Charlton confirm appointment of former Sunderland chief executive

A former Sunderland chief executive has landed a new job in football.

Author:
Lynsey Thompson
Publish date:
Dec 20, 2022 11:15 AM EST

Charlton have appointed former Sunderland chief executive Jim Rodwell as their new chief operating officer.

Rodwell arrived at Sunderland in 2020 and helped guide the club through the difficult pandemic times before leaving after Kyril Louis-Dreyfus completed his takeover.

It wasn’t an especially happy time for Sunderland, and Rodwell was guilty of some pretty high-profile PR gaffes in terms of communication, so it never felt like an especially good fit. People called Rodwell and Sunderland just shouldn’t really mix, should they?

“I am delighted we have been able to appoint such experienced and knowledgeable people to help us move forward,” Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard said.

“The appointment of Jim Rodwell gives us senior leadership, on the ground at The Valley. He has excellent experience and I have been very impressed with what I have seen already.”

Interestingly, Charlton have also been linked with Charlie Methven as a possible incoming chief executive, although reports are conflicted on that.

Methven was part of the team who appointed Rodwell at Sunderland. It is possible that Rodwell’s appointment to COO – a role for which Steve Davison is the current Sunderland equivalent – is preparing the ground for Methven’s arrival. Or it could just be a coincidence.

As part of Charlton’s statement, they included a small bio on Rodwell that read: “Rodwell is a former professional footballer who most recently served as the interim CEO of Championship side, Hull City.

“He has previously sat on the board of both the EFL and the FA Council. He was also Director of Football and then Chairman at Boston United before spells as Chief Executive at numerous clubs including Sunderland.”

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