Casper Stylsvig has left his role as chief revenue officer (CRO) of Italian soccer giants AC Milan to take up the same position at English Premier League outfit Chelsea.
Stylsvig (pictured) officially departed Milan in October and will begin his new role with Chelsea this month (November).
The Dane will be the latest part of a senior leadership reshuffle at Chelsea in recent months as the club’s relatively new ownership group continues to form its executive team.
Stylsvig commented: “I’m delighted to be joining Chelsea at a hugely exciting time for the club. I’m looking forward to working with talented colleagues as part of the world-class team that has been built at Chelsea.”
The West London club appointed Chris Jurasek as its new chief executive in May after president of business Tom Glick departed after 10 months in the role.
Jason Gannon, previously the managing director of SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers NFL franchises, was also hired as chief operating officer.
Stylsvig will now form the latest part of a recruitment process led by co-controlling owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, and José E. Feliciano.
Jurasek said: “Casper is a great addition to our leadership team, bringing extensive commercial and football experience to his role. I’m very pleased to welcome him to Chelsea.”
A consortium led by Boehly and Clearlake Capital (co-founded by Eghbali and Felician) purchased Chelsea in May 2022 for £4.25 billion ($5.3 billion).
The club has undergone a significant period of change with its senior leadership team since then with the likes of chairman Bruce Buck, chief executive Guy Laurence, and sporting director Marina Granovskaia leaving their jobs.
Their departures from the club followed that of Russian Roman Abramovich, who sold Chelsea after having been sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine due to his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Stylsvig was appointed as Milan’s CRO in 2019 and has overseen a relatively successful period for the club on and off the pitch, particularly with new commercial partnerships that have contributed to the club’s growth in global markets.
Last month, the Serie A side announced a financial profit (€6.1 million) for the first time in 17 years after generating record revenues of €404.5 million during the 2022-23 season.
Commercial revenues, which Stylsvig was responsible for, were a major factor as income from this area increased to €44.4 million for the year.
Milan have secured several major commercial deals in recent years, including a renewed shirt sponsorship agreement with long-term partner Emirates Airline last December.
Stylsvig is no stranger to boosting the commercial coffers at big European clubs, having previously spent almost eight years as head of sales and global sponsorship at England's Manchester United and two years as business development manager at Spain's Barcelona.
Having spent over $1 billion on transfers since the new ownership group came in, Chelsea will be looking to generate large revenue and will task Stylsvig with identifying new income streams to avoid financial fair play sanctions.
Milan have moved swiftly following Stylsvig’s departure, promoting Maikel Oettle to chief commercial officer. Oettle joined the Italian side from heavyweight sports marketing agency IMG in November 2019.
This is Oettle’s second promotion this year after he stepped up from sponsorship sales director to commercial director in January. At the time, Giulia Mazzia was also elevated from senior partnership strategy manager to global head of partnerships.
Those promotions followed the club’s appointment of Giorgio Furlani as chief executive in November 2022 to succeed Ivan Gazidis.
Milan also appointed Tania Moreno as their new chief marketing officer.
Since taking control of the club last year, US ownership group RedBird Capital has opted for continuity with the team’s leadership, preferring to promote from within instead of making outside appointments.
