I HAVE two announcements to make today.
Firstly, the sad news is that Syd White is finding combining running his own business and driving the commercial aspect of the club forward an impossible task. There are simply not enough hours in his day and Syd has made it known to me personally that he really cannot commit the required amount of time, so he simply has to take a little step back.
I’m delighted to say though that he is most definitely not exiting stage left. He will still remain an absolutely vital part of the club and will now focus more on the operating side, rather than the commercial and strategic side, of the club. As such, Syd will become the chief operating officer.
Simultaneously though, and after years of trying to get him involved at the club, the personal circumstances of my good friend Ian Milligan have changed, and I’m thrilled to announce that Ian will become the new chief executive officer of Stalybridge Celtic. I have known Ian since our university days together and he arrives with a seriously impressive CV. Ian was a senior manager at Kellogg’s, then sales and marketing director at Camelot before moving on to be CEO of a couple of companies that he grew significantly. His role will be to do precisely that with our club.
His main tasks will be to bring in large new sponsorship, be that the ground, the shirt, a new social club or getting companies to even sponsor matches. We desperately need to increase our revenue so that we can give Liam the best possible budget for next season. I am convinced that Ian will be a major addition to the club and we are fortunate to have him on board.
Both appointments are effective from January 1, 2016.
Ian is delighted to finally be on board and had this to say: "Having supported non-league football for 45 years, known Rob for 35 of those and followed Stalybridge for the last ten, I am really looking forward to this opportunity. I don't underestimate the challenge and look forward to working with the fans, Syd, Rob and the rest of the club to best support Liam on the pitch."