Rangers have announced that CEO James Bisgrove is leaving the club to take up a new role in the Middle East.

The 29-year-old, who has been at Ibrox for five years, was appointed as CEO last April. John Bennett will assume the role of Executive Chairman for an interim period. This piece was originally published last April.

Here’s everything you need to know about his career, time at Rangers and new role.

Who is James Bisgrove?

Since graduating from Cardiff University with a Business and Marketing degree in 2006, the 38-year-old has made his way up the professional ladder, having worked for the likes of Emirates, UEFA and TEAM Marketing.

Starting out with RBS, Bisgrove was involved in the bank’s sport sponsorships and worked across cricket, rugby, tennis, golf and F1. After leaving that role in 2010, he became International Partnership Manager at Betfair.

Following three years spent working as a Sponsorship Controller for Emirates, Bisgrove joined European football’s governing body UEFA in 2013 as a Sponsorship Manager. He spent three years in Nyon before a further three years as Head of Sponsor Partnership Management with TEAM, a media company responsible for “managing partner relations” across the Champions League and Europa League. 

Bisgrove described the role as, “ensuring continued revenue growth for UEFA’s club competitions and best-in-class industry standards were delivered for all partners.”

Throughout Bisgrove’s marketing career, he’s always specialised in sport and therefore, a move exclusively into club football was no surprise.

When did Bisgrove join Rangers?

With an established background in marketing and brand growth, Bisgrove arrived at Ibrox in 2019 to “oversee the commercial growth and modernisation of the club’s marketing and digital activities”. His title then was Head of Marketing and Commercial.

Coming into a club with plenty of potential but a lack of commercial infrastructure, Bisgrove has been the key driver behind Rangers’ development in this department. Which is, naturally, a vital revenue stream.

“Predominantly, it’s driving new revenue growth across a number of different streams, whether that’s via commercial partnerships, hospitality, digital platforms like RangersTV, which is growing rapidly, and our digital media, so what I’m mandated to do is grow all of those revenues as quickly as we can,” he said in a 2020 interview with ALSD.

Why did Bisgrove join Rangers?

As detailed, Bisgrove arrived in Glasgow to grow Rangers’ commercial outlets and maximise the club's potential opportunities.

At the 2021 AGM, he outlined a revenue target of £27.9million for the coming year, which was achieved in 2022.

“In the previous years before Covid we were at around £13-£14m so we set a really high bar. We’re delighted to have reached that and actually exceeded it thanks to our different commercial operations. That gives us a real platform to move forward and grow for next season,” he told RangersTV in June of 2022.

Explaining his role in an exclusive interview with the Rangers Review last year, he said: “Everything we do through our commercial programme, which we get unbelievable support from the support right around the world, is for the benefit of the club and ultimately to support the team on the pitch. Ultimately, that’s my job and everyone in the commercial and marketing department. To keep moving us forward for the betterment of Rangers.”

What has Bisgrove achieved?

Aside from developing the club's number of commercial partners, Bisgrove has been an influential driver behind the New Edmiston House and the Blue Sky Lounge projects.

Speaking about the Blue Sky Lounge during an exclusive sitdown with the Rangers Review last year, Bisgrove said: “There was a big investment made by the club in terms of modernising that space and wanting to create something that, in Scotland, we feel is the pinnacle in terms of that hospitality experience.”

And on New Edmiston House: “It will be a multi-purpose venue we will use 300 plus days a year at the club. We are hugely excited about its potential and not just how it can elevate the matchday experience but also what we can do on a non-match day.”