Andrew Demetriou was something of a "mentor" to the former managing director of failed education provider Acquire Learning as well as helping set the pay for the executive, but was not involved in making key decisions for the company, a court has heard.

Over five hours of grilling in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday, Aquire's former managing director John Wall was questioned repeatedly by counsel for the company's liquidators, Damien McAloon, about how the leadership structures at the organisation worked between 2014 and its collapse three years later.

Acquire Learning former managing director John Wall and former advisory board member Andrew Demetriou in November 2014. Credit:Pat Scala

Mr Wall said Mr Demetriou, the former head of the Australian Football League, was a "serious businessman" and "we were keen to have him involved in the business".

The court saw a copy of a contract from August 2014 which confirmed Mr Demetriou would take on a role within the business, as executive chair of the company's advisory group.