Inside Everton’s interim board changes as Colin Chong explains transition process
The interim chief executive detailed the process of his appointment in the BBC’s new Everton FC podcast series. While it took almost two weeks to be made public, Colin Chong said he was approached the day after boardroom departures
Everton’s interim chief executive Colin Chong was asked to step into the role the day after the departure of Denise Barrett-Baxendale and other board members.
The exits of Barrett-Baxendale, non-executive director Graeme Sharp and chief finance officer Grant Ingles were announced by the club on June 12 – almost a fortnight after the win over Bournemouth that confirmed Premier League safety on the final day of the campaign.
Everton said replacement appointments would be revealed within the following 48 hours, though it was almost two weeks before the make-up of a new-look board was made public.
Speaking in the BBC’s new Everton podcast series, Chong offered a glimpse inside the transition and said he was approached for the new post within 24 hours of Barrett-Baxendale leaving the club. He described the opportunity of taking such a prestigious position as a “dream role”
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The length of time between the two announcements caused concern around the process, which ended with Chong taking on the role of interim chief executive – and director and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and chartered accountant John Spellman becoming non-executive directors. Bill Kenwright remained as chairman while James Maryniak, previously the director of finance, became interim chief finance officer.
As chief stadium development officer, Chong was already a significant influence at Everton and he believes this – and the preparatory work and contingency planning already in place – led to a change that was smoother than perhaps appeared from the outside.
Discussing the period within Everton: Nothing Will Be the Same, he said: “There is always a contingency plan within a football club and there was a document prepared – whether it was for me or for somebody else. In fairness to Denise, the document was prepared and it was ready just to be handed over.
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