Fox confirmed as Faulkner successor at Villa Park

ASTON Villa has confirmed the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive in succession to Paul Faulkner.

Rumours the appointment was imminent have been circulating for some time, even though the football club remains up for sale.

Fox’s background is in the broader sports industry but for the past five years he has been Chief Commercial Officer at Barclays Premier League rival, Arsenal.

Villa said his switch from the Emirates was a coup for the club and he was the ideal choice to make the club a more competitive force in the league.

In a statement on the Villa club website, chairman Randy Lerner said: “I was delighted and even flattered by Tom’s interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward.”

Chief Financial Officer Robin Russell said: “I have got to know Tom over five years of Premier League meetings and have come to respect his professionalism and industry knowledge. I am looking forward to working with him.”

The club said Fox had built an extensive and impressive résumé in the sports-marketing industry over more than 25 years.

In addition to opening the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) first office in Asia as managing director, he has also headed up Sports Marketing for Nike in both Asia and the US and held the same role for PepsiCo’s Gatorade brand before he joined Arsenal in 2009.

“First of all I would be remiss not to thank everyone at the Arsenal for all their support over the past five years. I consider it a huge privilege to have represented the club and to have helped move it forward,” said Fox in the statement.

“Aston Villa has always been an important club in English football and it has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game.

“The chance to work with Randy, Paul Lambert and Robin to help restore the club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I’m really energised by and greatly looking forward to.”