Featured image credit: Everton
Angus Kinnear has been appointed as Everton’s new chief executive, with the Premier League club also confirming that Colin Chong will remain to oversee its new stadium and the future of Goodison Park.
Kinnear will join Everton on June 1 from Championship club Leeds United, where he has served as chief executive since 2017. He previously held roles at Arsenal and West Ham United.
Chong, Everton’s chief stadium development officer, has been serving as the club’s interim chief executive since June 2023 following the departure of Denise Barrett-Baxendale. He will remain with the club as it prepares to move into the new 52,888-capacity Everton Stadium next season.
Richard Kenyon is also leaving the club after more than 11 years in a variety of senior leadership positions. He currently serves as chief commercial and communications officer, and his responsibilities will be divided between existing members of the communications and commercial teams, with new appointments to be announced in due course.
Kevin Thelwell will continue to lead Everton’s sporting department until Kinnear is in place and will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season. The club will transition from a single director of football to a wider sporting leadership team.
The restructure comes after Everton last week announced a long-term financing agreement for its new stadium. The £350m (€417m/$452m) in funding comes from a consortium of “blue-chip institutional leaders” and will refinance borrowing that supported the completion of the club’s new stadium.
The financing is part of The Friedkin Group (TFG)’s commitment to “strengthen and stabilise” the club. TFG completed its takeover of Everton in December in a deal reportedly worth in excess of £400m.
Commenting on his new role, Chong said: “It has been an honour to serve as Everton’s CEO and to shepherd the club through challenging times and into a bright new future under The Friedkin Group. I look forward to taking on this new role focusing on our new home and, just as importantly, the regeneration of the area around it.”
Kenyon added: “I am proud of my 11 years at Everton and that I am able to leave the club at a time of stability and genuine optimism. Despite facing unprecedented challenges over recent years, we have achieved some great things – notably delivering our new stadium and the commercial step-change that will support the growth of the club for many years to come.
“It has been a pleasure to work alongside TFG, and every Evertonian should be excited by their ambition – I believe they are the perfect custodians for our great club. Personally, I’m looking forward to a new professional opportunity and to taking my place as a fan at our magnificent waterfront stadium later this year.”
Everton’s new stadium staged its first test event last month as 10,000 supporters attended an Under-18s friendly match against Wigan Athletic.
A second test event involving the club’s Under-21s will take place on March 23, with a minimum of 25,000 supporters to be in attendance. A third test event will be held later in the season, before Everton officially moves into the stadium for the 2025-26 campaign.
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