Founder Lee Cook will step down but continue to be involved with the company

Russell Stopford Stadion

Digital sports agency Stadion has appointed Russell Stopford as its CEO.

Stopford arrives after being chief digital officer at PSG for almost four years. He was responsible for strategy, execution and commercial for the French giants’ products. Previously he was director of digital for Barcelona, which has the largest social media audience of any sports club in the world.

He has also worked as product development director at Perform Group (including Goal.com) and before that was at Manchester City where he was responsible for all digital channels including City TV.

At Stadion he will be responsible for strategic growth and development of its product, taking over from founder Lee Cook - who has led the company since its launch in 2014. Cook will continue to be involved, working with Stopford.

Cook said: “When you have worked in sport for as long as I have, you get to know some amazing people and occasionally an opportunity to work with them. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Russell over the last eleven years since we met while he was at Manchester City.

“With his experience at some of the top clubs and digital businesses in the world, I knew we had a rare opportunity to bring someone with a wealth of knowledge and expertise into Stadion. I’m delighted he has joined the team and can’t wait to grow the company together.”

Stopford added: “Stadion has an outstanding reputation for creating bespoke high performance digital experiences for some of the most respected brands in sport. The business continues to go from strength to strength and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to evolve the offering and to lead and work alongside a very talented team of innovative and creative individuals.

“Stadion has developed a suite of purpose-built products which ensure clients achieve maximum engagement with their customers across all aspects of digital and social in an extremely user-friendly way. This is an exciting time for Stadion.”

Stadion handles sports organisations’ digital presence through its many platforms - working with many top football clubs, the UCI, Team GB, and more.