David Kogan has been appointed for a 5 year term until 19 May
2030, including time served as Chair-designate prior to Royal
Assent of the Football Governance Act. Dame Helen Stephenson and
Simon Levine also appointed to the Board as Non-Executives.
David Kogan OBE
David Kogan OBE has held senior positions in the television and
sports industries during a 45 year career as a media executive,
business leader and corporate advisor. He negotiated a succession
of multi-billion pound TV rights deals on behalf of major
sporting bodies, including the Premier League and the English
Football League. He has also advised UEFA, The Scottish Premier
League, Six Nations, Premier Rugby and the NFL. Most recently he
sold the broadcast rights on behalf of the Woman's Super League.
He is a former managing director of Reuters Television (the
global television news agency), and an ex-CEO of the Magnum photo
agency. He has co-founded both Reel Enterprises and the Women's
Sports Group. He is currently an advisor to the New York Times
Group and CNN on their commercial, digital and AI strategies.
Among his public boards David was a non-executive director at
Channel 4, a member of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's
Services board from 2007-14 and Chair of Westminster Kingsway
Corporation. He is the author of three books.
The appointment of Mr Kogan will mean that the work in
establishing the football regulator as a legal entity can
continue at pace to improve the governance and financial
sustainability in the game.
An inquiry regarding this appointment led by the Commissioner for
Public Appointments is ongoing. We have cooperated fully with the
inquiry by the Commissioner of Public Appointments and await the
report's publication.
Today, the DCMS also announces that two non-executive directors
have been appointed to the board of the Independent Football
Regulator for five year terms, commencing on 8 September.
Dame Helen Stephenson
Dame Helen Stephenson is a Non-Executive Director and former
Chief Executive of the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
She joined the Commission from the Department for Education where
she was Director of Early Years and Child Care. Helen
previously worked in the Cabinet Office where she was Director of
the Office for Civil Society and Government Innovation Group.
Helen joined the Civil Service from the Big Lottery Fund where
she was Head of Strategic Policy and Partnerships.
She has worked for a large national charity as a development
manager and as a researcher and consultant in the statutory and
voluntary sector. Helen has a PhD from Bristol
University.
Helen is a Non-Executive Board member of the National Lottery
Community Fund and Chair of the People Committee. She is a Board
member of the ECB Regulatory Board and on the People and
Governance Committee at the Royal Academy of Dance. Helen is a
Non-Executive Director for North West London Acute Provider
Collaborative.
Previously, Helen was on the Board of the Big Society Trust and
was Chair of NCT until her appointment at the Charity Commission.
Helen was awarded the CBE in 2014 and was awarded a DBE in the
Birthday Honours list 2024 for services to charity and
regulation.
Simon Levine
Simon Levine has been a practising lawyer in the City of London
for over 35 years providing litigation and regulatory advice
across a range of sectors including technology, media and sport.
Until late 2024, Simon was for a decade the managing partner and
co-global chief executive officer of a global law firm. He now
acts as a strategic consultant to businesses in the technology,
legal and professional services sectors.
Since 2018 Simon has sat on the board of the regulator for higher
education in England, the Office for Students. He has also been a
member of advisory boards of the Zoological Society of London,
City UK, the International Development Business Exchange, and the
Lord Mayor of London, and is an Ambassador for His Majesty's King
Charles III's Sustainable Markets Initiative.
Notes to editors
- The appointment of a Chair and Non-Executive Directors of the
Independent Football Regulator have been made as the result of a
fair and open competition.
- The Chair of the Independent Football Regulator is
remunerated at £130,000 per annum for an initial time commitment
of three days per week.
- Non-Executive Directors of the Independent Football Regulator
are remunerated at £20,800 per annum for a time commitment of one
day a week.
-
Once fully operational, the running of the IFR will be funded
through a levy on licensed clubs. Until this point, it will
be funded by the government, with this initial funding
eventually recouped through the levy.
- Under the Governance Code on Public
Appointments, any significant political activity undertaken
by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This
is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making
a recordable donation, or candidature for election.
- Mr Kogan has declared that he has made donations to local
Labour Party candidates over the last three years, as publicly
disclosed on the Electoral Commission donation register. He
stepped down as Chair of LabourList in 2025, an independent
website covering the Labour movement.
- Mr Kogan appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport
Committee. A transcript of this hearing is available here,
including political declarations made by Mr Kogan that are
outside the scope of the Governance Code which are noted here.
- Dame Helen Stephenson and Simon Levine have declared that
they have not undertaken any significant political activity.
