Marina Vladimirovna Granovskaia ( Russian: Марина Владимировна Грановская; born 13 January 1975) [1] [2] is a Russian-Canadian business executive who served as the director of Chelsea from 2014 to 2022. [3][ dead link] She has also served as chief assistant to Roman Abramovich for over ten years.
Granovskaia studied at the Foreign Languages Faculty of Moscow State University and graduated in 1997. [3] She started working as Roman Abramovich's PA at Sibneft in 1997. [3] In 2003, she moved to London, when Abramovich bought Chelsea. [3] She has also worked for Millhouse Capital, another company owned by Abramovich. [4]
Granovskaia became involved in transfers and contractual dealings for Chelsea, becoming the representative of the owner at the club in 2010, then joining the Chelsea board in June 2013. [3] In 2014, she was promoted to chief executive of the club. [5] The Times stated that the promotion made her the "most powerful woman in football." [6]
Her task of managing transfers sometimes put her at odds with managers who had their own ideas of whom to sell or buy during the transfer window. [7] She has also been responsible for brokering the team's sponsorship deal with Nike, that will fund £60m per year to the club until 2032. [8]
Granovskaia has been described as 'The Iron Lady' and "one of the best club directors in world football". [9] In 2018, Forbes ranked her Number 5 in their "Most Powerful Women in International Sports" list. [10]
Marina Granovskaia received the Best Club Director in European football award at the Golden Boy Awards on 13 December 2021. [11] On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Granovskaia would leave Chelsea by the end of the 2021–22 season, following the change in ownership of the club. [12]
Marina Vladimirovna Granovskaia ( Russian: Марина Владимировна Грановская; born 13 January 1975) [1] [2] is a Russian-Canadian business executive who served as the director of Chelsea from 2014 to 2022. [3][ dead link] She has also served as chief assistant to Roman Abramovich for over ten years.
Granovskaia studied at the Foreign Languages Faculty of Moscow State University and graduated in 1997. [3] She started working as Roman Abramovich's PA at Sibneft in 1997. [3] In 2003, she moved to London, when Abramovich bought Chelsea. [3] She has also worked for Millhouse Capital, another company owned by Abramovich. [4]
Granovskaia became involved in transfers and contractual dealings for Chelsea, becoming the representative of the owner at the club in 2010, then joining the Chelsea board in June 2013. [3] In 2014, she was promoted to chief executive of the club. [5] The Times stated that the promotion made her the "most powerful woman in football." [6]
Her task of managing transfers sometimes put her at odds with managers who had their own ideas of whom to sell or buy during the transfer window. [7] She has also been responsible for brokering the team's sponsorship deal with Nike, that will fund £60m per year to the club until 2032. [8]
Granovskaia has been described as 'The Iron Lady' and "one of the best club directors in world football". [9] In 2018, Forbes ranked her Number 5 in their "Most Powerful Women in International Sports" list. [10]
Marina Granovskaia received the Best Club Director in European football award at the Golden Boy Awards on 13 December 2021. [11] On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Granovskaia would leave Chelsea by the end of the 2021–22 season, following the change in ownership of the club. [12]