Hibs reveal three board changes as Bill Foley is joined at director level by sidekick Ryan Caswell

Foley is joined by Caswell and Robb after Black Knight share purchase

Bill Foley is one of three new board members at Hibs in the wake of the billionaire’s investment, the Easter Road outfit has announced.

The 79-year-old American’s 25 per cent shareholding of Hibs was ratified at the club’s agm last month and as a result, the board of directors has now been enlarged. Foley – who is the founder of Black Knight Football Club, a consortium that has stakes in Bournemouth, Hibs, Lorient and Auckland – has taken up a seat alongside fellow BKFC partner Ryan Caswell and lifelong supporter Leslie Robb, whose vote in favour of Foley’s involvement allowed the deal to go through.

Foley and Caswell join Kit Gordon and Ian Gordon as directors, while Robb is a non-executive director alongside Robert Begbie, Scott Fraser, Gillian Hutchison and Archie Paton. Malcolm McPherson remains as non-executive chairman, Kathrin Hamilton as non-executive vice chairman, and Ben Kensell as chief executive.

Bill Foley is now on the Hibs board after his investment was confirmed last month.

Black Knight’s shareholding purchase has given Hibs in the region of £6 million to invest in the first-team squad and training/stadium redevelopments. Foley and Hibs both hope that the partnership, which brings Hibs closer to Bournemouth, Lorient and Auckland, will allow them to become the undisputed third force in Scottish football and ultimately challenge the Old Firm. Hibs are currently sixth in the Premiership, 21 points behind Edinburgh rivals Hearts, who currently occupy third place in the standings.

Announcing the changes at board level, a statement from Hibs read: “Hibernian FC can confirm that Bill Foley, Ryan Caswell, and Leslie Robb have joined the club’s board.

“Following Black Knight Football Club’s (BKFC) acquisition of 25 per cent of Hibernian FC’s shares, Bill Foley and Ryan Caswell will now become directors. Bill Foley has significant experience and success running best-in-class sports franchises, large enterprises, and publicly traded companies. He is the founder and general partner of Black Knight Football Club, a global multi-club operator of football clubs.

“Foley led BKFC’s acquisition of AFC Bournemouth, and their 40 per cent acquisition of FC Lorient of the French Ligue 1. In November 2023, the Australian A-Leagues officially awarded an A-Leagues expansion football club in Auckland, New Zealand to Mr Foley, expecting to begin playing in the 2024/25 season. Alongside this, he also owns and operates several successful entertainment properties that include the likes of the Vegas Golden Knights (a National Hockey League team), the Henderson Silver Knights (an American Hockey League team), the Vegas Knight Hawks (an Arena Football League team) and much more. Mr. Foley was the first person to bring professional sports to Las Vegas in 2017 and in 2023 the Vegas Golden Knights (which Mr Foley formed as an expansion team in 2017) won the Stanley Cup Championship in just their sixth season since inception.

Hibs held their agm last month, which heralded a new era at Easter Road.

“Outside of sports and hospitality, Bill Foley also holds leadership positions at a number of large publicly traded companies. These are multi-billion-dollar public companies across a wide range of industries which have experienced significant success.

“Foley is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point New York, and received a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Seattle University and a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Washington. In 2016 Foley became ‘A Distinguished Military Graduate’ from the United States Military Academy awarded to an individual who exemplifies the principals of Duty, Honor, Country. Less than 150 graduates have received this recognition in the 261 years of the existence of the United States Military Academy.”

While Foley is well-known to Hibs fans due to him fronting up the Black Knight investment, Caswell is a new name coming into the club. Based out of Las Vegas, Hibs wrote that “Caswell has been involved with the creation and execution of Black Knight Football Club. He sits on the boards of the Holding Company and FC Lorient. He helped lead BKFC’s acquisition of AFC Bournemouth and the acquisition of shares in FC Lorient. Ryan was also involved in winning the A-Leagues expansion franchise in Auckland, New Zealand.

“Away from football, Caswell has served as President of Cannae Holdings, a publicly listed NYSE company, since February 2023. He is responsible for deal execution and portfolio company management at Cannae. Mr Caswell also serves, or has previously served, on the boards of Cannae investments including Amerilife, CorroHealth, Black Knight Football entities, System1, and TripleTree Holdings, among others. Prior to joining Cannae, Mr. Caswell was a Managing Director with the investment bank at BofA Securities, Inc. where he worked from 2008 to 2020.”

Robb was viewed a silent kingmaker ahead of the agm. A shareholder since 2015 and a lifelong Hibs supporter, the club stated on his appointment: “He spent his career in the asset management industry, holding senior investment positions at Scottish Widows and Murray Johnstone, before becoming a partner of Baillie Gifford & Co in 2002. Since his retiral, he has held a number of non-executive positions and is a member of the Hibernian Women’s Advisory Board.”