The Sharks are pleased to announce the appointment of experienced hospitality professional Julien Bova as General Manager – Leagues Club in preparation for the reopening of the state-of-the-art venue this year.
Bova, who has served as the CEO of Manly Leagues Club since 2018, comes highly regarded with an impressive résumé spanning multiple areas of the industry.
He is extremely familiar with the Sutherland Shire, having worked across Tradies venues at Caringbah, Gymea and Helensburgh from 2012-2018, starting out as Duty Manager and finishing as Senior Gaming Manager – Operations.
Prior to his time in clubs, Bova's hospitality career commenced in several well-known suburban pubs while studying in his younger years. He enjoyed stints at Burwood Hotel, Royal Oak Hotel Lidcombe and Alfred Hotel Camperdown, where he developed a strong passion for hospitality and advanced through various management roles, building a wide-ranging and highly successful career.
Sharks Group CEO Dino Mezzatesta declared Bova the right person to lead Sharks Leagues Club into an exciting new era, with the revamped Woolooware venue slated to open in mid-late 2026 once construction is complete.
"Julien is the perfect person to ensure our new Sharks Leagues Club delivers world-class experiences for our valued members and guests," Mezzatesta said.
"He's worked across all areas of hospitality and is renowned for his outstanding leadership, innovation and people management. Julien has made an indelible impact in his time at Manly Leagues and we're excited to have him on board at the Sharks."
Bova will officially commence his employment with the Sharks in March.
"I am extremely proud to be given this opportunity to lead the opening and operation of the new Sharks Leagues Club," Bova said.
"Having spent many years in the Shire, I know how much this Club means to the community and how long people have been waiting for the Club to re-open. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the years of hard work and persistence from the Board and Executive team who overcame countless challenges to get us to the point we are at now where a brand new, state-of-the-art Leagues Club is a reality.
"I am excited to get started and build on the work done to date from the entire Sharks family to deliver on the vision of creating world-class experiences for our valued members and guests - not only at the new Leagues Club, but also at Sharks at Kareela.
"While there is a significant amount of work ahead as we prepare for opening, I am confident the result will be a truly world-class hospitality venue that the Sharks community can be proud of and call home for generations to come."
