Rangers have confirmed that their chief executive James Bisgrove will be departing Ibrox for a new venture in the Middle East.
Bisgrove joined the Ibrox giants five years ago as Head of Marketing and Commercial before replacing managing director Stewart Robertson in 2023 as CEO.
But after just 13 months in the role, James Bisgrove has decided to take up an opportunity in Saudi Arabia, reportedly with newly-promoted side Al Qadsiah [Scottish Daily Mail].
Rangers released a statement on Friday which confirmed the news, while also informing fans that John Bennett will take up an Executive Chairman role in the interim.
The club wrote: “Rangers can confirm Chief Executive Officer, James Bisgrove, will leave the club having accepted a new football role in the Middle East.
“The Rangers Board has implemented an interim executive structure and, together with John Bennett, Philippe Clement, Nils Koppen and the Football Board, will prioritise the execution of the summer transfer activity.
“John Bennett will assume the role of Executive Chairman on an interim basis to ensure continuity and support to the wider executive team as they focus on executing our plans for the summer, both on and off the pitch.
“The Executive Chairman will lead a team comprising current executives. They are Chief Finance Officer, James Taylor; Director of Football Recruitment, Nils Koppen; Football Operations Director Creag Robertson and Chief Commercial Officer, Karim Virani.”
Analysing James Bisgrove’s work at Rangers
Given the reaction on social media to Bisgrove’s departure, it appears most Rangers supporters are fairly content to see the back of him, despite the poor timing.
His body of work as CEO has been viewed indifferently since taking up the position at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
However, Rangers News spoke with TBR Football’s renowned football finance expert Adam Williams to provide further insight into Bisgrove’s contribution to Rangers.
And he believes that had Bisgrove left Rangers last year as Head of Marketing and Commercial instead of taking up the role of CEO, his legacy would have been viewed much more favourably.
Williams commented: “To put it charitably, James Bisgrove has been a divisive figure as Rangers CEO.
“The debacle around the Sydney Super Cup was a marked low point. Legal issues with Sports Direct and Hummel pre-date his premiership meanwhile, but the communications in that department were lacking.
“However, his legacy would arguably have been very positive if not for his promotion from commercial director just under a year ago.
“In that role, it’s hard to argue that his achievements were anything other than hugely impressive – from a raw financial perspective, at the very least.
“Annual commercial income doubled to around £22m at the high point in his four years in situ.
“Yes, that correlated with Rangers’ success in the Europa League but it was also a period when the sponsorship industry was still reeling after billions were wiped off the market by the pandemic.
“The very fact that he has been headhunted by the powers that be in Saudi Arabia, who are sparing no expense in recruiting the best executive talent, is indicative of his reputation.”
John Bennett’s view of Bisgrove exit
As mentioned, as a result of Bisgrove’s exit, John Bennett will move into the role of Executive Chairman ahead of what is expected to be an extremely busy summer transfer period for Rangers.
And he too has highlighted how Bisgrove was central to Rangers’ off-field growth over the past few years, even if a large swathe of fans are in an entirely different school of thought.
Bennett issued his own statement, saying: “I would like to thank James for the work he has done at the club over the last five years as Commercial and Marketing Director, and latterly, as our CEO.
“Our commercial revenues grew significantly under James’ leadership, while in the last year, he was an integral part of the off-field restructuring the club has implemented.
“The executive team James helped shape has firmly established itself and I fully expect its momentum to be uninterrupted. We wish James every success with his new role.”
