The inside track on Walsall FC's new American owners
Walsall’s new American owners, Trivela Group, have taken over the Saddlers as part of their aim to have a ‘multi-club ownership model in global football’.
Based in Birmingham, Alabama, the firm was set up last year and Walsall are the first side they have invested in.
How involved each of them will be with the Saddlers remains to be seen, but Trivela are made up of five key figures with backgrounds in both business and football.
Benjamin Boycott is managing director and joining the Saddlers as co-chairman – serving alongside Leigh Pomlett who is staying on for four years to ‘ensure a smooth transition’.
A University of North Alabama graduate, Boycott has experience in investments, financial modelling and organisational management.
He formed Trivela alongside Kenneth Polk.
An entrepreneur and investor, Polk is the founder and CEO of Arlington Family Offices, which holds more than 12 billion US dollars in capital for its investors.
Wesley Hill is Trivela’s vice president of operations and strategic partnerships.
Hill previously worked within Nike’s advanced innovation department and sits on boards of ‘multiple international non-profits and venture backed startups’.
Vice president of project management William Boycott has ‘a strong record of successfully and significantly growing shareholder value’ and holds a chemical engineering degree from the University of New Brunswick.
Perhaps most notably, providing an extensive football background is vice president of global football Matt Jordan.
Former goalkeeper Jordan had spells with Dallas Burn, Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, Montreal Impact and Danish side Odense in a 13-year playing career.
After hanging up the gloves, he served as technical director at Montreal Impact and played an integral role in the club’s successful expansion into the MLS, with the club winning two Canadian Championships.
Jordan was later senior vice president and general manager at Houston Dynamo. During that time, they won the US Open Cup, advanced to the MLS Western Conference final, and qualified for the Concacaf Champions League quarter-finals.
Jordan left Dynamo in August of last year and joined Trivela just last Friday.
