Dinnage named as Premier League’s new chief executive

Joe Williams

Television executive Susanna Dinnage has made the move into sport with one of the most high-profile roles in football.

Dinnage was named as the Premier League’s new chief executive on Tuesday and will take over from Richard Scudamore early next year.

Dinnage, a Fulham fan, has been in her current role as the Global President of Discovery’s Animal Planet for a year, with a rebrand revealed only last month.

Dinnage is a Discovery stalwart, having worked for the company for almost a decade, previously as president of Discovery Networks UK and Ireland, which included overseeing sports channel Eurosport, and chief content officer, international.

Prior to joining Discovery, Dinnage was at Channel Five for more than 10 years, holding a number of senior roles and working on the launch of the channel and its digital extensions.

Dinnage has been in television her whole career, having started at MTV, and Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, who played a leading role in the recruitment process, cited her experience in guiding businesses through the rapid growth of digital media as a key factor in the appointment.

Buck said: “We had a very strong field, but Susanna was the outstanding choice given her track record in managing complex businesses through transformation and digital disruption.”

Dinnage will clearly be missed at Discovery, and JB Perrette, the president and chief executive of Discovery Networks International, said: “Susanna has been a terrific leader for Discovery over the last 10 years.

“She has a strong understanding of brands and running diverse media businesses both in the UK and more recently with Animal Planet globally.

“She has been a fantastic team-mate for all of us at Discovery and we are delighted that she has been given this unique and ground-breaking opportunity to lead one of the world’s pre-eminent sports organisations.”