Chelsea to appoint former City Football Group executive Damian Willoughby as new commercial director — report

Along with all the signings on the footballing side of the business, Chelsea’s revamp of the operations behind the scenes is set to continue as well, with the club reportedly set to appoint former City Football Group executive Damian Willoughby as our new commercial director. He’s the second former CFG executive to join the Blues following the appointment of Tom Glick as our new CEO President of Business.

Willoughby was most recently a vice president of global partnerships for “competitive gaming / esports” at Electronic Arts (EA). Prior to that, he spent nearly nine years at Manchester City and City Football Group, holding multiple titles with the word “partnerships” in it and eventually also being named CEO of their India operations.

Willoughby isn’t completely unfamiliar with Chelsea either, having already worked at the club for three years, from 2007 to 2010, including as “Head of Sponsorships and International Development”. He held a similar job title with Rangers FC for seven years before then as well.

So, the CV certainly fits the bill for “generating sporting and commercial success”, both of which are essential components for the club going forward.