Christian Purslow

Early life

Attending Aylesbury Grammar School as a boy, he went on to graduate with a degree in modern and medieval languages at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, he earned an MBA at Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar.

Career

Purslow trained as an analyst with L.E.K. Consulting, before joining the Burton Group as executive assistant to the CEO. After becoming head of new business development for Reuters, he joined Credit Suisse First Boston as head of UK mergers and acquisitions. He then joined Schroders Salomon Smith Barney as head of cable, media and entertainment investment, before becoming managing director of DB Capital Partners. It was while in this position, that DB Capital Partners was spun-out, in which he became managing director of new private equity firm, MidOcean Partners.

Liverpool F.C.

Purslow was appointed managing director of LFC in June 2009, with a priority to renegotiate the £350m loan the club had outstanding with RBS and to assume overall management of the club until a new permanent CEO could be appointed. Three months into his tenure, a team headed by Purslow negotiated an £80 million 4 year shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank.

On 6 October 2010, Purslow voted in favour of the sale of the club from the unpopular then-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to the NESV group. In response to this, Hicks tried to block the sale by removing Purslow and Ian Ayre from the board and installing his son, Mack, and his business associate Lori McCutcheon to the board. On 13 October 2010, at a hearing in the High Court in London, Mr Justice Floyd held that Hicks’ actions were unlawful and in breach of the agreement he had signed with RBS. Floyd’s judgment allowed the sale to proceed and, on 15 October 2010, NESV finally completed its £300m takeover of Liverpool in a deal which drastically reduced the club’s debt to RBS.

Having completed his brief by finding a buyer, Purslow stepped down on 20 October 2010 after NESV assumed control of the club. He remained as a non-executive director and special adviser until February 2011.

Following the sale Hicks and Gillett pursued legal action, however, settlement was reached in January 2013 with Hicks and Gillett withdrawing all allegations made against Purslow and fellow directors Broughton and Ayre.

Chelsea F.C.

On 27 October 2014, it was announced that Purslow had joined Chelsea Football Club as "Head of Global Commercial activities" with immediate effect. Since Purslow's appointment, a series of commercial partnerships have been entered into:

In February 2015 it was announced that the Japanese tyre firm Yokohama Rubber was to become CFC’s new shirt sponsor in a deal believed to be worth £200m, making it the second most lucrative in Premier League history. The agreement, effective from next season, is second only to the £53m a year that Chevrolet pays Manchester United and is more than double the club’s previous contract with Samsung.

In June 2015 it was announced that CFC's Delta Air Lines partnership was to be extended by a further three years. Purslow said: ‘We are delighted to be entering into a new phase of our partnership with Delta Air Lines, the world’s biggest airline. Rated by Fortune magazine as one of the world’s most admired companies Delta Air Lines has the profile, reach and reputation which fit perfectly with our strategy of partnering with a small group of world-class companies. ‘Over the next three years we look forward to Delta continuing to help us tell Chelsea’s story all over the world, particularly in their home market in America, where they are such an established and recognised presence.’.

In August 2015 it was announced that CFC had signed luxury watch brand Hublot as its official timekeeper for the 2015/2016 season.

In September 2015 Wipro was announced as CFC’s new official digital and IT partner.

In November 2015 Carabao, a leading energy drink company in Thailand, was announced as CFC’s a new principal partner new official training wear partner from summer 2016.

In February 2016 Beats by Dr. Dre (Beats) was announced as CFC’s new and first ever Official Sound Partner. Announcing the partnership, Purslow said: 'The core objective of this innovative partnership will be to put the Beats “b” at the heart of Chelsea Football Club – enabling our global fanbase to gain insight into Chelsea players as they prepare to represent the club on the biggest stages in world football.”

In August 2016 William Hill were named as CFC’s Official Betting Partner for three years. William Hill offer odds through its website and smartphone apps in addition to hosting CFC’s matchday betting service at Stamford Bridge.

In October 2016 Chelsea announced a £900m kit deal with Nike. The Independent reported that the deal had taken the club to second-place in the Premier League in terms of commercial deals: “it demonstrates the west London club’s emergence as a substantial player in the competitive market for international sponsorship deals, with the ex-Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow delivering big revenues since his appointment in 2014 as head of the club’s global commercial activities”. The deal was described by the BBC's Dan Roan as a "remarkable ... coup"

It was announced on 17 February 2017 that Christian Purslow was moving on from CFC. Chairman Bruce Buck said "Christian joined us in 2014 with the goal of transforming our commercial activities. Under his leadership some of the world's finest brands and companies have joined us and we have announced some record-breaking sponsorships. Christian will continue to work with the club in a transition period until the end of the season. We are very grateful for his contribution and he will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge."