Newcastle could be set to poach the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of one of their biggest rivals to become the club’s new CEO.
Following on from Darren Eales’ announcement back in September last year that he would be stepping down from the role following a blood cancer diagnosis, the position of Newcastle CEO is said to have attracted significant interest across the Premier League.
And after a period of major upheaval at a number of the division’s top sides, Newcastle may just be in line to secure a major asset for the club hierarchy and day-to-day management of the club.
According to The Telegraph’s James Ducker, Manchester United’s COO Colette Roche is in frame to become the new CEO of Newcastle United, one of the most important roles at the club.
Roche, or whoever the club appoints in the future, to replace current CEO Darren Eales upon the end of his ‘long notice period’ will have big shoes to fill as the club continues to grow and progress into one of the elite teams in the country.
Eales’ role since assuming the CEO position in August 2022, the 52-year-old has been at the forefront of the club’s communications to fans and the press, and been integral to the day-to-day operation of the club.
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With Newcastle United firmly on the rise in the Premier League and hoping to break onto the European stage from next season, the vacant CEO spot has become quite a coveted position.
One major candidate is former Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, who stepped down from the Gunners last summer having been appointed in 2020.
Whoever the Magpies do end up appointing to the position will become a key spokesperson and public face of the club and its executive figures, a role Eales delivered very well during his near three year tenure.
After the recent turbulence and in-office changes going on at Old Trafford, it’s surely a testament to Colette Roche’s ability and skill that she’s been entrusted as COO of Manchester United under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Joining the Red Devils in 2018 after being the Managing Director of Manchester Airport, Roche is said to have been very hands on with the daily running of Manchester United, particularly after Dan Ashworth’s department in December.
Roche has also overseen the delivery of a £50 million revamp of their Carrington training base, alongside other key responsibilities, to which Ducker writes.
“This has been on top of the leading role she has been playing in United’s new £2 billion stadium project and chairmanship of the board of the Manchester United Foundation, the club’s charitable arm.”