Masters confirmed as Premier League chief
Richard Masters has been appointed chief executive of the Premier League following the often torturous recruitment process since Richard Scudamore announced in June 2018 that he would be standing down.
Masters is the fourth candidate to be offered the position, but was praised by Bruce Buck, chairman of Chelsea and the Premier League nominations committee, as having “proved himself ” during more than a year as interim chief executive.
One of Masters’s first jobs, in consultation with the nominations committee, will be to appoint a non-executive chair early in the new year.
Masters said he felt “privileged” to be leading the Premier League and described the opportunity as “one of the most incredible jobs in the world of sport”.
It is two weeks since David Pemsel, who was working his notice as chief executive of the Guardian Media Group, resigned before even starting the role following allegations surrounding his private life and the disclosure by The Sun of messages he sent to a former colleague.
The first choice to succeed Scudamore had been television executive Susanna Dinnage, but after being announced as the first woman to lead the Premier League, she withdrew last December.
The Premier League then approached Tim Davie, chief executive of the commercial division of BBC Studios, but he also decided against taking up the role. The process was restarted under different recruitment experts, with Pemsel’s appointment finally announced at the beginning of October.
Masters, though, had become an increasingly popular figure among the clubs while working as interim chief executive since November 2018, and his appointment was confirmed at a specially convened conference call.
“The clubs have seen Richard rise to the occasion, dealing with our various stakeholders and partners with aplomb and skill,” Buck said. “He has faced challenges head-on. The clubs believe that this is the right appointment now, in the long-term interests of the Premier League.”
Masters joined the Premier League in 2006 after working at the Football League and the England and Wales Cricket Board. He was promoted to the role of managing director in July 2015.