Nick Truelson: Using the Power of Sport to Create Meaningful Change

**Nick Truelson** (0:03)
Dean Bickerman, our head coach and I were in LA after the NBA Summer League, and we interviewed Isaac at a hotel. And when you fast forward, he actually told Dean and I that you were interviewing me to come and play for you, but I was actually interviewing the two of you because he knew at that time that he was going to come out with the team he was with that year. So he actually planned it pretty much to the day by himself. He had to find a club that was an inclusive club, community-orientated and one that he would feel safe to come out with. And I think that's probably the most powerful thing to be able to say wow, as a club we created that environment for someone to tell the world a circuit that they've carried for most of their life.

**Luke** (0:41)
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Empowering Leaders podcast. At Aleda we are passionate about inspiring connections and creating a world of collaboration. Our signature program Aleda Connect curates groups of five to six leaders from diverse backgrounds in sport, industry, social venture and the arts who come together to learn, to connect and to collaborate. The Empowering Leaders podcast is proudly brought to you by Victoria University where cutting-edge sports and exercise science facilities like heat chambers, performance labs and altitude environments mean VU is ranked seventh in the world for sports science, VU uniquely you. If you enjoy listening to the Empowering Leaders podcast be sure to subscribe and please if you have a moment, we would love you to leave a review so we can reach more listeners and empower more leaders.
Nick Truelson is the CEO of Melbourne United, one of the premier clubs in the National Basketball League here in Australia. But his leadership journey has taken him far beyond basketball. From spending his university holidays doing work experience at Cadbury Schweppes to helping shape some of Australia's most iconic sporting organisations including the Essendon Football Club, the Western Bulldogs and now a CEO of Melbourne United.
Nick has built a career on the back of his great leadership, a passion for culture, community and commercial success. Played a pivotal role in creating the Sons of the West Men's Health Program, a movement that has changed and in some cases even saved lives. He was part of the Western Bulldogs through a remarkable transformation, culminating in the historic 2016 Premiership. And today he leads Melbourne United with a clear purpose, to use the power of basketball to inspire, entertain and enrich people's lives.
What stands out to me the most about Nick is his natural way of connecting people and his unique ability to build trusting and strong relationships. Great to see you Nick, thanks for joining me.

**Nick Truelson** (2:31)
Luke, absolute pleasure to be here, I appreciate it.

**Luke** (2:33)
I want to go to, and to me this sort of sums you up, you're at university, your mates are going on a uni break and you decide to volunteer some work experience at Cadbury Schweppes and you tell your mates, well this might lead to something, and it does, how big an impact did that have on you?

**Nick Truelson** (2:48)
Yeah, I mean it's huge, I still talk about it today. I think the fact of being able to work for a brand as big as Cadbury Schweppes over a holiday period was such a great opportunity, and it was like, well, what I do love is I love brands and the fact that Cadbury Schweppes have such great rivalries as well, and I think that's probably where my passion for rivalries and then into sport work, but yeah it was pretty amazing just to spend two weeks there just to learn about how a big brand works and actually got to sit with the managing director without me even knowing about it at lunchtime and had all the eyes of everyone looking at me, wondering how's this young kid having so much time with our managing director we don't even get two minutes with him and he was really curious and I suppose that's probably where my passion for curiosity came from was the fact that I had a managing director who I didn't even know it was them and he was just asking me lots of questions and why I was here and then as I said to my mates back then that yes it could have been enjoying myself with you guys but I might end up working there and straight after uni got the opportunity and ended up working there 10 years before moving into sport.

**Luke** (3:50)
So you're probably 19 years of age or thereabouts and like a lot of people, as you said, uni holidays is I'm out of here. Where was that drive from within you because that has probably set you on the path to us sitting here now. Where did that drive come from?