Jason Stockwood

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Jason Stockwood
Born (1970-05-01) 1 May 1970 (age 51)[1]
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
NationalityEnglish
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Chairman, businessman, entrepreneur, director
Board member of

Jason Stockwood (born July 1970) is an English businessman who is current football chairman and joint majority shareholder of Grimsby Town and vice chairman of insurance brokers Simply Business.

Having graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil), he moved into the travel business and has previously held roles as the managing director of Travelocity, non-executive of Skyscanner and a commercial role with lastminute.com. He is also the former international managing director of dating website Match.com.

Early life[]

Stockwood was born in Grimsby and attended Tollbar Academy in the village of in New Waltham, near Grimsby.[2] Stockwood comes from a working class family; his mother, a single parent who worked three jobs to keep four sons clothed and fed.[3] Aged 15, he worked as a waiter at Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes and worked on Grimsby docks for a few months.[4] After leaving school, Stockwood went on a kibbutz in Israel, he went on to work at Walt Disney World in Florida and as a holiday rep in Greece, before studying full-time in 1992 at University in Bolton.[2]

Stockwood is a lifelong supporter of his home town football club Grimsby Town; in 1979 he was attended his first game against Sheffield Wednesday.[5] He was a ballboy in November 1984 for The Mariners at Blundell Park in a fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[6][7]

Business career[]

He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Bolton in 1995. Having spent time working in the travel industry as managing director of Travelocity Business, non-executive at Skyscanner and commercial roles with lastminute.com, Stockwood went on to become the international managing director of dating website match.com.

From there, he has gone on to come CEO and then vice-chairman of Simply Business, a business insurance provider which has gained recognition for its treatment of its employees. Simply Business was voted as the number one ‘Best Place to Work’ in the UK by The Sunday Times in both 2015 and 2016, with Stockwood winning the overall Best Leader award in the latter year. The company’s awards led to it being accredited as a certified B Corporation.[8]

He is an investor in early stage technology companies through 53 Degrees Capital.

In 2020 he was invited to become a Transformational Leadership Fellow at The Blavatnik School of Government, The University of Oxford.

Football ownership[]

Stockwood was announced as part of a consortium, lead by London businessman Tom Shutes, which was interested in buying out John Fenty's majority control of Grimsby Town.[9] Shutes later pulled out for personal reasons, which prompted Stockwood and other consortium member Andrew Pettit to form a company called 1878 Partners, which on 5 May successfully completed the takeover of the club with Stockwood named as chairman.[10][11] He wrote an article in The Guardian detailing why.[3]

In January 2021, Stockwood and other Board Members were severely criticised for proposals and changes to the club's official crest, taken without consultation with supporters. Stockwood, and his fellow Board Members have been heavilly criticised in regards to priorities, with fans questioning ambition in terms of the playing side of the club.

Bibliography[]

  • Reboot: A Blueprint for Happy, Human Business in the Digital Age (2018)

References[]

  1. ^ "Jason STOCKWOOD - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Wright, Greg (11 March 2019). "The technology boss who believes in business with a human face". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Stockwood, Jason (29 June 2021). "'We bought Grimsby Town FC to help renew the place we love". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. ^ Laister, David (5 May 2021). "Who is Jason Stockwood? The big business interview with the new chairman of Grimsby Town FC". Business Live. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  5. ^ Findlater, James (6 May 2021). "'It's more than just football' - New Grimsby Town owners making community central to their plans". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Grimsby Town 5–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises Limited. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  7. ^ Davidson, Lauren (6 May 2021). "Stockwood and Pettit keen to "start a new chapter" after Grimsby Town FC takeover success". Gi Media. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  8. ^ Findlater, James (7 April 2021). "Who are Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit? Duo still involved in Grimsby Town takeover after Tom Shutes exit". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  9. ^ Findlater, James (26 December 2020). "Tom Shutes makes new offer for John Fenty's shares after Grimsby Town takeover called off". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Grimsby Town: 1878 Partners complete takeover of relegated League Two club". BBC Sport. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  11. ^ Findlater, James (5 May 2021). "Grimsby Town takeover recap: Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit confirmed as new owners". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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