John Vicars is to retire from his position as Chief Operating Officer at the end of the month.
Mr Vicars, who joined the club 11 years ago after a successful career as a senior police officer with Derbyshire Constabulary, will however remain on the club’s Board as a Non-Executive Director.
The 60-year-old moved to Pride Park Stadium as Operations Director in 2007 and was promoted to the role of Vice President (Operations) a year later under Derby County’s previous North American ownership group. When Executive Chairman Mel Morris, CBE, completed his purchase of the club in 2015, Mr Vicars was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer.
Mr Morris said: “John has been a dedicated and trusted advisor to me and leaves the club in excellent operational shape. During his tenure, he has overseen a transformation of our facilities both at Pride Park Stadium and the Training Centre. The stadium regeneration John has guided the club through has included substantial improvements in our playing surface, technical systems and matchday experience for our supporters - the last major project being the creation of the very successful ‘The Yard’ Restaurant and Bar. John’s legacy is here for all to see.
“His diligent work at our Training Centre has been instrumental in delivering a world class training facility which is now the envy of many Premier League clubs. He leaves the operational structure of the club in excellent shape.
“Although John has decided that the time is right for him to retire from his operational management role, I am grateful he has agreed to remain on the Board as a Non-Executive Director. His experience, know-how and love for the football club will be a huge asset to us and I look forward to his continued contributions.”
Mr Vicars said: “I certainly didn’t envisage when I joined Derby County in the 2006/07 season that I would actually spend over a decade at the club. It has been both a tremendous experience and also an honour and a privilege to have served the club and its supporters during this period. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the chance to work within the football industry and it has given me the opportunity of meeting and being able to work with some extremely talented people during that time.
"As always with football it has been something of a rollercoaster ride which has delivered incredible highs and lows. You enjoy the great moments, such as the win in at Wembley in 2007, whilst having to be resilient and focussed through the not so good times such as our loss, for example, to Queens Park Rangers in the Play Off Final in 2014. However, football is cyclical and with a committed local owner at the helm, first-class playing and training facilities and a top-flight football academy in place I am confident that there will be another success story to celebrate in the not too distant future.
“It has always been my intention to retire at the end of the current season and I am now looking forward to having the opportunity to spend more time with my family and have the ability to pursue other interests whilst continuing to support the club as a member of the Board of Directors.
“Finally, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Mel for his personal support and fellowship over the last three years and I sincerely hope that all his efforts are ultimately rewarded by a promotion to the Premier League.”
