Malcolm Kpedekpo: Pittodrie to Hampden via Harvard Business School

Former Aberdeen forward Malcolm Kpedekpo is aiming to use his experience from the worlds of football and business to help shape the direction of the national game after he joined the Scottish FA board as an independent non-executive director.

Malcolm Kpedekpo played 11 times for the Dons. Picture: Allapsort UK.

Kpedekpo, whose appointment was ratified at last week’s board meeting, is a chartered accountant with global experience in corporate finance and private equity across a range of sectors, including media and technology. Most recently, the 42-year old was also a board director of Scottish Golf.

Having joined Aberdeen as a schoolboy, he made his debut in 1995 at the age of 18 and made 11 first-team appearances while completing a university degree in Management and Accountancy. His studies took him to Aberdeen University and he subsequently spent time at Harvard Business School, where he focused on the international private equity and venture capital market.

He left Pittodrie – and gave up professional football – to take up a role with KPMG, firstly in Aberdeen and latterly in Australia, returning to Scotland to work in the venture capital arm of the Bank of Scotland before leaving to set up a private equity firm alongside two of his colleagues.

Kpedekpo said: “I am excited by the opportunity to help shape the direction of the national game and, as 
someone who has played boys club, junior football and professional football, look 
forward to sharing my experiences from the dressing room and the boardroom. The football industry has been transformed globally in the past decade, with investment and innovation through technology. I believe Scottish football’s history gives us a rich platform on which to build a brighter future, by complementing that heritage with delivery of what fans want and, indeed, expect from modern sport and 
entertainment organisations in the digital age.

“My focus will be to advise, challenge and support the efforts of the Scottish FA to grow and govern the game in Scotland.”

Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “On behalf of the Scottish FA, I would like to welcome Malcolm on to the board. We were hugely impressed by him throughout the selection process: he has a unique, first-hand experience of both grassroots football and the development pathway to the professional game, combined with an enviable business pedigree and recent experience with Scottish Golf.

“While we never played against each other on the pitch during our respective playing careers, I’m looking forward to having Malcolm on our side as we drive the Scottish FA 
forward.”