What Tottenham's new CEO will bring from Arsenal and how it will affect Daniel Levy

Vinai Venkatesham is set to arrive at Tottenham Hotspur this summer as the club's new chief executive officer and the hope is that he will bring some fresh ideas with him.

The club announced on Friday that the 44-year-old former Arsenal supremo would be arriving in the months after the end of this current season to bring his experience across north London to the team in white after a year out of the game deciding on his next move. Other clubs, both in the Premier League and abroad, had been eyeing up but Tottenham moved quickly to create the new role in N17 for a man well known to chairman .

Spurs supporters have plenty of questions about the upcoming arrival of the former Gunners CEO and here at football.london we've tried to answer as many as possible below.

What's his background?

The Oxford-educated Venkatesham comes with a wealth of experience from not only his 14 years at Arsenal but also elsewhere in sport and business.

He started out as an oil trader, then joined Deloitte as a strategy consultant before making the switch into sport as the commercial manager for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, leading the negotiations for various sponsorship deals with big companies such as Adidas and Cadbury among others.

Venkatesham joined Arsenal in 2010 and worked his way up the levels, through various head of partnership and sales roles before becoming chief commercial officer for four years. Then he was elevated to a new role as managing director in 2018, working in tandem with head of football relations Raul Sanllehi.

When the Spaniard departed two years later, so Venkatesham took over completely as CEO and earned praise for his leadership of the club through the pandemic - and was heavily involved in the hiring of .

Venkatesham is a presence across various sport bodies as well. He was a board member and later executive committee member of the European Club Association, where he came into plenty of contact with Levy, as he did at Premier League meetings. He also remains a non-executive director of the British Olympic Association and chairs the Wembley Stadium Advisory Board.

The incoming Spurs supremo is also a big pusher of the women's game, having played his part in building it up at Arsenal and he spent almost a year as the chair of a working group for the FA to determine the future of the women's professional game in England. Venkatesham received an OBE last year in recognition of his services to sport.

What are his strengths and weaknesses?

In sport and business, amid all the rivalries, competition and power grabs, there's often respect, sometimes begrudging, but it's rare to find someone who appears to liked by the majority of those who have come into contact with him. That seems to be the case with Venkatesham, who has proved to be as popular with those he worked with as he did with the media he often dealt with.

Those who have come across him during his time at Arsenal described him to football.london in similar terms, with words such as "slick", "charming", "likeable", "smooth operator" and "genuinely caring about the fans" among those used.

Venkatesham is a communicator, as comfortable speaking to the fans on the street and the media at gatherings as he is operating and negotiating within the corridors of power both inside a club and within the sport.

One key thing to remember though, and Venkatesham will likely admit this himself, is that he is first and foremost a businessman - a trained accountant - rather than a traditional football expert. During his time as the Gunners' CEO, annual revenue at the club surged from £340million to a record £615million before he left.

He will bring strong focus on commercial and business activities, but surrounds himself with those with football knowledge and then manages it all from above, taking in the information available and combining it with his own experiences built up over those years at Arsenal.

Tottenham fans will be wary of more business people being thrown into the mix at their club but Venkatesham's exit from Arsenal - announced with a season's notice - was met with genuine disappointment from those inside the club and also the fan groups who worked with him.

What will he bring to Tottenham?

In five words - leadership and a public face. Much of that depends on how much free reign Venkatesham is allowed to operate with by the established powerbase at Spurs, but if he is given the chance to transform this north London club then the signs suggest he will do so for the better.

Whether they believe it or not, Spurs have a public image problem, both with their own fanbase and beyond. It's a club with more footfall than Tottenham Hale Station in terms of the changing managers, players and staff and none of it brings any sustained success on the pitch and certainly not the silverware craved by all.

The club is an easy target for mocking within the game, admitting recently that everything about Spurs seems to be turned into a negative.

The fans, paying some of the highest ticket prices in the sport, are constantly left wondering why certain decisions are made and the few statements that come out of the club annually are sometimes almost dismissive of concerns and often double down on decisions that have increased Spurs' revenue if not their football success.

If allowed, Venkatesham will become the face of the organisation and the decisions made, bringing more clarity and transparency to what Tottenham do and he can build a much-needed bridge to the supporters and media.

