Woodward, Ed

Ed Woodward was born on November 9, 1971 in the city of Chelmsford . In 1983, he entered the Brentwood School , which he graduated in 1989 ^[2] . After school, he entered the University of Bristol to study physics, receiving in 1993 a bachelor of science degree ^[1] . After training in physics, Woodward changed his direction of study and received a diploma of a sworn accountant in 1996 ^[3] . After this, Woodward worked for some time at PricewaterhouseCoopers , but in 1999 became an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase ^[1] . In 2005, he was appointed as a consultant to Malcolm Glazer for the takeover of the assets of Manchester United Football Club ^[3] . After the transaction was successfully completed, Woodward left JPMorgan Chase and became financial adviser to Manchester United ^[1] . In 2007, he received an increase, becoming director of commercial operations, creating a strategy that ensured Manchester United improved financial performance ^[4] . Due to his successful work and close contact with the Glazer family, Woodward replaced David Gill in 2013 as the club’s executive director ^{[1] [3]} . In addition to the direct position of the club’s executive director , Woodward is a member of the Manchester United board of directors ^[5] .

Manchester United Executive Director

2013/2014

Having assumed office on July 1, 2013, Woodward became responsible for all aspects of the football club, including transfer policy ^[1] . Nevertheless, according to the results of the first transfer window, Manchester United made only one expensive purchase - a contract was purchased by Maruan Fellaini from Liverpool Everton ^[6] . The failure of the signing of Ander Herrera and the unsuccessful transfer negotiations of Cesc Fabregas and Leighton Baines provoked some critical press material regarding Woodward ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} . Woodward himself admitted that his first transfer window as an executive director was unsuccessful, although he noted that the public underestimates his efforts to agree a new contract with Wayne Rooney ^[10] . Despite the unsuccessful transfer campaign, from a commercial point of view, Woodward managed to conclude a successful partnership with the Russian airline Aeroflot , which became the official carrier of Manchester United ^[11] . This deal, together with new television contracts, allowed the club to achieve record revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2014 ^{[12] [13]} . At the same time, under Woodward, the Manchester United press service began microblogging on Twitter as part of a new public relations strategy ^[14] . Before that, the club was present only on Facebook , although other competitors in the Premier League were already present in the popular microblogging service ^[14] . In the winter transfer window, Woodward managed to complete a deal to transfer Juan Mata from London Chelsea to improve the unstable Manchester United game in the first half of the season, breaking the club’s transfer record ^[15] . As a result of the transaction, the club’s executive director noted that in the summer transfer window of 2014 the club will be ready to spend up to £ 150 million to strengthen the club’s position, guaranteeing head coach David Moyes and the club’s fans to form a team that can fight for trophies ^{[15] [16]} . Despite the club’s unsatisfactory results in football tournaments, Manchester United plc. managed to increase revenue figures for the second financial quarter of 2014 by 19% per year ^{[17] [18]} . However, the record acquisition of Juan Mata did not help Manchester United improve their position in the championship of England, and Ed Woodward decided to fire head coach David Moyes ^[19] . This decision was criticized by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane , who accused Woodward of not doing his job to attract high-class players ^{[20] [21]} . According to the results of the third fiscal quarter of 2014, Woodward said that Manchester United continues to beat its own revenue records, and the club will return to the fight for trophies in the 2014/2015 season ^{[22] [23]} . To achieve this goal, the club’s executive director signed a contract with Dutch specialist Louis van Gaal ^[24] .

2014/2015

2015/2016