Following the review of our Football Operation, the Club has undertaken a similar process with the Business Operation.
With the departure of James Cutting and Sam Jeffery, and looking at the natural evolution of Henry Comfort’s role, the Club believes it is the right moment to implement changes that reflect a business that has grown to an almost £6m turnover. As a result, Henry Comfort has been appointed as the Club’s Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect, managing the Business Operation on a daily basis.
CEO, Jez George explained the reasons for these changes: “The Club is constantly evolving, with all aspects of the Business Operation growing exponentially, so that demands that our staff structures also evolve to consolidate this progress and enable further development. Henry has been outstanding since his appointment as our Business Operations Manager in September. This is a natural progression and whilst it is only a very small tweak to his current roles and responsibilities, it is also an important one. Working closely with our staff, Henry will continue to add the rigour, processes and systems to run a business that has trebled in turnover over three years. It also mirrors the structure within our Football Operation, and is the comparable to Ben Strang’s role.”
The Club has also re-structured the commercial department, with the appointment of Joanna Kafouris and Nick Fairbairn.
Nick will need no introduction to our fans. As Sports Editor of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Nick is well known within our community and joins the Club as our Head of Partnerships, to work closely with our ever-growing list of commercial partners. Recently, the Club announced a new three-year deal with Mick George to extend their front of shirt sponsorship, which now includes our Women’s and Futsal teams. They head a list of companies that now also includes Cambs Glass, Mundipharma, Inc., Barons BMW, Premier Travel, Vindis, Bidwells, Quy Mill, Absolute Sports Travel, and two newly signed partnerships with The Energy Checking Company and the Ethos Group.
Joanna joins the Club, with a wealth of experience in event management, marketing and procuring sponsorship within the sports industry, as our Head of Commercial Development. Joanna will work closely with Nick to develop future potential commercial partners, grow our events business, enhance our Match Day hospitality, including the launch of Club Cambridge, and create innovative ways in which the Club can interact with the City’s thriving business community.
Jez concluded: "These are two high quality appointments, which reflect the progress the Club has made over the last three years since promotion to the Football League. We are excited that we have been able to attract such experienced, high calibre staff to our Business Operation and believe that can build on the fantastic foundations that are already in place. We believe that these additions will ensure that revenues streams which have grown so significantly over the last three years can continue to be developed in a sustainable model. With the Club now gaining real credibility and traction within the ever-expanding business community of Cambridge, there is still huge potential to generate additional income so that we can continue to invest in the Football operation and strive for success on the pitch. Our aim is always to create the resource to improve the team on the pitch. The breadth of our Business Operation, along with the size of our Youth Development & Community programmes, differentiates us from other clubs at this level and gives us a competitive advantage. With Joanna & Nick joining Henry Comfort, and our other existing staff, we have a team leading our Business Operations that can really push the boundaries and achieve even greater results."