MELBOURNE chief executive Peter Jackson will leave Melbourne at the end of the 2019 AFL season.

Jackson, who has been at the club since 2013, announced to staff on Wednesday he would depart at the end of his current term.

Currently contracted until October this year, he will remain at the Demons next year to oversee a successful transition for the new CEO.

Jackson joined the club in 2013 and oversaw the transition from Paul Roos to Simon Goodwin as senior coach.

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Jackson initially agreed to a short-term role but has been a key player in the club rebuilding itself towards finals and eliminating millions of dollars of debt.

“As members would expect, the Board is very mindful of the enormous contribution to this Club Peter has made, and is also well aware of its ongoing responsibilities, in terms of succession planning for all key roles. We take our responsibilities to our Club including our staff and members very seriously,” chairman Glen Bartlett said.

“In this regard, a smooth transition has been achieved between Paul Roos and Simon Goodwin as senior coach and the Board is determined that a similarly smooth transition to a high-quality successor is achieved in the role of CEO.”

The club’s process to appoint the next CEO has already commenced. It is expected it will be completed over the next couple of months.

Jackson spent more than a decade at Essendon as CEO and general manager through the late 1990s and 2000s.