Peter Kenyon, fmr CEO @Man Utd & Chelsea: “Mourinho Was the Best Money Chelsea Spent”

Today we welcome one of football’s most iconic CEOs. When Peter Kenyon moved from Manchester United to Chelsea in 2003 after Roman Abramovich bought the club, it was the first time a move in the boardroom was treated like a player transfer. Sir Alex Ferguson was said to be ‘intensely disappointed’, not least because he recognised the role Peter played in the success of United at the time. Having built Man Utd into both a performance and commercial powerhouse, Peter took on the task of executing Abramovich’s vision; to build the best club in Europe. From working with Ferguson to hiring Mourinho, from creating culture to delivering trophies, we get an answer to the question we have asked for a long time: How to build success off the pitch AND win on it?

On today’s show we discuss:

1. Manchester United: Building a Global Brand

- Sir Alex Ferguson was key to the success of Manchester United on and off the pitch; why you couldn’t detach winning from the commercial achievements of the club.

- “Why are some businesses successful and others not? It’s down to people”. The importance of building the best team for the job at hand.

- It wasn’t necessarily about signing the best players; it was about signing the personalities that fit the culture.

- Why United were able to capitalise on their success from a business standpoint where Liverpool didn’t.

- The story behind Rupert Murdoch’s failed acquisition of the club in 1998.

2. The Move to Chelsea:

- Why did Peter leave the biggest club in the country to take over at newly owned Chelsea in 2003?

- “Abramovich was an unbelievable owner”. What made Chelsea’s owner so great for his 20 years of stewardship and what makes the best owners in football?

- The story (and theory) behind firing Claudio Ranieri and signing Jose Mourinho, and why it just may be the best money Chelsea spent.

- Conversations with Abramovich before he bought the club included a very clear set of ambitions and a definition of what success looks like; what were the targets?

- What was the hardest deal to get done while Peter was in charge of Chelsea?

3. The Industry Today:

- “The downfall of United was the success of United”. Why it is so important to have a succession plan in sport.

- Are we seeing a break in the relationship of a necessity to win to drive strong commercial performance?

- It may pain Peter to admit it, but why does he think Liverpool have done an exceptional job in recent years where others have struggled?

- In a nod to his current board seat at Williams F1, why the Williams comeback will be the greatest in sporting history!