Ian Ayre
| Ian Ayre | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
6 July 1963 (age 53) Liverpool |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | CEO Liverpool Football Club |
Ian Ayre is the current chief executive officer and main board director of Premier League club Liverpool FC.
Born in Liverpool on 6 July 1963, he was educated at Litherland High School.
Leaving school at age 16, he joined the Royal Navy. After leaving the senior service, he then undertook various roles in business in Asia, eventually becoming chief executive of Pace Systems.
Returning to the UK, Ian was instrumental as a shareholder in the buyout of a UK professional football club, Huddersfield Town F.C., becoming Chief Executive and Chairman for three years, before getting the sack. He then spent three years as Founder Managing Director of sports content firm Premium TV, an NTL subsidiary (now Virgin Media). The business at the time was the world's largest provider of streaming football content with over five million users. He then moved to Malaysia, as COO of Total Sports Asia, a business selling sports media rights, managing live sports events and selling sports sponsorships.
He is also currently the Chairman of The Visitor Economy Committee for The Mersey Partnership, overseeing the visitor economy for the Liverpool City Region.
Head hunted by a team working for then owners Tom Hicks and George N. Gillett, Jr., in 2007 Ayre was appointed Commercial Director at Liverpool. He used the Asian Liverbird book, a book showcasing the clubs international fan base, to secure a shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank - believed to be one of the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deals in football.
On 15 October 2010, NESV completed its £300m takeover of Liverpool, at which time the clubs existing Managing Director Christian Purslow stepped down. The club's owners, Fenway Sports Group, led by John W. Henry and the chairman Tom Werner, announced Ayre as the new Managing Director on 22 March 2011. With the sacking of sporting director Damien Comolli in April 2012, Ayre was given more responsibility and in May 2014 was officially promoted to chief executive officer. In March 2016, Liverpool announced Ayre would step down as CEO at the end of May 2017, when his current contract expired.
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