Christian Purslow

Christian Purslow
Born	(1963-12-14) December 14, 1963 United Kingdom
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, football executive
Known for	CEO of Aston Villa Football Club, managing director at Liverpool F.C., Head of Global Commercial Operations at Chelsea F.C., co-founder of MidOcean Partners

Christian Purslow (born 14 December 1963) is a British entrepreneur who most recently held the position of CEO at Premier League club Aston Villa Football Club. He is a co-founder of the private equity firm MidOcean Partners and has previously been managing director at Liverpool Football Club as well as managing director and head of global commercial operations at Chelsea Football Club.

Early life

Purslow attended Aylesbury Grammar School before earning a degree in modern and medieval languages from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He later completed his MBA at Harvard Business School, graduating as a Baker Scholar.

Career

Beginning his career as an analyst with L.E.K. Consulting, Purslow then served as executive assistant to the CEO at the Burton Group. He moved on to lead new business development at Reuters and subsequently managed UK mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse First Boston. His career progressed with roles including head of cable, media, and entertainment investments at Schroders Salomon Smith Barney and managing director at DB Capital Partners. Upon DB Capital Partners’ spinout, he became managing director of the newly formed private equity firm, MidOcean Partners.

Liverpool F.C.

In June 2009, Purslow was appointed managing director of Liverpool Football Club. His initial focus was renegotiating the club’s £350 million loan with RBS and overseeing the club’s management until a permanent CEO was appointed. Within three months, he successfully negotiated an £80 million four-year shirt sponsorship agreement with Standard Chartered Bank.

On 6 October 2010, Purslow backed the sale of Liverpool from owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to the NESV group. Hicks attempted to obstruct the sale by removing Purslow from the board; however, a High Court ruling declared this removal unlawful, allowing the £300 million takeover to be completed on 15 October 2010. This transaction substantially reduced Liverpool’s debt owed to RBS.

Following the completion of the sale, Purslow resigned on 20 October 2010 but continued to serve as a non-executive director and special adviser until February 2011. After legal action initiated by Hicks and Gillett, a settlement in January 2013 led to all claims against Purslow and other directors being dropped.

Chelsea F.C.

Purslow joined Chelsea Football Club on 27 October 2014 as Head of Global Commercial Activities. During his tenure, he secured prominent partnerships with Yokohama, Wipro, Carabao, and negotiated the club’s £900 million kit deal with Nike—a deal hailed by BBC’s Dan Roan as a “remarkable ... coup.”

He announced his departure from Chelsea on 17 February 2017, leaving at the conclusion of the 2017–18 season.

Aston Villa F.C.

On 31 August 2018, Purslow was named CEO of Aston Villa Football Club, which was then competing in its third consecutive season in the EFL Championship. Under his leadership and that of manager Dean Smith—whom he appointed in October 2018—the club achieved promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs.

Despite transferring star player Jack Grealish to Manchester City prior to the 2021–22 season, Aston Villa secured mid-table finishes during their first three seasons back in the Premier League. Purslow addressed supporters directly regarding Grealish’s departure.

In November 2021, Purslow appointed former colleague Steven Gerrard as manager, reuniting from their time at Liverpool. After Gerrard’s dismissal in October 2022, Purslow recruited Unai Emery, who guided Villa to a seventh-place finish in the 2022–23 season.

Purslow resigned as CEO and director on 12 June 2023. Reports suggested his exit allowed Emery greater authority with long-term associate Monchi appointed Head of Football Operations. West Ham United director Karren Brady described Purslow’s departure as a “huge loss” for the Premier League.

In recognition of his contributions, Purslow was awarded an honorary doctorate by Aston University in 2022.