Ferran Soriano

Last updated
Ferran Soriano
Soriano.JPG
Personal details
Born
Ferran Soriano Compte

(1967-06-16) 16 June 1967 (age 56)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Alma mater UCLouvain, Belgium. MBA (1990); Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York. MBA (1989); ESADE, Barcelona. CE+MBA (1985–1990)
OccupationCEO Manchester City (2012–)CEO New York City FC (2014–)CEO Melbourne City FC (2014–)

Previously: Chairman at Spanair (2009–2012);

Vice-President FC Barcelona (2003–2008); founding partner of Cluster Consulting (1994–2003)

Ferran Soriano Compte (born 16 June 1967 in Barcelona) is a Spanish businessman who is the chief executive officer of the Premier League club Manchester City FC He also operates in the same role for Major League Soccer's New York City FC, and the A-League's Melbourne City FC. Between 2003 and 2008, he was the vice-president and General Manager of FC Barcelona.

Contents

He is on the board of the European Club Association. [1]

Education

Ferran Soriano is an MBA and Business studies graduate at ESADE, the New York RPI and Université catholique de Louvain of Belgium.

He speaks Catalan, English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.

Career

Soriano has held a number of positions in companies in a variety of industries, such as consumer products, telecommunications and entertainment, and has held senior positions at The Mac Group, Reckitt Benckiser, and Cluster Consulting, a management consulting firm he co-founded in 1993.

Between 2003 and 2008, Soriano was Economy Vice President of Barcelona, having been elected with the Joan Laporta’s ticket to the club's Board of Directors. He also acted as interim CEO. Barcelona's revenues, during Soriano's tenure, increased from €123 million to €308m, while a €73m loss was turned into an €88m profit. [2] On 6 July 2008, Soriano and seven other board members resigned after a vote of non-confidence against the board, amidst growing disagreement with Laporta’s "leadership style."

In April 2009, Soriano was elected Chairman of the Catalonia-based airline Spanair, rescued by the Catalan government from SAS with the objective of creating a hub in the Barcelona airport. Revenue improved and the company started cutting costs, but, on 27 January 2012, after a deal with Qatar Airways fell through, the airline ceased operations. [3]

On 1 September 2012, Soriano was appointed Manchester City FC CEO. In the first year and months of his tenure, Manchester City cut its losses in half. [4]

Soriano was instrumental in replacing manager Roberto Mancini with Manuel Pellegrini in 2013, tasking him with winning “five trophies in five years”. [5] Mancini hit back at Soriano after his replacement, saying: "Soriano? For him I was too big within the club. A manager in full control, loved by the fans still today. He judged a person and a context without knowing anything about the people he should have dealt with. I never thought of him as an interesting person from a football perspective. We never spoke the same language. And I'm not talking about Italian, Spanish or English." [6]

In the same period, City Football Group bought an MLS franchise in New York to create New York City FC and an existing football club in Australia (Melbourne Heart FC), initiating the club's expansion strategy. [7]

In 2023, as CEO of Manchester City still, he was voted onto the board of the European Club Association (ECA). [1] He had previously been an observer to the board for two seasons. [8]

Controversies

In January 2013, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell claimed that "Manchester City have attempted to entice a number of staff from the Camp Nou", but added "there were no fish left". [9] Rosell alleged that the Manchester club tried, in an "offensive" approach, to sign players "from all levels of Barcelona's structure," and also other employees of the Catalan side. [9] These allegations were not pursued.

In February 2013, Soriano was accused by the FC Barcelona board, led by Rosell, of authorising a £1.7 million e-mail surveillance of club employees suspected of "working against" Barca's then president Joan Laporta. [10] In March 2014, a judge cleared Soriano of these allegations.

In September 2014, Soriano was found guilty in Spanair's bankruptcy case and fined with £8.6 million. In May 2016, the decision was overturned by the appeal court judges who concluded that Spanair’s executives were acting in trying to "save the company," and its subsequent bankruptcy was “fortuitous”. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Barcelona</span> Catalan sports club association

Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Nou</span> Stadium in Barcelona

Camp Nou is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increased seating capacity of 105,000, it will be the stadium with the largest capacity in Spain and Europe, and the second largest football stadium in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ESADE</span> Private business and law school in Spain

Esade is an international private educational institution based in Barcelona, Spain. Esade runs two schools of the university, Esade Business School and Esade Law School, as well as a language centre, the Esade Executive Language Center. The school has also formed a strategic alliance with Ramon Llull University in its undergraduate programmes in Law and Business. ESADE is ranked among the world's top business schools and law school programs by the Financial Times, The Economist, Forbes, QS World University Rankings and more.

Comte is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word "count" ; comté is the Gallo-Romance form of the word "county".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Laporta</span> Spanish politician and president of FC Barcelona

Joan Laporta Estruch is a Spanish politician and current president of FC Barcelona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pep Guardiola</span> Spanish football manager (born 1971)

Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Premier League club Manchester City. Guardiola is the only manager to win the continental treble twice, the youngest to win the UEFA Champions League, and he also holds the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League. He is considered to be one of the greatest managers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supporters of FC Barcelona</span> Supporters of FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona is a professional multi-sports club based in Barcelona, formed in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German and English footballers led by Joan Gamper. It has been part of the Spanish top-flight, La Liga, since the league's inception in 1928, winning it 27 times, along with a record 31 Copa del Rey and 5 UEFA Champions League victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Pellegrini</span> Chilean football manager (born 1953)

Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti is a Chilean professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed teams in Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China, and Ecuador. Pellegrini has won national leagues in four countries.

