Brentford Football Club have appointed Jon Varney as their new Chief Executive Officer. Jon – a former partner at Pitch International Commercial, the sports marketing agency – will take up the role on 1 March. The 49-year-old is based locally and has a track record of working in professional sport, specialising in recent years in commercial partnerships and media rights. He is also a Brentford FC Season Ticket Holder and long-term Bees fan.

Jon grew up in the South West London area and started his working life at The Rugby Football Union, in Twickenham, having attended Teddington School and Richmond upon Thames College. In the mid-1990’s he managed Coca-Cola’s football sponsorships including the EFL Cup, SFL Cup and their involvement in UEFA Euro ‘96.

Jon spent nine years at Premiership Rugby and was responsible for the organisation’s income streams including broadcast revenue, merchandising, match income and key sponsorship deals. He then went on to be a founding partner of Pitch International Commercial, working with football, rugby and cricket federations to develop commercial strategies. While at Pitch International he also managed the commercial rights of the Brazil Global Tour, a series of high profile international matches for the Brazilian national football team.

Cliff Crown, Brentford FC Chairman, said: “I am delighted that Jon has accepted our offer to become the Club’s new CEO. After a thorough recruitment process conducted by the leading sports specialists SRi – in which the panels included four Board members and Simon Hayes, ex-partner of executive search specialists Odgers Berndtson – Jon was the stand out candidate. Not only because of his commercial experience, but because of the passion he exuded during interview.

“Not only do we get someone who has run their own business very successfully, but someone who is extremely well connected in the sports industry and has a history of commercial success. This will help Jon play an important part in us achieving our key goals over the next 18 months.”

Jon Varney said: “As a lifelong Bees fan and a Season Ticket holder, I feel extremely honoured and privileged to have been offered the opportunity to drive forward the Club’s off pitch activities as its new Chief Executive. I’m confident the new Brentford Community Stadium will be the catalyst for significant commercial growth and will provide players, fans and business partners with a home to be proud of. These are exciting times for Brentford FC, and I look forward to playing an active role in our future success.”