SENIOR FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT
Senior Football Management oversees Everton’s entire football operation, from the men’s and women’s First Teams through to the youngest age groups of the Club’s Category One Academy.
Kevin Thelwell
Director of Football
Kevin was appointed Everton's Director of Football in February 2022.
Reporting directly to the Club’s Board of Directors, he is the strategic lead for recruitment and all the Club’s football departments, including First Team, Academy, coaching, sport science, medical services and analysis.
On his appointment, Kevin oversaw key elements of Everton's strategic football review, leading to changes to the structure, function and approach of the Club’s football operation.
Before joining Everton, Kevin was Head of Sport at New York Red Bulls (2020-2022) in Major League Soccer. He has also previously served as Sporting Director (2016-2020) and Head of Football Development and Recruitment (2013-16) at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
There, he was instrumental in the club’s rise from English football’s third tier to two seventh place finishes in the Premier League while both attracting and developing a wealth of first-team talents.
Men’s Senior Team
Sean Dyche
Manager
Ian Woan
Assistant Manager
Steve Stone
First-Team Coach
Alan Kelly
Goalkeeping Coach
Billy Mercer
Interim Goalkeeping Coach
Mark Howard
Head of Men's Senior Team Performance
John Hollingsworth
Senior Team Club Doctor
Adam Newall
Head of Medical Services
Jack Nayler
Head of Sports Science
Dan Purdy
Manager of Scouting and Operations
Everton Women
Brian Sorensen
Senior Team Manager
Brian was confirmed as the manager of Everton Women in April 2022 and took up the role ahead of the 2022/23 season.
A UEFA Pro Licence coach since 2015, he arrived at Everton with a reputation for developing young talent and forming tight-knit squads.
Before moving to Merseyside, Brian won two league titles and a domestic cup during two stints in charge of Fortuna Hjorring, establishing the Danish club as regulars in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
His CV also includes a further two domestic cup triumphs during spells with Denmark's IK Skovbakken and FC Nordsjaelland.
Alan McTavish
Chief Executive Officer of Everton Women
Alan joined Everton in September 2015, initially as the Club’s Head of Commercial Partnerships, before becoming Head of Commercial in 2016 and Commercial Director in 2018 – prior to his current role.
Alan is now part of the Strategic Leadership Team for our women’s team. He is tasked with delivering the Club’s ambitions of challenging for honours both domestically and in Europe, growing the fanbase and maximising the commercial opportunities for Everton Women.
During his time at Everton he has been responsible for securing the Club’s then-record Main Partnership deal and its first Sleeve Partner contract among others – as well as delivering the first standalone shirt sponsor and sleeve sponsor for Everton Women.
Alan received a postgraduate Masters degree from Salford University in 2021 after completing the ‘Business Administration: CEO of a Sporting Organisation’ course. His dissertation, which earned a Distinction, focused on the commercial landscape of professional women’s football.
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 Glasgow Rangers.
Academy
Gareth Prosser
Director of Academy
Gareth became Everton's Director of Academy in June 2020, taking up a streamlined role created by Director of Football Kevin Thelwell as part of the Club's strategic review.
Working closely with Kevin, Gareth is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Everton’s world-renowned Academy, implementing a strategy across age groups, developing talent and creating a clear pathway into the Blues’ First Team.
He previously worked alongside Kevin at both Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he was Academy Manager between 2013 and 2019.
Gareth has also held the position of General Manager of the Professional Game Academy Audit Company (PGAAC), an organisation set up by the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association to quality assure the youth development programmes of all professional clubs in the country.
Carl Darlington
Head of Academy Coaching
Joel Waldron
Head of Academy Recruitment
John McKeown
Head of Academy Sports Science
Chris Adamson
Head of Academy Education & Player Care
Peter Beirne
Head of Academy Medical
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM
The Executive Leadership Team is tasked with overseeing and successfully delivering the Club's objectives. The individuals who are part of the team are listed below.
