Andrew Nestor confirmed as West Bromwich Albion president - with Shilen Patel 'more excited than ever'

Nestor, a close ally of chairman and owner Shilen Patel and board member of Bilkul Football Group, will retain his existing title of sporting director in charge of Albion's sporting business.

The move is a restructure of the club's leadership group following the departure of former long-term managing director Mark Miles at the beginning of this week.

As well as Nestor's title as the club's first ever non-honorary president, there have been role changes to two other members of Shilen Patel's Bilkul.

Ashish Patel, cousin of the chairman, is now chief marketing officer, with Ethan Gobetz confirmed as chief financial officer.

Both have been supporting Albion's owner since the February 2024 takeover from Guochuan Lai and Yunyi Guokai.

Albion owner Patel admitted to feeling "more excited by the future than ever" with the changes and the leadership of 'innovative strategist' Nestor.

“Andrew has led significant organisational change across our sporting department through achieving better alignment, increased emphasis on analytic and data-led approaches, and improvements to squad value whilst substantially benefiting club finances," Patel said.

"I am confident he will deliver the same innovative strategies to drive continual growth to other areas of the club.

“His immense experience in all football club operations, from sporting to commercial, and everything in between, will stand the club in great stead for the future.

“With Andrew at the helm, I am ⁠⁠more excited by the future than ever, and with the new executive team by his side, I look forward to seeing him deliver the positive culture he has grown within sporting to the whole business.”

Nestor, former chief executive, general manager and president at Tampa Bay Rowdies and director at Bologna in Italy, has played a leading role in delivering Albion through the recovery post-Lai from a sporting sense as the club looked to trim down an excessive wage bill and average age while remaining competitive.

Nestor said of his new overarching role: “I am proud to be taking on the role of president at the club.

"The goal is to establish the foundations on which our success here will be built – replicating the progressive principles installed on the sporting side over the past 18 months across all areas of the club to ensure competitiveness, commercial growth and sustainability going forward.

“My previous experience in other clubs has taught me there is no replacement for strong alignment and good people – and at The Hawthorns we have exceptional staff who have even greater potential. I am excited about what can be achieved at this great club, and what we can add to Albion’s rich history.” 

Ashish Patel has been heavily involved in Bilkul and Albion operations since the takeover. He, like Shilen, is a regular attendee on matchday and public voice of support for the club.

Ashish and Nestor co-founded sports investment firm Cerro Capital and the former specialises in commercial growth having previously held senior roles in media fields.

Gobetz has been a less public-facing board member at Bilkul but has been a key player in the hierarchy's first 18 months at the helm.

His experience of more than 20 years in marketing, advertising and sports include leadership in planning, as well as merging and acquisitions.