League One club Wigan Athletic have appointed a new-look board of directors which they hope will lead the club back up the football pyramid following their takeover by a consortium led by Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi.
The deal for The Latics was completed at the end of last month and came after the financially troubled first entered administration in July 2020.
The Latics' financial problems led to their relegation from the Championship last season.
The sale to Phoenix 2021 Ltd, owned by Al-Jasmi, has now been completed after a deal with a Spanish consortium collapsed at the start of January, after it was initially blocked by the EFL.
Here BusinessLive profiles Wigan's new board as they emerge from administration under new ownership.
Talal Al Hammad
Talal Al Hammad has been appointed at Wigan's new chairman and his career experience is predominantly as an architect, with 12 years of experience in project management.
In the last five years, he has broadened his career professionally by working in different executive positions including his time as an investment strategy specialist.
He has also managed projects in Bahrain, England, France, Switzerland and Cyprus.
A statement on Wigan's website said: "Talal is very passionate about football and the football industry as a whole; he believes the football society serves purpose and belonging, especially to young people – the next generation - and Talal believes that investing in football, is investing in the community.
"A community that focuses on, caters to and serves young people, especially. To Talal, this adds incalculable value to the investment itself."
Mal Brannigan
Chief executive Mal Brannigan has previously been managing director of Dundee United from January 2019 to September 2020 after holding the same positions at Dundalk FC from January 2018 and, before than, Sheffield United from January 2014.
Mr Brannigan first started at Everton as assistant financial controller in July 1995 and was promoted to head of commercial in April 1999.
After leaving the club, he joined Hull City as finance director in June 2001 before holding the same position at Coventry City from June 2006.
He then became vice-president in charge of finance at Derby County in June 2008.
Mr Brannigan has previously sat on the commercial and finance working parties of the English Football League (EFL) and was one of the founding trustees of the EFL Trust.
He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University, in association with VSI, with a master’s degree for sporting directors and has also been a board director at GreaterSport.
Oliver Gottmann
Non-executive director Oliver Gottmann is a finance expert with a doctorate in business administration, focused on strategic decision making.
Hailing from Wicklow, Ireland, Mr Gottmann holds an MBA in Football Industries from the University of Liverpool.
He started out as a trainee accountant at Noel P Geraghty & Company in August 2000 and went on to carry out audits for McCann Kane & Co from March 2002.
Mr Gottmann then joined CIT as a financial accountant and then moved to Baker Tilly as an audit senior in October 2005.
He joined Fidux Trust as head of accounting two years later and became chief accountant of Abbey Healthcare in August 2009.
Bwin hired Mr Gottmann in July 2011 as financial controller before he moved on to become vice-president for finance and development at Lottoland in Gibraltar.
Staying in the country, he joined Gibraltar Financial Services Commission as a technical specialist in November 2016 and is now a lecturer at Financia Business School in Paris and at the University of Gibraltar.
Tom Markham
Tom Markham is a football finance and strategy specialist with over 15 years of practical experience across the sporting, financial, entertainment and academic spheres.
A qualified accountant and former foreign exchange trader, he has collaborated on a plethora of sporting projects with governments, confederations, federations, national associations, clubs, agencies and sports consultancies.
He holds an MBA in Football Industries from the University of Liverpool and became the first person in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to attain a PhD in football finance on graduating from Henley Business School in 2013.
Mr Markham is currently head of strategic business development at Sports Interactive, the maker of Football Manager.
In his spare time, he makes football documentaries including Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football, Calcio Storico: The Blood of Florence and Club Ibiza: The Sessions.
He started out as a sales mediator at Exotic Travel Club in May 2004 before joining Allied Irish Bank as a treasury accountant in February 2005 and was promoted to foreign exchange dealer 18 months later.
Mr Markham worked for PwC in its sports and leisure practice from May 2013 to June 2014 when he left to join Sports Interactive.
Richard Bramwell
A lifelong Wigan Athletic supporter Richard Bramwell is a qualified accountant with over 20 years of experience working in the finance department, having joined the club during the period in which Latics relocated to the DW Stadium.
Since 2013, he has been the senior member of the finance department for Wigan Athletic and the DW Stadium.
He has been responsible for managing the club’s financial operations during their time in the Premier League, Championship, League One and UEFA Europa League.
Mr Bramwell started out as an accounting trainee at UHY Hacker Young in August 1998.