Richard Kenyon
Chief Commercial and Communications Officer
Richard joined Everton in 2014 as Director of Marketing and Communications and, in November 2021, took on an expanded remit to increase revenues and drive commercial growth across the Club.
Match attendances and the Club’s Season Ticket waiting list have grown to record levels through the work of Richard’s teams and, with a focus on the Club’s stadium project, he is now responsible for optimising sales of Season Tickets, Memberships, Tours and other non-matchday events, and acquiring new commercial partners.
Growing the fanbase and devising and delivering the Club's international strategy are key priorities of the teams working in Richard’s area, which is also responsible for supporter engagement and communication across all platforms and with diverse stakeholder groups.
As Chief Executive Officer of Everton in the Community between 2018 and 2021, Richard delivered record-breaking revenues in line with his growth plan for the charity in consecutive years, almost doubling the size of the organisation and significantly increasing the number and breadth of the programmes delivered. During this period, Richard and his team devised and led the consultation and engagement process for the Club’s new stadium – a process which received widescale public support and resulted in planning permission being granted for both a new waterfront stadium and a community-led regeneration scheme on the Goodison Park site.
Before joining Everton, Richard was Chief Executive for more than 10 years of a leading Marketing and Communications agency where he performed consultancy roles with The R&A for golf’s oldest major, The Open Championship, and The Jockey Club, including for the Grand National.
Earlier in his career, Richard worked for Major League Soccer in the UK and US and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).
Alan Bowen
Chief Operations Officer
Alan is one of the Club’s longest-serving employees, having been with Everton for almost four decades.
He is responsible for preparing Goodison Park for matchdays and ensuring the stadium is safe and provides the best possible matchday experience for all spectators. This includes overseeing the areas of safety, security, stewarding and maintenance, and he is one of the Club’s representatives on the Ground Safety Advisory Group.
Based at Goodison, Alan also coordinates operations at Everton’s state-of-the-art training facility, Finch Farm, and the Everton in the Community campus.
He was heavily involved in Everton’s move to Finch Farm from the Club’s previous Bellefield training ground in 2007 and has since liaised on design concepts and upgrades to the site, which is recognised as one of the foremost training complexes in British football.
Given his expertise, Alan also has an important role in planning for the Club's move to a new stadium, providing key input on issues of access, safety and the facilities required at the site.
Alan’s recent achievements include overseeing the revamp of Goodison’s hospitality lounges and the provision and construction of a new accessibility platform that provides some of the best elevated viewing facilities for disabled football supporters in England.
Colin Chong
Chief Stadium Development Officer
A construction industry specialist with more than 35 years’ experience in the development sector, Colin was appointed in August 2018 to support the Club’s ambition of delivering a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
He is responsible for the successful delivery of Everton Stadium and oversees all aspects of planning and construction activity, as well as directing and managing relationships with key construction partners including Laing O’Rourke, Gardner & Theobald and Buro Happold.
Before joining Everton from Laing O’Rourke in 2016 as Head of Estates at Goodison Park, Colin had delivered a vast range of large-scale projects and 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.
He also worked on behalf of the Club to deliver the build of the Park Stand at Goodison in 1994.
In his current role, Colin has responsibility for the operational management of the Club's business headquarters at the Royal Liver Building.
In June 2023, Colin was appointed interim Chief Executive Officer and Director.
James Maryniak
Interim Chief Finance Officer
SENIOR LEADERS
Our Senior Leaders support the Executive Leadership Team, helping to drive the Club forward.
Katie Charles
Director of Legal Services
Dan Conlin
Director of Strategy
Paul Goodwin
Director of Procurement
Alison Haynes
Director of Tax
Stephanie Hughes
Director of Marketing
Rachael Jones
Director of People Operations
Clare Kearney
Director of People Engagement
James Maryniak
Director of Finance
Scott McLeod
Director of Communications & Engagement
Mark Rollings
Director of Partnerships
Neil Russell
Director of Venue Experience & Revenue
Jonathan Williams
Deputy Director of Football Operations
Catherine Wright
Director of Governance
