Guy Laurence, the outspoken former CEO of Rogers, has been appointed the CEO of Chelsea Football Club in the U.K.
The announcement comes over a year after Laurence stepped down from his position as Rogers CEO on October 17th, 2016. Since then, Laurence has kept a relatively low profile, with this appointment marking his first major career move since leaving Canada’s most well-subscribed carrier.
In the U.K., the response on social media has been tepid. Most fans seem unaware of who Laurence is, or remember him only as the former Vodafone UK CEO (he gained that title in 2009, after working as CEO of Vodafone Netherlands), questioning whether he has the depth of knowledge to lead the club.
— Ben Burkinshaw ⚔ (@sufcben) January 11, 2018
Some also point out that he was born in Manchester, which is home to one of Chelsea FC’s main rivals, Manchester United.
Canadians will remember, however, that Laurence does have a fair amount of experience from his time at Rogers. The Canadian telecom owns the Toronto Blue Jays (at least for now) and a joint stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment with Bell that gave him a hand in the management of the Raptors, Maple Leafs, Argonauts and Toronto Football Club.
Wow. Former @Rogers boss Guy Laurence lands the CEO job at @ChelseaFC.
I’m 99% certain he’s a @ManUtd supporter, though. https://t.co/Uw4Otx1Llq— Derek DeCloet (@decloet) January 11, 2018
While the Blue Jays never won a World Series during Laurence’s time at Rogers, they did become AL East Champions in 2015.
During his three year tenure at Rogers, the company hit the 10 million subscriber mark and introduced one of it’s most popular and influential features, Roam Like Home.
Source: Chelsea Football Club
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
