The English Premier League has confirmed that Susanna Dinnage will not be taking on the role of Premier League Chief Executive in 2019.
Last November, the league had announced the inbound appointment of Dinnage as first female Chief Executive of the Premier League replacing Richard Scudamore, who ended his 19-year tenure in the role this December.
Entering 2019, the league was set to operate under a realigned leadership framework, with media executive Dinnage the former President of Discovery Networks for UK & Ireland acting as league Chief Executive, supported by the pending appointment of a new Non-Executive Chair.
“Despite her commitment to the Premier League in early November, Susanna Dinnage has now advised the Nominations Committee that she will not be taking up the position of Chief Executive” details the EPL’s media release.
“The Committee has reconvened its search and is talking to candidates. There will be no further comment until an appointment is made”.
In previous EPL communications, Dinnage had been branded as ‘the outstanding candidate to lead the Premier League’, by Chelsea FC Chairman Bruce Buck, the Chair of the EPL’s Nomination Committee.
Sports stakeholders will be monitoring the EPL’s leadership search in 2019, as the world’s richest football league enters a disruptive period navigating Brexit complexities, audience engagement with new media verticals, and dealing with the rising costs of match day prices.