One of the most prominent and highly-respected women in the world of football, Dr Denise Barrett-Baxendale, MBE, spent 16 years working in education, fulfilling a variety of academic and leadership roles within Higher Education before venturing into the third sector and world of sport.

Arriving at the Club in January 2010 to develop and lead a transformation strategy for Everton in the Community, Denise was appointed the Club’s Chief Operating Officer in October 2011 and promoted to Deputy Chief Executive in June 2013.

The following year, she was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for ‘Services to the Community of Merseyside’. In her role as Deputy CEO, Denise played an integral part in improving the matchday experience for supporters, in turn helping to increase attendances and enhance Everton’s reputation both nationally and abroad. She was also responsible for the Club's HR, ICT, Stadium Operations and Stadium Safety teams.

Denise joined the Everton Board of Directors in July 2016, the same month she was appointed to the Board of Sport England, the national body for grassroots sport. She was promoted to CEO in June 2018.

Richard Kenyon
Director of Marketing, Communications & International - and Chief Executive of Everton in the Community

 

Richard’s role at the Club includes devising and implementing strategies to drive growth of attendances, Season Tickets, Memberships, Tours and Events - all of which have had record growth in recent years - and overseeing fan engagement, fan experience and ticketing.

Richard has also led development of Everton’s International strategy and has built a team at the Club - and an international consultant network - to deliver our international growth plans.

He has responsibility for Media, Content, Public Relations and Corporate Communications – and his team delivered the extensive public consultation and engagement process for the Club’s stadium relocation to Bramley-Moore Dock and a community-led legacy at Goodison Park.

As Chief Executive of Everton in the Community, Richard has responsibility for managing one of Europe’s most successful and respected sporting charities. His role also includes devising and delivering a growth plan which is enabling us to support tens of thousands of people every year through more than 40 programmes and will maximise the opportunities presented to us by the Goodison Legacy – a £100m community-led regeneration project.

Outside of Everton, Richard is a Board member of the Liverpool Visitor Economy Network and Regional Chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Before joining Everton, Richard was Chief Executive for more than 10 years of a leading Marketing and Communications consultancy and held Director-level positions at Major League Soccer (Camps) in the UK and US. He also delivered education and training on behalf of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), was Head of Marketing and Communications for The Jockey Club in the North West -including for the Grand National – (interim), and was a consultant to the R&A for golf’s oldest major, The Open Championship

David Harrison 
Club Secretary & Director of Football Operations

 

After briefly holding the post of Assistant Club Secretary, David was appointed as Club Secretary in 2002. He had previously joined the Club from Manchester United seven years earlier as Box Office Manager.

Acknowledged as one of the leading football administrators in the Premier League, David has also been appointed a non-Executive Director of Liverpool County FA, a member of the European Club Association and is regularly called upon to attend Premier League working groups.

He has worked extremely closely with the Chairman, Team Manager and Chief Executive on many high-profile and complex player acquisitions for the Club. As part of the promotions to Everton's Leadership Team in June 2018, David was appointed Director of Football Operations.

Alan McTavish
Commercial Director

 

 

Alan joined Everton in September 2015, initially as the Club’s Head of Commercial Partnerships, before becoming Head of Commercial in 2016 prior to his current role.

During this time he has been responsible for securing the Club’s record Main Partnership deal and its first Sleeve Partner contract among others. Alan is tasked with the responsibility for enhancing Everton’s commercial profile and driving revenue growth. 

The principal areas of focus are the acquisition of new commercial partners and sponsors. Managing and exploring new revenue streams and relationship building across the marketplace and beyond are other key components of the role. Previously, Alan held the position of Commercial Director at Watford Football Club, where he spent three years as a key part of the senior management group, and before that worked at Rangers FC in Glasgow.

Prior to his move into the sports industry, his career included roles at Wella – where he won the coveted British Newcomer of the Year award – TAG Heuer and Michael Page International, where he performed successfully in a variety of sales, business development and key account management roles.

Joel Waldron
Academy Chief Operating Officer

 

Appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer in September 2020, Joel has overall responsibility for the Academy and each of its Recruitment, Coaching, Sports Science and Medicine, Education and Welfare, Operations, Analytics, and Safeguarding sub-departments.

Joel joined Everton in a full-time capacity in 2011 as Academy Coordinator, having previously supported the Recruitment department set-up on a part-time basis. Within three years he was promoted to the position of Head of Academy Operations and was responsible for the management of the Academy programme and daily operations at USM Finch Farm. 

Born and raised on Merseyside, the lifelong Evertonian assumed the position of Academy Manager at the start of the 2017/18 season. He was then promoted to Academy Director in June 2018 and joined the Club's Leadership Team. In his role as Chief Operating Officer, he will draw upon his in-depth knowledge of the minutiae of the workings of each area to enhance and maintain the first-class development programme with which Everton’s Academy has become synonymous.


