Arsenal Brings in MLS Exec Gazidis as its New CEO

Major League Soccer’s deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis is leaving to become the chief executive of top English Premier League Arsenal.

Arsenal announced Wednesday that Gazidis has been hired to help oversee team operations, handling such duties as transfer and contract negotiations. Gazidis, 44, will begin his new role in January and will fill an organizational gap left when David Dein quit as vice chairman last year.

We haven’t received word on whether Arsenal captain until last week and club talisman William Gallas was consulted during  Ivan Gazidis’ hiring process.

Many outside of the US are wondering who Gazidis is. After all, the chief executive of Arsenal is a very visible position in world soccer. Here’s the Major League Soccer website biography of him:

“Ivan Gazidis joined Major League Soccer in April 1994, two year’s before the League’s inaugural game, as a member of its founding management team. He provides vision on all key strategic and business decisions made by the League.

Gazidis oversees all aspects of competition for Major League Soccer, including, under the League’s single-entity structure, the negotiation and administration of all international and domestic player contracts. Gazidis led the team that negotiated MLS’s groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement in 2004 and has spearheaded the development and implementation of such innovative player initiatives as the Designated Player Rule, the MLS Reserve Division, the MLS Youth Development Initiative and the MLS Diversity Program. He also manages all day-to-day operations for the league, including stadium event and security issues, disciplinary issues, and player, coaching and refereeing matters.

Between 2002 and 2006, in addition to his MLS duties, Gazidis led the development of Soccer United Marketing’s International division as its President. During this time, SUM entered a difficult game promotion environment in the United States to emerge as a highly successful business and one of the leading commercial soccer companies in the world, developing and implementing winning strategies for the Mexican Soccer Federation and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the innovative concepts for thriving new club competitions such as InterLiga and SuperLiga and highly successful American tours for teams such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the England and Argentinean National Teams, among others.

Gazidis is a member of MLS’ Competition and Technical Committees and the Chairman of the League Disciplinary Committee. He has also served on the National Board of Directors of the United States Soccer Federation and is the Co-Chairman of the historic and important Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition. He is the Chairman of CONCACAF’s Statutes and Regulations Committee, and serves on U.S. Soccer’s Technical and Rules Committees. Gazidis also sits on the Industry Council of the United States Stadium Managers Association. In 2003, Gazidis was honored as the recipient of the Commissioner’s Award, presented to the group or individual that has made a difference in the League and the sport in America.

In recognition of his extensive experience in the area of player contracts and international transfers, Gazidis serves as one of ten worldwide club representatives on FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, which decides international contract disputes arising within the field of soccer.

Born September 13, 1964, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Gazidis moved to England when he was four years old. Gazidis attended Oxford University, graduating in 1986 with a Master’s Degree in Law. While at Oxford University, he was twice awarded an Oxford soccer “Blue,” playing against Cambridge University at Wembley Stadium in 1984 and 1985. He took the Solicitor’s Final Examination at the Guildford College of Law in 1987 and worked as a corporate lawyer in London and Los Angeles until 1994, when he was recruited by Major League Soccer. Gazidis is a lifelong soccer fan and continues to play in local Connecticut leagues.

Gazidis resides in Connecticut with his wife and two sons.”