David French Appointed New CEO Of Aviva Stadium
A view of the Aviva Stadium before Ireland's Guinness Six Nations win over France back in February ©INPHO/James Crombie
The Irish Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland are today pleased to announce that David French will become the new CEO of the Aviva Stadium, with Martin Murphy, currently in the role, retiring at the end of September.
French brings a wealth of experience as Director of Venue at Manchester United, then as General Manager of the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, and most recently as interim Customer & Growth Director for Transport for Greater Manchester.
IRFU Chief Executive Kevin Potts commented: “We warmly welcome the appointment of David French as the new CEO of the Aviva Stadium. The Aviva Stadium is a world class facility and caters annually to thousands of visitors for games as well as conferences and events.
“We would like to acknowledge the stellar work done by Martin Murphy, who oversaw the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and has ensured that the stadium has gone from strength to strength since opening.
“We wish David well in his new role and offer Martin our best wishes for his retirement.”
FAI CEO Jonathan Hill said: “David’s experience in running two globally-recognised venues in Old Trafford and the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai means that he is uniquely placed to drive forward the next stage of the Aviva Stadium’s own development as an internationally-recognised and much-loved venue for football, rugby, American football and some of the biggest names in the music world.
“Everyone at the FAI thanks Martin for the work he has done to support our events, especially during a difficult lockdown period and we wish him well in retirement.”
The Chair of the Aviva Board, Gerry McAnaney, added: “The Board of the Aviva stadium are delighted to welcome David to his new role and wish him every success.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to Martin for all his hard work over the years through the development and management of the Aviva stadium, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Vincent Murphy will act as Interim Stadium Director from the end of September until David French assumes the position as CEO on Monday, November 20.