Paul McNicholas
Director of Risk and Governance

 

Paul joined Everton as Head of Risk & Governance in 2016, having previously spent four years as Head of Risk for Manchester Airport Group, overseeing risk management for four UK airports. Before that, Paul spent more than a decade at Deloitte, specialising in governance, risk management and internal audit, where he led international engagements for global organisations in Germany, Japan, China and Central Europe.

In his current role, Paul oversees governance and risk management at Everton, ensuring robust processes are in place to protect the Club. He also supports the development of the Club’s long-term strategy, while leading on management information and reporting, data protection and insurance.


Kim Healey
People Director

 

Kim joined Everton as Head of Human Resources in 2015, having had more than 15 years’ experience of leading HR functions at Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers.

She played an integral role in Everton entering The Sunday Times' 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the first time in February 2018.

Kim was promoted to the position of People Director in June 2018. The creation of this position is recognition, that to be successful, the Club needs to attract and retain the best talent on and off the pitch.

As People Director, Kim aims to create an inspired, inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone can work to their full potential. She has responsibility for employee engagement, wellbeing, learning and development, safeguarding and equality and diversity, ensuring best practice is followed across the business.

Kim’s prominence in HR has seen her become fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.


Colin Chong
Stadium Development Director

 

A construction industry specialist with more than 35 years’ experience in the development sector, Colin was appointed to his role in August 2018 to support the Club’s ambition of delivering a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

He has successfully delivered a vast range of large-scale projects and has been involved at a senior-level in stadium redevelopment projects at Old Trafford and the Manchester Commonwealth Games stadium, as well as the build of the DW Stadium. Colin also delivered the build of the Park Stand at Goodison Park in 1994.

Colin initially joined Everton from Laing O’Rourke in 2016 as Head of Estates at Goodison Park.

Grant Ingles
Finance Director

 

Finance Director Grant Ingles is responsible for leading Everton’s finance and strategy team.

The 22-strong department has responsibility for delivering Everton’s annual accounts, maintaining the Club’s financial systems, managing the payroll, complying with tax regulations and maintaining banking facilities. Grant’s team supports decision-making across all the Club’s financial functions including player transfers and contract extensions.

It is also tasked with delivering the financial business plan for Everton’s proposed move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. Grant’s association with Everton began in 2006 when he worked at the Club on secondment from Deloitte Sports Group, where he was a consultant.

He subsequently joined Everton permanently and became the Club’s Finance Director in 2013. He has also held positions away from the Club. During a two-year stay in Australia he was Finance Director at Sydney FC and he has also worked as Head of Finance at Liverpool FC.

Grant returned to Everton in 2018 for his third spell at Everton, working alongside CEO Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale as part of the Everton Leadership Team (ELT).


Alan Bowen
Operations Director

Operations Director Alan Bowen is one of the Club’s longest-serving employees, having been with Everton for 37 years.

He is responsible for preparing Goodison Park for matchdays, ensuring the stadium is safe and provides the best possible matchday experience for all spectators.

Alan also has an important role as the Club plans to move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, providing key input into access, safety and facilities required at the site.

Alan is based at Goodison but also oversees operations at Everton’s state-of-the-art training facility, USM Finch Farm, and the Everton in the Community (EitC) campus. He is assisted by John Holmes, Head of Estates at USM Finch Farm, and facility managers at each site.

He was heavily involved in Everton’s move to USM Finch Farm from the Club’s previous training ground at Bellefield in 2007. He has liaised on design concepts and upgrades to the site, which is recognised as one of the foremost training complexes in British football.

Alan’s recent achievements include overseeing the revamp of Goodison’s hospitality lounges and the provision and construction of new accessibility platform facilities. The new accessibility developments enable the Club to conform with Premier League regulations and offer some of the best elevated viewing facilities for disabled football supporters in England.


Heads Of Department

John McKeown
Head of Academy Sports Science and Medicine

Oliver Wright
Head of Hospitality and Sales 

Scott McLeod
Head of Communications and Engagement

Mark Rollings
Head of Partnership Management

David Lewis
Head of Stadium Safety and Security

Julie Lloyd
Head of Safeguarding

Phil Davies
Head of IT

Amy Wells
Head of Legal Services 

John Holmes
Head of Estates - Finch Farm

Danny Donachie
Director of Medical Services

James Kemp
Head of Finance

James Maryniak
Head of Reporting

Christopher Clark
Head of Strategy

Paul Graley
Head of Performance Analysis

Michael Salla
Director of Health and Sport, Everton in the Community

Sue Gregory
Director of Youth Engagement, Employability and Sports Development, Everton in the Community

 

Lesley Beattie
Director of Development, Everton in the Community

Linda McMullen
Director of Finance, Resources and Operations, Everton in the Community

Richard Cronin
Principal, Everton Free School

Claire Lamontagne
Deputy Principal, Everton Free School