Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has appointed former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham to the same position “in a dramatic boardroom shake-up that raises questions about chairman Daniel Levy's stranglehold on the club.“ Venkatesham, who was Arsenal’s CEO for four years until leaving last summer, will fill the newly created role “in a move that signals major changes in the way the club is run.” Levy is the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League, having been in the role since 2001. The hiring of Venkatesham, who “will join in the summer,” is “seen as a major coup for Spurs as he had also been courted by Newcastle” (London STANDARD, 4/11).
Venkatesham and Levy were colleagues at the European Club Association, getting elected together in 2021 to its executive board -- “which has huge influence at UEFA, shaping the commercial and sporting strategy of the Champions League.” Venkateshem will join Tottenham after a “troubled season for the club,” which sits 14th in the 20-team Premier League “despite having what is widely seen as the best stadium in England and one of its most lucrative” (AP, 4/11).
