MILAN: Internazionale Milan have appointed Michael Bolingbroke from Manchester United as chief executive officer.

Bolingbroke, 48, joins the Italian Serie A club next month after completing his stint as chief operating officer at the English Premier League club.

Inter president Erick Thohir said: “I am very excited to bring a leader of Michael’s expertise and stature to our club. Michael has my complete faith, trust and confidence. He is the perfect person to execute the vision shared by the Moratti family and myself of Inter as a truly global brand. I look forward to working with him as we build a foundation for future success.”

His focus will include implementing best practices in the industry, increasing the reach and depth of penetration of the Inter brand globally, and improving engagement with fans.

Bolingbroke joins a management team at Inter that includes managing director Marco Fassone, vice-president Angelomario Moratti and vice-president Javier Zanetti, together with Michael Williamson, Piero Ausilio and Giorgio Ricci.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be offered this opportunity”, said Bolingbroke. “Inter is one of the strongest brands in football with a heritage to match. I can’t wait to get started and look forward to working alongside the management team in place.”

At Manchester United, Bolingbroke was responsible for ticketing, hospitality, match and non-matchday operations, club secretarial functions, property management and corporate services including finance, human resources, legal and information technology. He was also a board member of MUTV, the club’s TV channel, and a trustee on the Board of the Club’s Pension Fund.

In addition, Bolingbroke was on the board of Manchester United Limited’s joint venture partnership with Nike.

Before joining United, Bolingbroke was the senior vice-president, shows at Cirque du Soleil, where he worked from 2001 to 2007 managing the strategy, profitability and operations of the company’s global business comprising fixed and touring shows.

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