Marina Granovskaia
Marina Vladimirovna Granovskaia (Russian: Марина Владимировна Грановская; born 13 January 1975)[1][2] is a Russian-Canadian business executive who served as the director of Chelsea from 2014 to 2022.[3][dead link] She has also served as chief assistant to Roman Abramovich for over ten years.
Professional career[edit]
Granovskaia studied at the Foreign Languages Faculty of Moscow State University and graduated in 1997.[3] She started working as Roman Abramovich's PA at Sibneft in 1997.[3] In 2003, she moved to London, when Abramovich bought Chelsea.[3] She has also worked for Millhouse Capital, another company owned by Abramovich.[4]
Chelsea F.C.[edit]
Granovskaia became involved in transfers and contractual dealings for Chelsea, becoming the representative of the owner at the club in 2010, then joining the Chelsea board in June 2013.[3] In 2014, she was promoted to chief executive of the club.[5] The Times stated that the promotion made her the "most powerful woman in football."[6]
Her task of managing transfers sometimes put her at odds with managers who had their own ideas of whom to sell or buy during the transfer window.[7] She has also been responsible for brokering the team's sponsorship deal with Nike, that will fund £60m per year to the club until 2032.[8]
Granovskaia has been described as 'The Iron Lady' and "one of the best club directors in world football".[9] In 2018, Forbes ranked her Number 5 in their "Most Powerful Women in International Sports" list.[10]
Marina Granovskaia received the Best Club Director in European football award at the Golden Boy Awards on 13 December 2021.[11] On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Granovskaia would leave Chelsea by the end of the 2021–22 season, following the change in ownership of the club.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "Chelsea FC's Marina Granovskaia: the most powerful woman in football". de24.news. 25 July 2020.
- ^ "Chelsea-boss er så skræmmende, at flere ikke tør udtale sig om hende". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). 19 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Marina Granovskaia". ChelseaFC.com. Chelsea FC. 18 January 2018.
- ^ "Forget Jose Mourinho. Is Marina Granovskaia the real 'Special One' at Chelsea?". The Telegraph. 14 June 2013.
- ^ "Football's First Lady". Evening Standard. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2017 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ Hughes, Matt (23 October 2014). "Abramovich's leading lady set to run Chelsea's off-field operations". The Times. Retrieved 20 September 2017 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ Benjamin Newman "Why Marina Granovskaia & Antonio Conte’s relationship at Chelsea is over" 101 Great Goals, 26 January 2018
- ^ "Chelsea confirm huge £60m-a-year deal with Nike until 2032". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Chelsea's Iron Lady Marina Granovskaia lays down law on transfers". The Telegraph. 7 June 2015.
- ^ Alana Glass (27 March 2018). "The Most Powerful Women In International Sports 2018". Forbes.
- ^ "Marina Granovskaia wins the best club director in Europe during the golden boys awards". Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Chelsea Football Club announces new Board of Directors and leadership changes | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club". ChelseaFC. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
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