Despite the fact there are no Irish players in the squad of Premier League success story Leicester City, there is a very strong Irish influence at boardroom level.
Susan Whelan
The Chief Executive of the club is Dublin-born Susan Whelan. Whelan has worked for current Leicester City owners the Raksriaksorn family since moving to Thailand in the 2000s, and was appointed CEO of Leicester City following the club's takeover by the family in 2010.
Whelan has presided over the takeover and Leicester's subsequent rise from League One to the top of the Premier League. Along the way, she has been a critical member of a board that has made some fantastic decisions. Sven-Goran Eriksson was sacked as manager in 2011 and replaced by Nigel Pearson. Pearson was given considerable time by Leicester before eventually being promoted in 2014.
Once in the Premier League, the club once again remained patient with Pearson. With fifteen games remaining, Leicester were five points from safety before staging a remarkable recovery under Pearson to eventually finish fourteenth.
That being said, the club have not been averse to making big decisions under Whelan. Amid the club's difficult start to the Premier League, the club dismissed Director of Football Terry Robinson and also sacked Nigel Pearson's son along with two other players for making racist remarks towards Thai prostitutes last year. It is believed that the subsequent dismissal of Pearson was related to the sacking of his son.
Following the surprising appointment of Claudio Ranieri, Whelan assured fans that he was the right man for the job, saying that "we are very pleased to have him here at the club and he is going to lead us into the next chapter of the club's history". Her words have since proven to be true.
Ian Flanagan
Along with Whelan, the Commercial Director at Leicester City is Irish. Ian Flanagan has both a bachelors and masters degree in Arts from University College Cork, and, intriguingly, a doctorate in philosophy from the University of London. His career subsequently greatly diverged from his
His career subsequently greatly diverged from his studies, and took a job as Director of Business Development with Sports Talent Management. He remained in the sports game and helped broker the DHL sponsorship of Manchester United's training gear.
Flanagan is now at Leicester, having been appointed Commercial Director in 2012.
Good to see both of them enjoying success in their current roles.
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