A look at the six faces on the front row of the Goodison Park directors' box for Everton's game with Chelsea following the completion of the takeover by the Friedkin Group
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Following the completion of the Friedkin Group’s Everton takeover on Thursday, there were some new faces in the directors’ box at Goodison Park for Sunday’s goalless draw against Chelsea. Representatives of the Houston-based consortium of businesses were present at a Blues fixture for the first time.
Despite recent trips to the UK to play golf in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews and Carnoustie in October and then attend talks with Claudio Ranieri in London last month ahead of appointing him Roma’s fourth head coach this year, Dan Friedkin, chairman and chief executive of TFG, who is proposed to be chairman of the board at Everton, was not present and neither was his son Ryan.
But here’s a look at who was in attendance in Liverpool to witness Sean Dyche’s men pick up their first point of the post-Farhad Moshiri era against Enzo Maresca’s high flying side. The front row of the directors’ box (right to left) went as following...
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Marc Watts
Everton’s new executive chairman, he will run the club on a day-to-day basis for TFG.
Watts has written an open letter to Evertonians and following the completion of the takeover, he proclaimed: “Today marks a momentous and proud occasion for The Friedkin Group as we become custodians of this iconic football club. We are committed to leading Everton into an exciting new era both on and off the pitch.
“Providing immediate financial stability to the club has been a key priority, and we are delighted to have achieved this. While restoring Everton to its rightful place in the Premier League table will take time, today is the first step in that journey.”
As the ECHO’s chief business of football writer Dave Powell reported, Watts is an attorney by trade, and is a trusted figure within TFG, having arrived at the company back in 2011 as president following his time as vice-chairman and managing partner of the Houston office of the 700-attorney Texan-based law firm of Locke Lord LLP, amassing over 26 years of experience in corporate and securities law, governance and related matters. He currently serves on the board of a private real estate company, Highland Resources, Cabot Oil and Gas, Service Corporation International, and various civic and community boards including Greater Houston Partnership and Methodist Hospital Foundation.
Watts attended both Texas A&M University and Harvard Law School in 1980 and 1984, respectively, and, like Friedkin, is an extremely keen golfer, holding memberships to multiple US clubs. He has been on the board at Roma since the Friedkin takeover in 2020, but is now set to step up for a far more prominent role at Everton and the ECHO understands that his focus going forward will be dominated by his new senior role at the Blues.
Colin Chong
Everton’s chief stadium development officer, he has been overseeing the building of the Blues’ future 52,888 capacity home on the Mersey waterfront since construction work began in 2021. Since the resignation of Denise Barrett-Baxendale in June 2023, he has also been operating as the club’s interim chief executive and was the first senior figure at Goodison Park to react to the initial 10-point deduction in November last year.
Chong was present alongside Watts in the home dressing room at Everton Stadium last week when the site was formally handed over to the club by contractors Laing O’Rourke. He will now help oversee a smooth transition of power to TFG with the new owners looking to appoint a replacement permanent CEO.
Kevin Thelwell
Everton’s director of football, Thelwell joined the club from New York Red Bulls in February 2022 following previous stints as academy manager at Derby County and the same position at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he rose to become head of football development and recruitment. On taking up his position at the Blues, he implemented a 120-point plan to overhaul the club, but like manager Sean Dyche, Thelwell's current contract expires at the end of this season.
Brian Walker
TFG’s vice-president of strategy, he served in the United States Marine Corps for seven years between 2003-10, after obtaining his degree in Economics and History from Texas Tech University. After coming out of the armed forces, Walker worked as an investment banking associate for J.P. Morgan between 2011-14 and then as engagement manager for McKinsley & Company, between 2014-18, both in the Houston area, before joining TFG in 2018.
Charlie Daniel
A UK-based director at TFG, Daniel obtained his first class degree in Politics and Sociology from the University of Leeds in 2012. After working in London for Invest Africa and African Capital Investments, he was a co-founder and director of Fidelia Partners (formerly AltCap), between January 2019 and December 2021, before taking up his role with TFG.
Rishi Majithia
Like Daniel, Majithia is based in London and he leads investment and M&A strategy (plans for combining or acquiring other businesses to achieve specific goals) for MONTE, a global asset manager. With a decade of experience in capital raising and M&A, he has worked with investors and companies across various sectors and locations and has a background in investment banking and corporate law, having previously worked at Zeus Capital and Covington & Burling LLP.
The 32-year-old has an MBA with Distinction from London Business School and NYU Stern, and holds an MA in Economics & Management from Oxford University, graduating with an Upper Second Class degree in 2014. Monte’s headquarters are in Guilford, Connecticut, and their business interests include the aviation and maritime sectors.