ESADE Business School is a private graduate-level business school located in Barcelona, Spain. It is part of ESADE and is associated with Ramon Llull University. ESADE has been awarded the triple accreditation by EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA, and is ranked among the world's top business schools and law school programs by the Financial Times, The Economist, Forbes, QS World University Rankings and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Barcelona Atlètic</span> FC Barcelonas reserve football team

Futbol Club Barcelona Atlètic, commonly referred to as Barça Atlètic or Barça B, is a football team based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in Primera Federación – Group 2, the third tier of the Spanish league system. Founded in 1970, it is the reserve team of Barcelona and it plays its home fixtures at Johan Cruyff Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandro Rosell</span> Businessman and former FC Barcelona president

Alexandre "Sandro" Rosell Feliu is a Spanish businessman. He earned an MBA degree from ESADE. Rosell ran as senior adviser of Joan Laporta during the 2003 FC Barcelona elections and was the vice-president of sports until June 2005. He was the president of FC Barcelona from 2010 to 2014. In 2017, Rosell was jailed without bail as part of a money laundering investigation related to buying television rights for past matches of the Brazil national team. On 24 April 2019, after a total of 643 days of pre-trial detention and with the provisional release of Rosell having been rejected on as much as 13 occasions, Spanish courts fully acquitted Rosell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Football Group</span> British-based holding company

City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silver Lake, and 1% by Chinese firms China Media Capital and CITIC Capital. The Abu Dhabi United Group is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family and Vice President of UAE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of FC Barcelona</span> Brief history of Futbol Club Barcelona

The history of Futbol Club Barcelona begins from the football club's founding in 1899 up until the present day. FC Barcelona, also known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper. The club played amateur football until 1910 in various regional competitions. In 1910, the club participated in their first of many European competitions, and has since amassed fourteen UEFA trophies and a sextuple. In 1928, Barcelona co-founded La Liga, the top-tier in Spanish football, along with a string of other clubs. As of 2023, Barcelona has never been relegated from La Liga, a record they share with Athletic Bilbao and arch-rival Real Madrid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010–11 FC Barcelona season</span> 111th season in existence of FC Barcelona

The 2010–11 season was FC Barcelona's 111th in existence and the club's 80th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. Barcelona started the season with a new president after Joan Laporta reached his term limit on 30 June, leaving behind a very successful club tenure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Rosell</span>

Joan Rosell Lastortras is the president of the Spanish employers confederation (CEOE). He replaced Gerardo Diaz Ferran in June 2011. Prior to being elected to this post he was the president of the Catalan national employers federation for 16 years. During his career he was president of the following companies; Congost, Enher, Fuerzas Eléctricas de Cataluña and OMB, Sistemas de Higiene Urbana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josep Maria Bartomeu</span> Spanish entrepreneur and former president of FC Barcelona

Josep Maria Bartomeu Floreta is a Spanish entrepreneur and former president of FC Barcelona. He started his presidency in 2014, following the resignation of Sandro Rosell; he held the post until his resignation in 2020. He was replaced by interim FC Barcelona president Carlos Tusquets, and afterwards by election winner Joan Laporta.

Javier Faus is a leading Spanish private equity investor, chairman and founder of the Barcelona-based alternative investment fund management firm Meridia Capital Partners. Very active in civic associations, he served as Vice Chairman of FC Barcelona. From july 2019 until july 2022, he chaired the Cercle d'Economia, a leading Spanish think tank that promotes liberal democracy public policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pablo Maffeo</span> Footballer

Pablo Carmine Maffeo Becerra is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for La Liga club Mallorca.

References

  1. 1 2
  2. ↑ "Ferran Soriano is the man to match Manchester City's ambitions". The National . 29 August 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Spanair shutdown strands 23,000 travelers". United Press International. January 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Manchester City Halves Annual Loss as Revenue Rises to Record". Bloomberg . 30 January 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Manchester City tell Manuel Pellegrini 'win five trophies in five years'". The Guardian . 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Roberto Mancini still doesn't know why he was sacked as Manchester City manager Mirror Online, 4 July 2013
  7. ↑ "Manchester City Football Club to acquire Melbourne Heart FC in partnership with owners of Melbourne Storm". Manchester City . 22 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  8. ↑
  9. 1 2 "Manchester City 'Fishing' For Barcelona Staff, Says Sandro Rosell", Huffington Post , 15 January 2013
  10. ↑ "Ferran Soriano, Manchester City Chief Executive, Accused Of 'Spying' At Barcelona", Huffington Post, 20 February 2013
  11. ↑ "Man City CEO Ferran Soriano is free to practise business in Spain again after having judgement overturned", Irish Mirror, 2 May 2016
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.