Postecoglou became the latest in a long line of managers this month to admit that it would be helpful if those above spoke occasionally to explain matters and Venkatesham certainly has regular experience of doing that.

The 44-year-old was a visible figure around Arsenal, mingling at events and popping into the press room sometimes on matchdays and he would take part in interviews whether through club channels or with media outlets during seasons to provide updates on what was happening at the club.

Venkatesham will also no doubt undertake a full appraisal of what he finds beneath him at Spurs in order to make the club more efficient and successful and that could have a knock-on effect in plenty of departments, not least the medical, sports science, academy and of course the women's teams at all levels.

What has he said?

"I'm excited to be joining Tottenham Hotspur this summer," Venkatesham was quoted as saying within the statement about his summer arrival that was released during Postecoglou's latest press conference on Friday.

"After taking some time to recharge and evaluate my options, I believe this is an exceptional opportunity to work with Daniel, the board and all of the staff, to take the club forward."

What does it mean for Daniel Levy?

Ultimately, as the chairman of the club, Levy will still sign off on every major decision that affects Tottenham Hotspur. Venkatesham's appointment could lift some of the responsibilities that lie at his door and allow him to spend less time being hands-on in and around the club.

However, those who know the 63-year-old doubt he will step particular far back from the table, if at all. One thing that will help Venkatesham is that, as with , he appears to be someone Levy has coveted for years as a potential component that would add something to Spurs.

Paratici was given far more free reign than previous recruitment heads at the club, helped by having a bigger directorial role than them, and a lot of that came down to the trust given to him. Hopefully Venkatesham is afforded the same room to improve the north London outfit.

What has the chairman said?

"The club has experienced significant growth in recent years, making it crucial to expand our executive management. I have known Vinai for many years, having worked together in the Premier League and the ECA," said Levy.

"I am personally delighted that he has agreed to join our board as we build for success."

What does it mean for others?

The direct impact of Venkatesham's appointment probably comes for others below Levy in the organisation at Tottenham as the new man looks to stamp his mark on the club.

Looking in from the outside, Scott Munn currently seems the most heavily impacted by the new man's arrival as the Australian was brought in as chief football officer in 2023, effectively coming in from The City Group as Levy's number two.

As things currently stand, Munn, who deals with the administrative aspects at the club, will now report to Venkatesham. While it may well be that his current role fits in with the new man's, there are echoes of the move made by Levy when he brought in Paratici back in 2021 while Steve Hitchen was in his role.

The two recruitment men had long known each other and made it work for a while, embarking on a joint appraisal of all football departments within the club, but naturally Hitchen's role shrank and changed from what it was and he handed in his notice later that season.

When it comes to recruitment, Spurs' current technical director will no doubt be looking to impress the new man as Venkatesham assesses everything he is taking on in the months ahead. As previously mentioned, the former Arsenal man surrounds himself with football experience and those he believes can make an impact and Lange will report in to his new boss from the summer onwards.

Lange's role has been primarily targeting younger players and that is something that also began happening more frequently at Arsenal during Venkatesham's four years as CEO.

Postecoglou's future is already the subject of heavy speculation, as he has alluded to himself on numerous recent occasions, and if the Australian does depart the club before next season begins then Venkatesham will be heavily involved in recruiting the next head coach, as he did with Arteta down the road.

What does it mean for the fans?

Tottenham supporters will understandably be dismissive of another businessman coming into the club and some might begrudge that Spurs are having to turn to a long-time Arsenal man to try to improve their own situation.

However, Venkatesham does genuinely appear to have worked hard to help resolve fan issues during his time across the other side of north London and the fact that he will actually speak to the general public is a step in the right direction from the current boardroom way of dealing with the outside world.

When Venkatesham's departure from Arsenal was announced, the supporters' trust released a statement that read: "AST is sad to hear that Arsenal Chief Executive Vinai Venkatesham will leave the club. He was genuinely committed to fan engagement and improved relations considerably when taking over. He was always available and would be direct and honest in discussions.

"Vinai also rebuilt a younger, more diverse and dynamic executive team at Arsenal that is making a difference. We wish him well in his future endeavours."

That trust probably didn't envisage Venkatesham heading down the Seven Sisters Road and turning up at Tottenham. Their loss though could end up being Spurs' gain.

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