- Organisation: Premier League Charitable Fund
- Roles: Chief Executive Officer and Trustees
- Date of Appointment: June 2025
About
Formerly known as the Premier League Charitable Fund, the Premier League Foundation is one of the largest sports charities in the world. Established in 2010, the independent charity distributes Premier League and partner funding to professional football club charities across the Premier League, English Football League and National League. It supports 106 club charities, distributes around £34 million annually and has enabled programmes that have benefitted more than 2.5 million people across England and Wales.
The Brief
Prospectus supported the Premier League Charitable Fund (PLCF) in appointing a new Chief Executive and recruiting Trustees at a critical stage in the organisation’s growth. The appointments were central to PLCF’s next phase of development, following significant expansion under outgoing CEO Ruth Shaw, during which the organisation grew from 5 to 30 employees.
The recruitment took place as PLCF prepared to deliver its 2025–2030 strategy. The Chief Executive role was designed to provide strategic leadership across the organisation, including building high-value partnerships and securing funding, embedding data-led decision making, strengthening safeguarding and governance, and overseeing the effective delivery of national community programmes such as Premier League Kicks. In parallel, PLCF sought to strengthen its Board through the appointment of a Trustee with strong digital and data expertise to support long-term strategy and oversight.
Our Approach
To ensure a diverse and high-quality field, we considered candidates from the sport, charity and social impact sectors, alongside senior leaders from commercial sports organisations and broader commercial environments with strong values alignment. For the Chief Executive role, leadership capability, experience navigating complex stakeholder environments and a track record of delivering measurable social impact were prioritised over direct delivery experience. For the Trustee appointment, digital and data expertise, combined with board-level or equivalent strategic experience, was essential.
Drawing on Prospectus’ networks across sport, social impact and the charity sector, alongside targeted search activity, both roles attracted significant interest. A total of 265 candidates applied for the Chief Executive role and 67 for the Trustee position. As a result, careful assessment of leadership capability, values and long-term suitability was central to the process. Each process ran for just over two and a half months from initial briefing to final decision.
The Outcome
Following a comprehensive search, the Board appointed the organisation’s Interim Chief Executive to the permanent role, recognising their deep organisational knowledge and leadership during a period of growth. For the Trustee appointment, the strength of the field led the Board to appoint two Trustees. Jerry Newman was appointed, bringing senior expertise in digital, data and commercial growth from global sports and technology organisations including Paris Saint-Germain and Meta. Amanda Neylon was also appointed, contributing extensive experience in digital, data and technology leadership across the charity, public and health sectors, alongside significant board-level experience.
If you would like support in sourcing exceptional talent into a leadership role in your organisation, find out more about our Executive Search Service or Charity Board Recruitment Service.