Long-serving Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro has stepped down, saying he's confident the club is strong enough to move forward without him.
Di Pietro spent 18 years as a director and 13 seasons as chairman at Victory.
Current director John Dovaston has been appointed as Di Pietro's replacement as chairman, effective immediately.
Dovaston has been an independent board member for eight years and will be Victory's first independent, non-shareholder chairperson.
Di Pietro will remain a major shareholder.
He advised the board and staff on Thursday morning that due to both his upcoming business commitments and confidence in Victory's platform for growth, now is the right time to step away from official Victory duties.
During his reign, Di Pietro oversaw two A-League Men's Championships, one A-League Men's Premiership, two Australia Cups, three A-League Women's Championships and an A-League Women's Premiership.
Late last year, Di Pietro stepped down as a director of the Australian Professional Leagues after opposing the decision to stage all grand finals in Sydney over the next three years.
"Since joining our board in 2006, we have enjoyed many highs and battled many challenges along the journey," Di Pietro said in a statement.
"Whilst this season's on-field performances did not yield trophies, or come close to our expectations, we are standing on a strong platform for the future.
"Our ability to recruit players, coaches and support staff is in the best position it has ever been and our community programs are the most comprehensive we have seen, with a focus to live our vision of leading, uniting, connecting and inspiring through football.
"Most importantly we continue to herald inclusion and diversity in football, which can be seen through our support and investment in the Afghan Women's Team, which is something every member of the Melbourne Victory family should be proud of."
Victory's ALM side finished second last this season with Tony Popovic's men garnering just eight wins and four draws from 26 matches.
The women's side scraped into fourth spot before beating Melbourne City on penalties in an elimination final.
Their title defence was brought undone by Sydney in the preliminary final, with the Sky Blues winning 1-0.
