Show Events
Meet The Board Members
Melvin Benn took over as Wembley Stadium Chairman in May 2011. Previously he had been a non-executive director of the Wembley Board since July 2008. Born in Hull, East Yorkshire, Melvin is the CEO of Festival Republic, the UK's leading festival and event promoter. Festival Republic are the group behind the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Melvin also has operational responsibility and is licence holder for Glastonbury Festival. Melvin brings vast experience in staging the very best in entertainment events and his position as Wembley Chairman has already helped to strengthen Wembley's position as the UK's most iconic live music venue.
David Bernstein is Chairman of The Football Association. He took over from Roger Burden in January 2011. Previously, David has been Chairman of Wembley Stadium since 2008 and a non-executive Director on the Wembley board since 2003 when he played an integral role in the successful delivery and opening of the stadium. David was on the board of Manchester City FC for nine years, five of them as Chairman. During this time the club returned to the Premier League and David lead negotiations which delivered a new stadium for the Club. He is a chartered accountant with a long career in business, sitting on the boards of several public companies including French Connection Group plc, Ted Baker plc and Blacks Leisure plc. He is also President of the Naional Association of Disabled Supporters.
Philip qualified as a Management Accountant in 1973. He has been Chairman of Burnden Leisure plc, the parent company of Bolton Wanderers FC, since 2000. He is also the Executive Chairman of Locker Group Pty Limited, an engineering group based in Australia. Philip is an Executive Board Member of The FA, a member of the FA Cup Committee and a Premier League representative with the Football Foundation. He became a director of BWFC in 1989 and Chairman in 1999. Philip joined the Wembley Stadium Board in February 2005.
Alex Horne was appointed The FA's Acting CEO in March 2010 before being named as General Secretary in May 2010. Formerly The FA's Chief Operating Officer (COO), he was responsible for the delivery of all Corporate Services across the Group structure including finance. He also fulfilled the executive lead on the St George's Park development. As Managing Director of Wembley Stadium from December 2006 to July 2008, Alex was responsible for the delivery of the stadium's events and all areas of its day to day operation after ensuring a smooth handover from stadium constructors Multiplex. Prior to joining The FA in 2003 as Finance Director, Alex qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers specialising in business improvement and corporate turnaround assingments.
Roger Maslin started his career with the intention of being a pathologist but ended up as a Chartered Accountant, qualifying with Ernst & Whinney in 1985! However, his interest in chemistry and in particular alcohol persisted. First, he joined Courage and then Guinness Brewing before moving to the whiskey giant United Distillers in 1991. During his 10 years in booze, Roger acted as Finance Controller for over a hundred markets across the globe, and as the Finance Director of United Distillers in Mexico and Managing Director of European Duty Free in Hamburg. After the announcement of the merger between Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997, Roger became an Integration and Finance Director of the Duty Free Division, responsible for the integration of Diageo's Duty Free Spirits across the globe. Roger joined Wembley Stadium as Finance Director in February 1999 and spent the first month handling the acquisition of the stadium from Wembley plc. He was instrumental in developing the business plan and the funding structure, which was underwritten by the German bank, West LB, in September 2002 and refinanced in September 2008. Roger was responsible for a number of operational areas during the redevelopment phase and was appointed Acting MD in August 2008. Roger was confirmed as MD on 31 July 2009.
As Group Events Director, David brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of live event and venue management. With overall responsibility for all events within Wembley Stadium and the management of other FA events around the country, David will continue to develop the annual calendar of stadium events and the professional and efficient performance of the event day teams. A past international athlete, David represented Scotland at track and cross country from 1982 to 1988.
Scott became involved in the stadium in 2004 as an advisor to The FA. He played a key role in the commercial negotiations that resulted in the financial settlement with Multiplex that facilitated the stadium being handed by the contractor at practical completion on 9 March 2007. Scott is a Chartered Accountant who retired from Ernst & Young at the end of 2003 having spent 32 years at the firm, the last 17 years as a partner specialising in corporate restructuring activities. In 2001, at the request of government, he was appointed one of the Special Railway Administrators of Railtrack plc. He provides commercial support to large corporate organisations through his consultancy practice.
Gwyn brings over 15 years experience at Board level in an executive capacity and over 8 years in a non executive capacity. Her experience has been gained primarily in the retail industry where she has developed a very strong customer focus. Gwyn began her career with Rowntree Macintosh, before starting her 13 year association with Asda. After 8 years at Asda she was appointed to the Board first as Marketing Director before moving to Customer Service Director and later to Retail Managing Director North with full P&L responsibility. Gwyn went on to found the Resultant Team Ltd, a retail consultancy specialising in strategy , internal communication and execution. In 2004 the company was commissioned by Sainsbury’s to develop and implement their turnaround programme. As part of this, Gwyn was given the responsibility of setting up and running the Customer Services Division and was invited to joining the Board in 2005 as Customer Service and Colleague Director, a post she has held since. In her non executive capacity, Gwyn is a director of the Financial Ombudsman Service , Sainsbury’s Bank and Chair of the Community Investment Team within Business in the Community.
Coline has over 20 years experience both at Board level as an NED and in an executive capacity. Coline graduated in law and furthered her education with an MBA from Harvard , before joining McKinsey&Co. After two years, Coline joined the More Group as Group Development Director to revitalise the business. The More Group was acquired by Clear Channel, whereupon Coline took the role of Chief Operating Officer before progressing to Chief Executive , Europe. Coleen pioneered Clear Channel’s business interests in China and was responsible for all outdoor advertising operations outside the Americas, spanning 58 countries. After eight years , Coline joined Apax Partners as a European media advisor. In her non executive capacity, Coline was a director of HBOS pls for 9 years and Shed Media for one year. She is currently a non executive director of Tui Travel.