The San Jose Earthquakes have hired former English Premier League executive Tom Fox a their new team president, as reported by Elliot Almond of the San Jose Mercury News.
Fox will replace former team president Dave Kaval, who has been working double duty since being named as the A’s team president six months ago. Fox, who previously served as an executive for EPL side Arsenal and Aston Villa, will be officially announced next Tuesday.
“Everybody believes there is still growth for San Jose,” Fox told the San Jose Mercury News Wednesday in an interview from London. “The charge is to find ways to continue to put San Jose in a competitive place. To do that by finding good players locally and finding good players in the U.S. and abroad and to grow our commercials.”
Kaval has served as the team’s president since 2010, and played a pivotal role in the building of the Quakes new home at Avaya Stadium.
“For us, it was all about finding the right person,” he said Wednesday. “For the long-term, it was the best to have duo roles. “But it pulled me very thin in two locations.”
Fox became Arsenal’s chief commercial officer in 2009 and took over at Aston Villa in 2014. The Birmingham team struggled during his tenure, leading to Fox’s resignation last spring.
“I was comfortable and confident everything we were doing was the right thing to do at a very difficult and challenging time,” he said. “It’s like sitting down and doing a crossword puzzle while someone is screaming at you. What you really learn is to have confidence in yourself and the people around you.”
