Albion confirm Board Room changes
West Bromwich Albion Chief Executive Mark Jenkins is to leave the Club next month to end a 14-year association with The Hawthorns.
Jenkins, who joined the Club as Finance Director in October 2002, was promoted to CEO four years later during which time he has overseen Albion’s most successful era for more than a generation.
The Club have confirmed that his replacement will be Martin Goodman, who will leave his current post as Chief Financial Officer at Stoke City to take up his new Hawthorns role on January 1.
Jenkins’s last game in a 14-year tour of duty, the bulk of which has been spent in the Premier League, is the televised home clash against Manchester United on December 17.
He said: “This came down to feeling like the right time to go. The change of ownership feels like a natural moment for parting.
“I’ve watched the Premier League become one of the biggest competitions in global sports. We were late to the party and it has grown massively but the primary objective was to get Albion into the Premier League and stabilised at this level. That has been achieved.
“Now it is time for fresh ideas and fresh momentum to carry the club forward.
“But it has been a wonderful experience and I would do it all over again.”
ALL SMILES: Jenkins celebrates with Pulis as he reaches 1000 games in management
Jenkins is stepping down despite efforts to persuade him to stay by the Club’s new ownership group and Chairman John Williams.
He said: “Having made it clear from the outset that we were very keen for Mark to stay, both myself and the club’s new owners were disappointed at his decision to step down.
“He has made an outstanding contribution to the progress of West Bromwich Albion in the modern era.
“This has been his decision and we fully respect that - he leaves with our best wishes and appreciation of a job well done.”
Williams will welcome into the CEO role a man he knows well from their work together at Blackburn Rovers which began in 1997 and continued through to August 2011.
Within weeks of departing his role as Finance Director at Ewood, Goodman joined Stoke City – where current Albion Head Coach Tony Pulis was manager - and played his own part in helping the Potteries club grow its Premier League profile.
Said Goodman: "It is a great honour and privilege for me to become CEO at West Bromwich Albion Football Club, a club with a long and rich history.
“I look forward to working with the Chairman and senior management team at an exciting time for this famous football club, and I will endeavour to do everything possible to help ensure we maximise its potential."
Williams said: “I’ve known Martin professionally for many years. He has a comprehensive knowledge of how a Premier League club works on and off the pitch and so hits the ground running.
“While he will retain the strong financial and budgetary controls that has brought stability to the club, he will be a fan-friendly CEO looking to create a ‘Fortress Hawthorns’ match-day environment.
“He is a fair-minded but determined man who will re-energise some aspects of the club that need a lift. Carrying on with the good work of Mark he will present new challenges and focus for his fellow directors, management and staff.”