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Richard Gould is stepping down as chief executive of Surrey County Cricket Club to become the new chief executive of Championship football club Bristol City.
Charlie Hodgson, managing director of the Kia Oval, will step up to become interim chief executive of Surrey following Gould’s departure. Gould (pictured) joined Surrey in 2011 and helped the club deliver record profits for the 2019-20 financial year, as well as overseeing two major improvements to the Kia Oval.
Gould served as commercial director at Bristol City between June 2001 and June 2005 before spending five years as chief executive of Somerset County Cricket Club ahead of his move to Surrey. He will rejoin Bristol City in mid-June.
Mark Jan Kar has been promoted to the new role of general manager at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena following the recent resignation of chief executive Guy Ngata.
Kar currently serves as the arena’s director of commercial and live. He will assume his new role on June 20 following the departure of Ngata, who is returning to New Zealand. Ngata has served as chief executive of the venue since 2017 and oversaw the opening of the 17,000-seat arena in 2019.
Kar has lived in Dubai since 2008 and in his new role he will look to consolidate Coca-Cola Arena’s position as the region’s premier sports and entertainment venue. Coca-Cola Arena is operated by ASM Global.
PTI Digital has appointed Mario Zambas as general manager in the MENA region.
Zambas joined PTI in January as head of venue tech in the EMEA region but he has been appointed to the new role after the company recognised the “growing importance” of the MENA region and the need for on-the-ground experience.
Zambas started his career at Dubai Sports City as head of IT before moving to become director of IT at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
PTI has also appointed Fadi Hassan as a lead tech consultant in the MENA region.
Stephan Bazire has joined UK motorsport circuit Silverstone as its new head of business sustainability.
Bazire will lead Silverstone’s plans for a sustainable future and focus on developing new revenue streams for the circuit. Bazire joins Silverstone after recently overseeing Circuit de Barcelona’s strategic plan for 2025.
Silverstone is the home of the British Grand Prix in Formula 1 and MotoGP. Stuart Pringle, the circuit’s managing director, said Bazire’s appointment will prove “integral” to its vision for a greener, more socially engaged future.
Bill Mannarelli, the head of Barcelona’s Espai Barça project, has resigned from his position role with the Spanish LaLiga football club.
Mannarelli joined Barcelona in July 2014 and his departure comes after Joan Laporta returned to the club as president in March. Espai Barça is one of the priority tasks under the mandate of Laporta, who previously served as Barcelona president between 2003 and 2010.
Read our story from last week for more information on Mannarelli’s departure.
Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@thestadiumbusiness.com and we’ll include it in our next round-up.
Image: Surrey CCC
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