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JP Morgan executive added to West Ham board of directors
West Ham have appointed Jiri Svarc, a JP Morgan executive to their board, an announcement on Companies House has revealed.
According to reliable London Stadium insiders SixFootTwo, this appointment has been made by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky who owns a minority stake in the club.
It’s understood that Svarc will take up the role of Kretinsky’s ally Pavel Horkey who has stepped down from his position to join the operations board.
Kretinsky always wanted to appoint the JP Morgan man but needed to get permission from the American investment bank and the red tape took longer than expected.
Making moves
These appointments and reshuffles are clear signs that Kretinsky means business at West Ham and he wants to one day be the majority stakeholder.
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JP Morgan will not have any involvement with the Hammers because of this deal but this shows the influence of the Czech billionaire.
Once West Ham buy the stadium, they will want to monetise it and make the club a brand overseas and Kretinsky’s contacts are certainly going to help in bringing certain American sporting events to east London.
Tottenham Hotspur have also done something similar with their stadium as they’ve had NFL events along with heavyweight boxing fights.
Should Kretinsky’s company then take over any American sports team, we will certainly see more affiliations as is the case with a number of the top six clubs as well as Leeds United.
While this might not always be a good thing, it’s a brand-building exercise and he seems to know his trade pretty well.