Chris Townsend (LOCOG)

Chris Townsend OBE is the Commercial Director of Chelsea F.C. as confirmed on the 22nd February 2017.

Chris Townsend OBE is confirmed to take over the role of Commercial Director of Chelsea F.C. following the departure of Christian Purslow. The news was confirmed by Secretary of State for The Department for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley who praised Chris for growing the UK's Broadband Coverage to over 93% in the three years he was CEO of BDUK. In a Tweet, Head of the British Civil Service Jeremy Heywood thanked Chris for his leadership and described his work as "commercial expertise at its best". As Commercial Director, Chris will be responsible for all of Chelsea's commercial programmes including global sponsorship, ticketing, licensing and merchandise.

Chris Townsend was appointed CEO of Broadband Delivery UK in January 2014. Chris oversees a £1 billion investment in improving broadband internet access and mobile infrastructure, with the ambition to provide super-fast broadband (speeds of 24Mbit/s or more) for at least 95% of UK premises and universal access to basic broadband (speeds of at least 2Mbit/s). He will further manage a Government investment of up to £150 million to support UK cities to develop the digital infrastructure capability to remain internationally competitive and attractive for investors, business and visitors. The permanent secretary at DCMS, Sue Owen, described Chris Townsend's appointment as, “in line with [Treasury minister] Lord Deighton’s review of big government infrastructure projects”, which recommended bringing in commercial expertise to fill capability gaps and ensure that key projects are delivered successfully. In February 2015, Chris Townsend announced that BDUK was set to reach its target of 95 percent coverage by 2017.

Chris Townsend was part of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid team in his previous role as Marketing Director at Transport for London. The Chairman of the London 2012 Olympic bid, Sir Keith Mills, encouraged Townsend to apply for the commercial director role. In June 2006, Chris Townsend was appointed as Commercial Director by the London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. Townsend is responsible for domestic sponsorship, ticket marketing and merchandising of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the negotiation of worldwide broadcast rights and sponsorship for the games with the International Olympic Committee. Townsend has the responsibility for generating £2billion to prepare and stage the Olympic Games in London in 2012. Chris Townsend was listed in The London 100 Secret Power Brokers, having signed major domestic partners without which the London 2012 Olympic Games would not be possible. During the last five years Townsend signed leading brands including Lloyds TSB, British Airways, BT and EDF Energy. The financial support from these partners has also helped to finance grass-roots sporting activity which will develop future Olympic competitors. In 2011, portraits of sports stars and the people that helped organise the London 2012 games were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery, including a photo of Chris Townsend.

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