West Ham's four new board members: The rules (2024)

As Michail Antonioscored against Burnley to extend West Ham’s good run of form, there was at least one new board member watching on at the London Stadium.

Emma Benton-Hughes sat in the directors’ box to witness the team’s third 1-0 win on the trot after her appointment last week. Dave Sullivan Jnr, Daniel Cunningham and Charles Cross were also recently named on the board.

But who are they and what do they do? Here The Athletic answers the key questions surrounding the new additions.

When did this happen?

The details were first published on the Companies House website a week ago, however, applications to the Premier League board for someone to become a director must take place 10 days prior to their approval.

Who are the new board members?

Cunningham, the son-in-law of co-chairman David Gold, is an independent mortgage consultant at AK Partnership with more than 20 years’ experience in finance. He has previously received support from high-profile footballers, noticeably former Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard.

Cunningham’s wife of nearly 20 years is Jacqueline Gold, the CEO of Ann Summers, and the couple have a daughter called Scarlett. Cunningham passed his financial exams in 2017 and the 43-year-old has previously worked at GFI Group as an associate director. He spent the best part of 13 years at KBC Bank as a senior foreign exchange and money market trader and held positions as a money market dealer at HSH Nordbank and a sterling interbank broker at RP Martin. Cunningham’s profile on AK Partnership states he joined the company in 2017, and outside of his career in finance he is a keen golfer and a huge West Ham fan.

Happy birthday to my gorgeous hubby @dan2777 pic.twitter.com/HbZHjn0qje

— Jacqueline Gold CBE (@Jacqueline_Gold) June 2, 2016

Cross is 83 and a close associate of David Gold, while Jack Sullivan, son of David, is the managing director of West Ham’s women’s team who featured in the BBC documentary Britain’s Youngest Football Boss. In one scene, his older brother Dave Sullivan Jnr says he knows “absolutely nothing” about women’s football and had not yet attended a game. He highlights his younger brother as being more business savvy.

Benton-Hughes, 55, a former adult film star who was known as Eve Vorley, is Jack and Dave’s mother and the partner of co-chairman David Sullivan. In an interview with The Times, Benton-Hughes’ brother Jonny Trunk, who helped run her fan club, explained that his sister turned to the industry when her first husband left her and she struggled to cope financially.

The 55-year-old was also a Page 3 girl and featured in a number of adult films in the late 90s and early 2000s. Benton-Hughes will also attend board meetings and following her appointment, it means West Ham are the only club in the Premier League that have three females who occupy a place at board level: Karren Brady (vice-chairman), Tara Warren (executive director) and Benton-Hughes.

The remaining board members are Andy Mollett (chief financial officer), Tripp Smith (non-executive director) and Daniel Harris and (non-executive director), taking the total number to 11.

Why have West Ham made these appointments?

There was speculation that the appointments of Cunningham, Cross, Benton-Hughes and Sullivan Jnr to the club’s board of directors was done so they could continue to attend matches — both at the London Stadium and away fixtures — which was something they did regularly prior to the pandemic. This has been denied by West Ham who claim they are either family or very close to the shareholders and have a strong interest in the club and its progress.

Is this allowed?

The short answer is yes.

For Project Restart the Premier League created a document called “match-day operations plan” which they are still using. It divides the stadium into red, amber and green zones, with red being the pitch, dugout, dressing rooms, amber being the dugouts and broadcast areas and green the press seats and concourses. It has been signed off by DCMS, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the local safety advisory groups.

Each club can bring up to 10 directors or senior executives to a match and the directors’ zone can have no more than 20 people in it. But The Athletic have been informed the correct process has been followed and West Ham have not broken any rules.

What do fans think?

The appointments have not been greeted with much support — especially during a time of national lockdown when there is discussion about whether or not footballers should even be allowed to celebrate goals.

West Ham United Independent Supporters Association chair Sue Watson is also not particularly supportive of the recent announcements. She told The Athletic: “In all honesty, I can’t think of any positives behind their appointments,” she says. “What expertise will they bring to this club? The club have received a bit of backlash from what I’ve seen.

“David Gold and David Sullivan would’ve had a reason why they appointed them. But because there’s been a lack of information it means others will begin to speculate. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it could be part of a succession plan or Gold and Sullivan want to split the workload.”

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Roshane Thomas is a staff writer who covers West Ham United for The Athletic. Previously, he worked for the Sunday Times and talkSPORT. Follow Roshane on Twitter @RoshaneSport