Ron Gourlay

From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki

Ron Gourlay was Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club between 31 October 2009 and 22 October 2014. Prior to his promotion he had been Chief Operating Officer for the club.

Gourlay joined Chelsea in 2004, having previously worked for Manchester United and Umbro. He was appointed the chief executive of Chelsea on 17 September 2009, following Peter Kenyon's decision to leave the club on 31 October 2009. [1]

He was quoted as saying: "It is a huge honour to be offered the chance to lead Chelsea".[2] "We have a fantastic team both on and off the field and those teams can move us on to even greater success in the future. To be responsible for that is a fantastic challenge and I will be giving it my total commitment, drive and energy" after being named as the successor.

Upon Gourlay's appointment, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck commented:

"Ron was the outstanding candidate for the job. It was not necessary to look outside as we had someone with all the necessary attributes inside which was important as it ensures continuity and a smooth transition. "He has the total support of the Board and Roman and both the football and business elements of the club will report to him. "Ron has been a central figure in the commercial success of Chelsea in recent years and he has excellent operational experience and is thoroughly respected across the football side. "We are absolutely confident that he can now take us forward into the next stage of our development as a club and business."[3]

He left the club in October 2014, [4] with Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia taking on his executive responsibilities, while former Liverpool Managing Director Chris Purslow was brought in five days later to head up Chelsea's global commercial activities. [5]