Ashton looks to be in line for CEO job at Ipswich
MARK Ashton is being lined up by the new owners of Ipswich Town to become CEO at the League One club, following the successful takeover by an American consortium, the Bristol Live website understands.
Gamechanger 20 Ltd have purchased the club from Marcus Evans for £40million, via United Statesbased investment firm ORG Portfolio Management, with the entertainment mogul, who has owned Ipswich since 2007, retaining a five per cent stake.
The group of American investors includes Brett Johnson, Berke Bakay and Mark Detmer, who co-own USL club Phoenix Rising, plus new chairman Mike O’Leary who has been on the boards of Oxford United and West Brom - two of Ashton’s former clubs.
Ashton and O’Leary also both served as directors of investment advisory firm Alycidon Ltd, formerly Ensco 1070, from 2014-15, with former Oxford United chairman Darryl Eales, who worked alongside Ashton at the Kassam Stadium, now sole director.
In February, The Athletic first reported Ashton was being considered as CEO and in a statement on the Ipswich website, Evans has stated that, “they (Gamechanger) will be joined by a UK-based CEO, an appointment that it is hoped will be made shortly.”
The East Anglian Daily Times have reported, “that man is likely to be Bristol City’s Mark Ashton”.
Bristol City have refused to comment on the speculation but Ashton’s relationship with O’Leary and other individuals in the consortium is well known within BS3.
It should be noted, however, that this is not the first job offer he has received in his five years at Ashton Gate and Ashton holds a strong loyalty to the Lansdown family.
In 2018, Ashton attended and delivered a presentation at the 2018 USL Winter Summit, which was attended by representatives of Phoenix Rising. In the summer of 2019 the Robins held a summer pre-season training camp in Florida playing friendlies against Derby and local teams and to also, according to a club statement at the time, “strengthen their partnership with the USL”.
Ashton, who was named Championship CEO of the year in 2019, has been a divisive figure among the fanbase at Bristol City since joining the club full-time in 2016, having initially worked as a consultant at the start of the decade.
The 49-year-old has earned the club substantial fees in terms of driving player sales to Premier League sides but his growing influence on recruitment has led to criticism from supporters. Ashton’s prominent role in appointing Lee Johnson’s successor also failed to endear him to fans with the decision to appoint the inexperienced Dean Holden over more established figures.