought.

Currently Dirk is developing content for the high performance sport postgraduate courses. He is a strategic advisor to Australian Rugby Union, and is completing his doctoral thesis on the importance of systems thinking and integration within professional sport.