After months of discussions and setbacks – including fears for the very future of the club – US businessman Chris Kirchner has finally exchanged contracts to buy Derby County out of administration.
Assuming a deal can be struck on the Pride Park stadium and a couple of other points can be cleared up, the American entrepreneur will take ownership on May 31.
Even before then he has agreed to start putting money into the Rams to help prepare for their upcoming campaign to play their way out of League One next season and back into the Championship.
Mr Kirchner, who is in his mid-30s, first revealed his interest in buying the East Midlands team last October – a month after the Rams went into administration.
He made his money as the co-founder of global logistics software provider Slync.io, which is based in San Francisco, and is its chief executive and chairman.
Mr Kirchner attended Butler University in Indianapolis where he studied international marketing before heading off to the University of Kentucky to take a communications and minor marketing degree.
In 2009, after graduating, he set up his own business, Kirchner Entertainment, specialising in advertising and entertainment, then worked for a US tech supplier called Best Buy.
He then moved to a label printing business called Turner Labels, in Kentucky, where he quickly moved up to the position of senior vice president for sales and marketing. According to his Linked In bio his job was to “modernize a 50 year old family-owned business” and “manage a sales team with about $5MM in annual sales”.
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Mr Kirchner founded Slync.io in 2017 and it has grown over the years, providing operating software for global shipping businesses, freight forwarders and logistics groups.
Summing up the business in a Vimeo film he said: “Global logistics is this massively complex function.
“What we do is we take the data and the systems, and what goes on in those processes, and automate it.”
Mr Kirchner’s sporting connections include sponsorship deals with professional golfers including reigning Olympic Gold Medallist and former world number one Justin Rose.
When he signed in 2020 the golfer said: "Golf and logistics have a lot in common. I am incredibly excited to be the newest ambassador for the most innovative software company in global logistics."
Back in October Mr Kirchner penned an open letter to Derby fans sharing his feelings about why he wanted to take over the club.
He said: “We don’t know each other yet, but we have two things in common: our love for the game of football and our desire to rebuild Derby County back into the proud club everyone deserves…
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“…Derby County is a club with a rich history and one of the best groups of supporters in all of England.”
He went on to say: “Football (or soccer as I knew it growing up but have learned to correct that over time) has been a part of my life since I could walk.
“My father introduced the game to me (futbol as he called it growing up in South America) at a very early age and I spent most of my life playing the sport.
“My love for football hasn’t changed over the years, and I have been involved as a fan throughout my adult life.
“Being in the fortunate position to purchase such a prestigious club as Derby County is a childhood dream come true.
“In business I believe in transparency, trust, humility and respecting authority. Those are qualities I have grown up with.”
He said he was particularly impressed with the attitude of manager Wayne Rooney, his coaching staff and the players.
He said: “Recent performances and results demonstrate their clear, unwavering commitment to the club.
“The best stories in life often start after a setback and the best years of Derby County FC are without a doubt in front of us.
“Hopefully, we will have the chance to be better than ever before and together write our own chapters in the illustrious history of DCFC! Up the Rams!”
The San Francisco-based businessman speaks two languages, Spanish and English and supports the Animal Welfare, Arts and Culture, Economic Empowerment, Education and Science and Technology.
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