Everton confirm another senior exit after Kevin Thelwell as new hires lined up
Everton are moving in a different direction under The Friedkin Group after Kevin Thelwell leaves his position as the director of football in the summer.
Thelwell will end his three-year association with Everton at the end of the season after helping them manage a financial crisis due to PSR constraints in Farhad Moshiri’s last two years as the owner.
The Friedkin Group have no plans to hire a like-for-like replacement for Thelwell as they have confirmed that they are transitioning from a model with a single director of football to a new system with a wider sporting leadership team.
This comes after their announcement of the appointment of Angus Kinnear as their new CEO starting from 1 June.
Richard Kenyon to leave Everton
It is evident that Everton are undergoing a behind-the-scenes restructuring under The Friedkin Group as these are not the only backroom changes that they have confirmed.
In the statement confirming Kinnear’s appointment, the Goodison Park outfit announced that Richard Kenyon will also be leaving the club along with Thelwell.
Kenyon is Everton’s chief commercial and communications officer and has held several senior leadership positions since joining them over 11 years ago.
| Name | Role | Status |
| Angus Kinnear | CEO | Starting 1 June |
| Kevin Thelwell | Director of Football | Leaving in summer |
| Richard Kenyon | Chief Commercial and Communications Officer | Leaving |
As with Thelwell’s case, the Toffees do not intend to appoint a direct replacement for Kenyon and will instead divide his responsibilities between existing members of his department.
Nevertheless, the Premier League club are planning new senior appointments in other positions, with announcements expected in due course.
Angus Kinnear to join Everton as CEO from Leeds United on June 1
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) March 7, 2025
Kevin Thelwell departure at end of season confirmed.
Club to move away from director of football model to sporting leadership team.https://t.co/SQXmh4aSKz
Kinnear is considered commercially savvy
A part of the reason why the Friedkins are not considering hiring a like-for-like replacement for Kenyon could be the fact that Kinnear is known as a commercially savvy person.
As pointed out by Paul Joyce in The Times (7 March), the departing Leeds executive overhauled the Elland Road outfit’s retain operation, thus adding to his reputation.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Thelwell and Kenyon are not the only senior officials leaving Everton.
Chief scout Dan Purdy is also likely to depart soon.