Newcastle United, the English Premier League soccer club, have appointed Jonathan Kane as their new director of partnerships.
Kane joins from Liverpool, where he served as the team’s vice-president of partnership sales.
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In his new role, he will work closely with chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone to drive the club's commercial growth plans, as well as oversee relations with commercial partners, and conduct a global search for future partnerships.
Prior to his four-year stint at Liverpool, Kane spent three years at international sports marketing agency IMG as sponsorship sales manager within its golf division.
Silverstone said: "I am delighted to welcome Jonathan to Newcastle at this hugely exciting time for the club.
"He has an outstanding track record in the sports industry and will bring unique skills, knowledge, and experience to our talented internal team.
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By GlobalData"We are on a journey to build a sustainable, leading, Premier League and European club, and we are putting in place a skilled, diverse, and dedicated group of people on and off the pitch to drive our development.”
Kane added: "I am excited to be joining Newcastle, particularly at a time of unprecedented growth for the club.
"I am looking forward to working with the talented group of people here at St. James' Park and building an exceptional partnership business together.”
Newcastle recruited Silverstone from international soccer content portal OneFootball last October.
His appointment followed that of Darren Eales as chief executive and Dan Ashworth as sporting director.
The North East side has concluded several commercial deals in recent months, most notably unveiling Saudi Arabian sport and events firm Sela as their new front-of-shirt sponsor and renewing a sleeve deal with Noon.com, the Saudi-based online marketplace.
Since October 2021, the club has been majority-owned by Saudi's Public Investment Fund, which has assured the Premier League that it is not directly connected to the country’s government. The takeover valued the club at just over £300 million ($371 million).
Newcastle will feature in the UEFA Champions League this year after they qualified for Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 20 years with a fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
