Hibs have confirmed the departure of their CEO Ben Kensell.
Kensell was in the Easter Road role for three-and-a-half years and oversaw a number of changes and developments on and off the pitch.
He was a major player in the stadium’s redevelopment and was instrumental in forming the partnership between Hibs and Black Knight Football.
However, his period in charge brought instability on the pitch as he oversaw four managerial changes at Hibs.
Those were the sackings of Jack Ross, Shaun Maloney, Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery, with David Gray now in charge of the Leith outfit.
Ben Kensell issues Hibs farewell statement
His exit comes just two months after fans chanted “Kensell, get to f**k” during Hibs’ 3-3 draw with Aberdeen in November.
Kensell has now taken to LinkedIn to publish a statement regarding his departure from Hibs. Here is every word from that statement:
He wrote: “It’s with a real sense of pride, achievement and satisfaction that after over three and a half years leading this great club as CEO I am leaving Hibs on very good and amicable terms by mutual consent.
“Simply put, I’ve done everything the club has asked me to do and more. I wish the inspiring Ron Gordon was here to see it and enjoy the highs and lows and successes we’ve achieved. The Gordon family are fantastic owners and I can’t speak highly enough of them.
“Together with the staff, players and support of sponsors, suppliers, corporate guests and the brilliant fanbase we have transformed the club off the pitch, doubling turnover with incredible, unrivalled commercial growth, building a fantastic staff culture across both HTC and Easter Road and improving the stadium and training ground so it’s unrecognisable from when I arrived in July 2021. There was a clear strategic plan and it’s been delivered over this time.
“Easter Road as a match day experience is best in class now and I take great pride in having delivered that and it generating the revenues and experiences it now does for everyone to enjoy.
“Bringing Black Knight Football Group on board for a first of its kind investment and partnership in Scotland was also a big achievement which will benefit Hibs on the pitch for years to come and on top of this we have managed to achieve millions in player sales through my negotiations and I leave the club with the men’s and women’s team on fantastic form with brilliant management in place across all areas.
“I wish we could have had more success on the pitch despite the semi finals and one Premier Sport cup final and the one season in Europe getting knocked out by Aston Villa but that’s football for you.
“I have so much confidence that with the solid foundations now in place this club will go on to achieve great success because it deserves it.
“Thank you to everyone for their hard work, efforts and support and there are too many to mention but I will forever be a Hibs supporter because it’s just a wonderful football club in a brilliant city with fantastic people at the heart of it. It was an absolute honour to lead Hibernian FC.”
Gordon family react to Kensell’s Hibs exit
The Gordon family – who own Hibs – have also commented on Kensell’s departure and shared that after talks with the now former CEO, they mutually agreed it was the right time to make a change.
Their statement on the official Hibs website reads: “We’d like to thank Ben for all his hard work and leadership over the last three-and-a-half-years, and we will be forever grateful for the support he provided our family after Ron’s passing.
“As a club, we have made positive strides forward under Ben’s guidance, and he will be leaving the Club in a better place.
“We’re always looking at the future of the Club, and after discussions with Ben, we mutually decided that it was the right time to part ways. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”