ESSENDON remains on the hunt for a chief executive, with the club set to fill the role within the next month after shortlisting a final group of applicants.
The Bombers have been without a CEO since December last year, when interim boss Ray Gunston stepped away from the club.
When the club didn't appoint a replacement, the Bombers decided to continue with a management structure without a chief executive.
That led to chairman Paul Little and fellow board director Paul Brasher taking on more day-to-day duties inside the club, while Xavier Campbell was promoted to chief operating officer.
It is understood Campbell is in contention for the chief executive's seat, which the club expects to fill in the next few weeks.
"It remains the intention of the board to appoint a new CEO by the middle of this year," Little told AFL.com.au.
"We have a number of high quality candidates that have now been shortlisted for the final stage of this process and I look forward to making an announcement in due course."
The club's prominent CEO Ian Robson quit in May last year, leading to Gunston's appointment as an interim replacement during the supplements saga.
A new CEO would mean the Bombers have largely covered all of the personnel changes following last year's tumult, having already installed a new chairman, football managers, high performance coach and interim senior coach while James Hird serves his 12-month ban.
In April, Essendon appointed former Brisbane Lions list manager Rob Kerr as its general manager of football operations, overseeing areas including list management and recruiting.
The role of former football manager Danny Corcoran was split, with Neil Craig promoted to be the general manager of performance, with his focuses coaching, development and high performance.
The Brisbane Lions and Carlton are other clubs without chief executives following the respective resignations of Malcolm Holmes and Greg Swann in recent weeks.
