Liverpool FC appoint new top man - 22nd Jun 2009 9:37am
Liverpool FC appoint new top man
LIVERPOOL today appointed a new man to run the club following the resignation of long serving chief executive Rick Parry this summer.
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Christian Purslow, a well-respected 45-year-old business expert and lifelong Liverpool supporter, has been appointed to the new post of managing director by American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
The news comes just a day after Gillett sold his Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team for a reported £333m.
Purslow is a Cambridge University and Harvard graduate and a fluent Spanish speaker whose family hail from Wirral. His father worked for Littlewoods in the 1960s.
He has already begun working closely with manager Rafa Benitez.
Purslow has been head-hunted for the newly created role of MD – though it is being stressed the search for a new long term chief executive officer at Anfield continues.
Once that appointment has been decided upon, the club say Purslow will continue as a Liverpool club director.
His role is therefore an interim one at a key period for the Reds as they plan for the new season.
In a statement issued today Liverpool said: "Christian Purslow will assume overall management of the club until the appointment of a new chief executive, and will then continue as a board director.
"As managing director, Purslow will represent the owners and oversee all financial and operational aspects of the club, working with Rafa Benitez on player transfers and with the club's group chief financial officer, Philip Nash and commercial director, Ian Ayre on club and commercial management.
Gillett said: "Tom and I felt that it was important to put a highly experienced and respected executive in place to run the club and support the senior team and the manager.
"There's a lot to get done over the summer to build on the great season we just had and Christian will be a valuable addition to the team."
Hicks added: "Christian has been a great supporter of the club for many years and he's already built up good relationships at Anfield.
"His strategic and commercial acumen will be a real asset and we're delighted that he has made a long term commitment to the club."
Purslow, a long time Anfield season ticket holder, is an executive board member of MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm which he co-founded.
He was previously a director of Morgan Grenfell Private Equity.
Prior to his private equity career Christian was head of media, cable and entertainment for Schroder Salomon Smith Barney in Europe and head of UK mergers and acquisitions for Credit Suisse First Boston.
Purslow has a modern Languages degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Executive search firm Odgers Berndtson is conducting the CEO recruitment process.
the echo
LIVERPOOL today appointed a new man to run the club following the resignation of long serving chief executive Rick Parry this summer.
Christian Purslow, a well-respected 45-year-old business expert and lifelong Liverpool supporter, has been appointed to the new post of managing director by American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
The news comes just a day after Gillett sold his Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team for a reported £333m.
Purslow is a Cambridge University and Harvard graduate and a fluent Spanish speaker whose family hail from Wirral. His father worked for Littlewoods in the 1960s.
He has already begun working closely with manager Rafa Benitez.
Purslow has been head-hunted for the newly created role of MD – though it is being stressed the search for a new long term chief executive officer at Anfield continues.
Once that appointment has been decided upon, the club say Purslow will continue as a Liverpool club director.
His role is therefore an interim one at a key period for the Reds as they plan for the new season.
In a statement issued today Liverpool said: "Christian Purslow will assume overall management of the club until the appointment of a new chief executive, and will then continue as a board director.
"As managing director, Purslow will represent the owners and oversee all financial and operational aspects of the club, working with Rafa Benitez on player transfers and with the club's group chief financial officer, Philip Nash and commercial director, Ian Ayre on club and commercial management.
Gillett said: "Tom and I felt that it was important to put a highly experienced and respected executive in place to run the club and support the senior team and the manager.
"There's a lot to get done over the summer to build on the great season we just had and Christian will be a valuable addition to the team."
Hicks added: "Christian has been a great supporter of the club for many years and he's already built up good relationships at Anfield.
"His strategic and commercial acumen will be a real asset and we're delighted that he has made a long term commitment to the club."
Purslow, a long time Anfield season ticket holder, is an executive board member of MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm which he co-founded.
He was previously a director of Morgan Grenfell Private Equity.
Prior to his private equity career Christian was head of media, cable and entertainment for Schroder Salomon Smith Barney in Europe and head of UK mergers and acquisitions for Credit Suisse First Boston.
Purslow has a modern Languages degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Executive search firm Odgers Berndtson is conducting the CEO recruitment process.
the echo