New Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

[maverick1200 2,832]

I didn't see a thread on this. 

It's good to see changes at the top.

https://www.Rangers.co.uk/article/Rangers-announce-appointment-of-karim-virani-as-chief-commercial-officer/5GwoEN8QvrPupbYYlmc0nJ

Rangers are delighted to announce the appointment of Karim Virani as the club's new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

Karim brings over 15 years of commercial and marketing experience with a career spanning the sports, technology, financial services, telecommunications and broadcast sectors.

Karim joins the club from Socios.com, the world's leading fan engagement platform, where he was Director of Global Partnerships having previously served as Chief Commercial Officer for English Premier League side, West Ham United.

Karim led Socios’ global partnership portfolio, including flagship football partnerships with the UEFA Champions League, and a number of club sides, including Manchester City, Paris St-Germain, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Arsenal and Juventus.

Karim spent five years at West Ham United, leaving his role as Chief Commercial Officer in December 2020.

He initially joined West Ham United as Head of Digital in November 2015 before becoming a vital member of the executive leadership team in his roles as Digital Director, Commercial Director and finally, Chief Commercial Officer.

During his tenure at West Ham, Karim led several successful commercial initiatives to consistently grow commercial revenues, including the record-breaking principal partner renewal of West Ham's front of shirt sponsor, and the signing of West Ham's partnership with Scope Markets. This partnership subsequently grew, with the brand becoming West Ham's sleeve partner in a landmark commercial deal.

His time at the club coincided with a significant period of transformation in the club's history, including their move to the London Stadium. Karim played a leading role in managing various departments across the digital, marketing, commercial and hospitality functions.

Karim also brings significant marketing and commercial experience from some of the UK's most prominent organisations with roles at NewDay, EE (now part of BT), Betfair (now part of the PaddyPowerBetfair group), and Sky.

In addition, Karim is a Non-Executive Director at one of the leading Mental Health organisations in the UK - Mental Health First Aid England. There, Karim's core remit is to offer executive-level advice and support to the marketing, commercial and digital functions of the organisation.

Rangers’ incoming CEO, James Bisgrove, commented: "The Rangers board and I are delighted to appoint Karim as our new Chief Commercial Officer.

"Following a rigorous and extensive recruitment process, we unanimously identified Karim as the stand-out individual to lead the next phase of our commercial strategy and revenue growth.

'’Rangers have enjoyed commercial growth from £8m in 2018 to £29m in 2022, during a transformational period in our commercial activities and, with thanks to the incredible backing of Rangers supporters, and our club partners. Karim has the drive, experience and global network to accelerate the next phase of our growth strategy, and we look forward to welcoming him to Ibrox in August.

“Karim will inherit and lead a hugely talented and committed team across our Commercial, Digital and Marketing functions. I'm confident his modern leadership and vision will be invaluable to all our people at Ibrox."

Karim said: "I am absolutely delighted to join Rangers Football Club as Chief Commercial Officer. I have long admired this club for its incredible heritage, history, and passionate supporters.

"I am honoured to join this new Rangers executive team and support the delivery of James Bisgrove and the Rangers board's exciting vision for the club. I am committed to leading a department that strives to deliver that vision for our supporters, whilst upholding the values of this historic and globally renowned club.

"I believe that Rangers has the potential to be one of the leading clubs in the world. I am confident that, together with the backing our supporters and club partners, we can achieve great things."

[rangersross 6,530]

Looks like a great appointment. Pleased to see someone with a digital background in a senior commercial role. 

[Bears r us 30,810]

No idea who he is, but his background seems good. 

[KingKirk 25,658]

Another good appointment 

[SPWF 8,256]

Will commercial for fun up here IMO. 

[born a blue nose 90,830]

Worrying times ahead 

[esquire8 42,899]

Socios.com was/are involved in those dodgy fan token loyalty shit. He left West Ham because of the deal he made with them and West Ham but then joined Socios straight after. Looks like he went up at west ham alongside the growing of that crypto pyramid shit.

I'm not impressed.

[JMac_88 310]

26 minutes ago, esquire8 said:

Socios.com was/are involved in those dodgy fan token loyalty shit. He left West Ham because of the deal he made with them and West Ham but then joined Socios straight after. Looks like he went up at west ham alongside the growing of that crypto pyramid shit.

I'm not impressed.

I'm sure  James Bisgrove won't allow that to happen again, after all his comment at the Fans Forum was this We have taken learnings from commercial deals that have went wrong. Paramount is protecting the brand. Financially NFT was great but ultimately we got it wrong, I understand that and don’t get everything right, I apologise for that.

[VanVeenRangers 2,537]

47 minutes ago, born a blue nose said:

Worrying times ahead 

?

[JMac_88 310]

He also satiated at the Fans forum that Rangers should aspire to global blue chip brands, Seko, Cadburys, EA Sports are that but we constantly meet brands and travel the world to try and do that. Return on European stage, run to Seville has helped, new partners are coming on board.

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,765]

Seems we've went out and got a capable appointment with an impressive cv. Maybe we really are becoming a more professional outfit....

[esquire8 42,899]

19 minutes ago, JMac_88 said:

I'm sure  James Bisgrove won't allow that to happen again, after all his comment at the Fans Forum was this We have taken learnings from commercial deals that have went wrong. Paramount is protecting the brand. Financially NFT was great but ultimately we got it wrong, I understand that and don’t get everything right, I apologise for that.

Okay James.

All I did was look into the guys background.

[Clemdog 39,389]

46 minutes ago, JMac_88 said:

I'm sure  James Bisgrove won't allow that to happen again, after all his comment at the Fans Forum was this We have taken learnings from commercial deals that have went wrong. Paramount is protecting the brand. Financially NFT was great but ultimately we got it wrong, I understand that and don’t get everything right, I apologise for that.

 

39 minutes ago, JMac_88 said:

He also satiated at the Fans forum that Rangers should aspire to global blue chip brands, Seko, Cadburys, EA Sports are that but we constantly meet brands and travel the world to try and do that. Return on European stage, run to Seville has helped, new partners are coming on board.

@iamrangers?

 

[rangersross 6,530]

1 hour ago, esquire8 said:

Socios.com was/are involved in those dodgy fan token loyalty shit. He left West Ham because of the deal he made with them and West Ham but then joined Socios straight after. Looks like he went up at west ham alongside the growing of that crypto pyramid shit.

I'm not impressed.

I'm not sure you can say it's "dodgy", it was just unpopular with their supporters because it monetises fan engagement, which is cynical, but not exactly unscrupulous*. For one thing, we essentially do the same thing with MyGers, except this happens to be built on blockchain technology. I'm not particularly happy with the way football is changing, but the fact Man City, Juventus, and PSG have already bought-into Socios probably tells you the direction of travel. There's a wider debate about whether we want to be a 'traditional' club or an 'ambitious' club, but the rate of change in football means we probably can't be both for long. 

* I'll admit I've only read a bit about Socios, so if I've missed something more sinister, disregard my post. 

[RockwellGers 14,720]

Watched that video of his commercial skills on YouTube, not impressed tbh

[Colin Traive 22,843]

Can he play up front?

[theiconicman 2,992]

No idea who he is but hope he makes a positive difference going forward, we need it.