Swans Appoint New COO

. the club's first Chief Operating Officer

It is important we . . . become more effective as a business to compete with the best on the field"
Chris Pearlman


Swansea City is pleased to confirm the appointment of Chris Pearlman as the club’s first Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Chris, who hails from New York, is highly regarded within the sports industry and will oversee the day-to-day commercial operations of the club, including stadium and corporate sponsorships, marketing, merchandise, ticketing, media and public relations.
He will report direct to chairman Huw Jenkins and the Board of Directors, while also working closely with vice chairman Leigh Dineen.
“I’m pleased and excited to be given the opportunity to help grow the Swansea City brand on a global basis,’’ declared Chris.
“The club has a rich history and a fantastic story to tell. It will be my job to help tap into that from a commercial perspective, including the utilisation of new revenue streams and markets.
“The Premier League is a massive draw around the world and it is important we capitalise on that popularity to grow and become more effective as a business to compete with the best on the field.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone involved with Swansea City Football Club, from the staff to its passionate fans.
“Additionally, I recognise the important role the Supporters Trust has to play and I believe being here on a daily basis will allow for more frequent and improved communications with them.’’
Chris, who is currently in Swansea holding preliminary meetings before returning to America to assist his family relocate to Wales, will take up the post on the back of an impressive reputation Stateside as a leader within a competitive sports industry.
The father of two has spent the last decade at Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment as Partner and Executive Vice President, where he oversaw their Media and Properties division as well as the company’s global sales efforts.
This included spearheading relationships with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the National Football League (NFL), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), US Figure Skating, USA Gymnastics, College Sports Television (CSTV), CineSport, the Heisman Trophy Trust and a number of network television events, broadcasts and specials.
Chris got his start in the sports marketing and media business at ProServ, one of the world’s first sports marketing companies. After ProServ, he joined ESPN and was there during its merger with ABC Sports and the formation of the ESPN ABC Sports Customer Sales and Marketing division. From there he moved to the ESPN Internet Group in 1999 before joining Premiere Sports & Entertainment (PSE) in 2001, a boutique sports marketing company which Van Wagner acquired in 2005.

Read more at http://www.swanseacity.net/news/art...ris-pearlman-3384853.aspx#dMw2rzGi4wBEYMDh.99

 

Surprise! Another American. Well at least he's making the right noises about the Trust.

 

So did the other Yanks. Because of this I'll take what this lot say with a huge pinch of salt

 

A much needed appointment in my view

 

There has been a lot of negativity about the American takeover but lets look at facts rather than supposition which has been the cornerstone of most posts on the matter.

(1) They had to put a viable plan to the PL before the takeover was ratified.
(2) They perceived a managerial change was needed and moved quickly to make an appointment with the new manager already making moves to sort out our defensive problems
(3) A new fitness coach appointed to sort out a problem which is what a lot of fans feel is needed.
(4) Everyone knows we need to create more finance from our commercial side and have appointed a new man to do this and no one better than an American to improve this side of the club.

In addition our under 23';s are having a successful season so obviously the right sort of youngster is being recruited and hopefully some will make the step up to the first team.

The negative is our current PL position although I feel confident this will improve soon.

 

No surprise to me at all. Just another cog in the American business model and I'm surprised its taken them so long.

Imo he wont be the last either simply because of the US approach to running a business. They usually use a 'one man, one job' approach to running their businesses and they do not like the 'Jack of all trades' approach we use in UK and Europe.

Americans like to know who to blame for failure so they analyse and break down a business into component blocks. Each block is assigned a visible and accountable manager/director who is solely responsible for maximising the potential of his/her block. In my experience I feel that's the reason why American business men/women appear so competitive and aggressive. Its because they are completely accountable for their job and its their arses which are on the line, its a name culture in the US. Unlike hear in UK especially and in Europe where managers and directors can hide behind legislation and deny responsibility for any failure because no one knows who is responsible and for what. 'It wasn't me it was him/her', the blame culture.

So we can expect more appointments imo, as we are directed away from being a UK, hidden, back-door business, towards a US type, open door, franchise.

 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Huw's Chairman's office has been made into 2 offices....

So now we know the identity of Huw's next door neighbour....

 

Another waste of money , they could have kept it to one office , soon enough Jenkins won't need one.

 

I agree with this in its entirety, NSM, but the last sentence is a bit like saying 'This plane we're in is state of the art, it has the latest gadgets in the cockpit, wider seats for passengers and a choice of 10 movie channels......but the wings are coming off".

 

Guidolin didn't know we had wings .....

 

Maybe if we stay up he can sort out a new kit deal with a serious manufacturer.

 

Another American Wolf in Sheep's clothing ....

 

I thought it was you Taff

 

If it you Taff , see if you can find out anything from huw about that statement you said would come out in October showing what happened in court with Vorm ...cheers buddy .

 

I wouldn't get on a plane whose wings were about to come off but I still go to the Liberty

 

Well the yanks are putting together a business that the last owners failed to do and they are putting their money where their mouth is. and are sorting our club out and putting the right people in charge. They need to replace Jenkins now with a good chairman with the same vision as the owners.......Im loving all this as the yanks dont mess about they get things done....

 

You could be right , but you should wait till they actually do something for the club ....instead of it being all to do with them and their Americanizing of the team .

 

they have done things already roof....

 

When you say that , it enshrines in me they haven't ....

 

What exactly do you want roof ? Dont you want the swans to be successful or what.......Being yanks is immiterial just as long as whoever took the club on has the best interest in the club and what i have seen so far dont suggest that the new owners dont want to be successful.....