Steven M. "Steve" Stride (born c. 1950) is the former
Operations Director
The role of operations director generally encompasses the oversight of operational aspects of company strategy with responsibilities to ensure operation information is supplied to the chief executive and the board of directors as well as external ...
of
Aston Villa Football Club
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...
.
Career
Stride joined the office staff at Aston Villa in 1972 and seven years later was appointed football secretary, a post he held for 16 years. He was elected to the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
in 1995,
and two years later published a book, ''Stride inside the Villa'', chronicling his 25 years with the club. In 2005, he took responsibility for running the club while longtime chairman
Doug Ellis
Sir Herbert Douglas Ellis, (3 January 1924 – 11 October 2018) was an English entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Aston Villa Football Club from 1968 to 1975, and again from 1982 until 2006. Ellis was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours L ...
recovered from
heart bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...
surgery.
[ Stride was the only director to remain at the club following American businessman ]Randy Lerner
Randolph David Lerner (born February 21, 1962) is an American billionaire investor and former sports-team owner. He became the majority owner of the American football team, the Cleveland Browns, of the National Football League, upon the death of hi ...
's 2006 takeover. He eventually resigned, with his resignation being effective from May 2007.
Wimbledon F.C. relocation
Stride was a member of the three-man Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...
-appointed commission which, in 2002, controversiallyWimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English football club formed in Wimbledon, south-west London, in 1889 and based at Plough Lane from 1912 to 1991. Founded as Wimbledon Old Centrals, the club were a non-League team for most of their history. ...
should be allowed to relocate to Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
.
References
1950s births
Living people
English businesspeople
Aston Villa F.C. directors and chairmen
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