Heck to leave Aston Villa at end of 2024-25, strongly linked with...

Since May 2023, Chris Heck has served as the president of business operations for the premier football team in

England.

As the 2024–25 season draws to a close in May, Chris Heck, president of business operations at the upwardly

dynamic English Premier League football team Aston Villa, will step down.

GlobalData Sport (Sportcal) understands that Heck is now anticipated to assume the same role at the contentious

and profitable LIV Golf series, as Villa announced earlier today.

Heck has taken charge of Villa’s off-field endeavours since joining the Birmingham football team in May 2023.

During the 2023–24 season, when the men’s squad qualified for the coveted UEFA Champions League for the first

time in many years, the team achieved record revenue. The £275.7 million (or $356.9 million when the results were

released) in revenue itself came after the 2022–2023 campaign’s (at the time) record revenues.

Additionally, it is believed that Villa will treble its revenue in 2024–25 from sponsorship and goods as a result of

participating in the Champions League this year.

After four years as the chief sales and marketing officer of the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, he served as

president for nearly five years before to joining Villa.

He previously served as the New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer team’s president of business operations, after

previously serving as the NBA’s senior vice president of marketing partnerships.

“Aston Villa is among the greatest clubs in the world, and I am thankful to have had the chance to contribute to their

success over the past two years,” Heck has now stated. We set out a clear strategic roadmap right from the start, and

I’m thrilled with the unparalleled success we’ve made towards that goal.”

“Through strategic partnerships, sponsorships, renovated hospitality spaces, and much more, [Heck] has helped

establish AVFC as a world-class operation and commercial success,” said club chair Nassef Sawaris. We hope he

succeeds in everything he does in the future.

In the announcement of Heck’s departure, Villa stated that a replacement is “expected ahead of the commencement

of the 2025-26 season.”

Heck certainly played a key role in increasing Villa’s earnings, but he has also faced criticism from supporters for

raising Champions League ticket prices dramatically, sometimes to £97.

Additionally, he has been charged with not conducting an appropriate consultation procedure for the club’s crest

change.

When contacted about Heck’s rumoured plans to join LIV Golf, which has US operations in Palm Beach, Florida, and

New York, a representative for the organisation had nothing to say.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund provides funding for LIV Golf, which conducted its inaugural event in

2022. By paying them enormous contracts, the fourth-season series has been able to draw in some of the top golfers

in the world.

The Saudi government’s detractors frequently claim that the golf series is being exploited to defame the nation.

Scott O’Neill, the CEO of LIV Golf, officially began working there in mid-January.

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