Everton announces departures of 3 directors, chairman Bill Kenwright could be next

LIVERPOOL, England — Everton began overhauling its board following the team's latest scrape with relegation in the Premier League by announcing a trio of departures including chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale on Monday.

Long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright could yet join them in the coming days.

Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance and strategy officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp, who is a former striker at the club, left their roles two weeks after Everton escaped relegation on the final day of the season.

Everton will announce their interim replacements this week and said a decision on the future of Kenwright will also be announced.

Along with Kenwright, the three directors had been prevented from attending matches at Goodison Park since mid-January because of fan opposition that entailed “threats to safety and security," according to the club.

“The outgoing directors have worked tirelessly over recent months to assist with the preparation for a transition to a new board,” an Everton statement read.

“The club is very appreciative of this generous accommodation, which is both characteristic of them and entirely in the spirit of the best values of our club.”

Everton has cumulative losses of more than 430 million pounds ($540 million) and the departure of the directors was seen as inevitable, with American investors MSP Sports Capital linked with buying the club.

“We have all been fully committed during our time here and are disappointed to have made the decision to leave Everton,” a statement from the three directors read. “We have worked tirelessly alongside our chairman in what has been a challenging period to deliver some of the most significant projects in Everton’s history — projects that will safeguard and sustain the commercial future of the club for generations to come."

Everton is scheduled to move to a new 53,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock for the start of the 2024–25 season, though costs have risen and owner Farhad Moshiri wants more investment.

Kenwright’s retention, for now, might be linked to regulations which state the club has to have at least one sitting member of the board.