Peter Kenyon (born 1954) is the chief executive of Chelsea Football Club, of the FA Premier League in England, and probably the highest profile sports executive in the United Kingdom. He is the former production director and chief executive of sportswear firm Umbro[1]. His first job at a football club was at Manchester United, but he was head hunted by Chelsea shortly after the Roman Abramovich takeover. After a spell of gardening leave[2] he officially joined Chelsea in February 2004[3]. This was met with widespread controversy because Kenyon had consistently professed to be a life-long supporter of the Old Trafford club. Kenyon is the main spokesman for the non-footballing side of Chelsea as Roman Abramovich does not give interviews or attend press conferences and Chelsea's chairman Bruce Buck keeps a low profile. Kenyon's background is in marketing, and he was recruited by Chelsea to increase the club's commercial income. Since joining Chelsea, Kenyon has been involved in high profile controversies including an attempt to persuade the manager of the England national team Sven-Göran Eriksson to become manager of Chelsea, and the tapping-up of former Arsenal F.C. and current England left-back Ashley Cole. His very business-minded emphasis on selling football clubs as "brands" alienates many supporters.
References
- ^ McKenzie, Andrew. Profile: Peter Kenyon, BBC Sport, September 8 2003. Accessed October 25 2007
- ^ "Man Utd chief joins Chelsea", BBC Sport, 2003-09-09. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ "Kenyon to start Chelsea role", BBC Sport, 2004-01-28. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
