Football’s Premier League might be embroiled in a very public row over allegations that Manchester City are cheats but behind the scenes it is quietly getting on with accelerating its digital transformation and scaling global fan engagement with the appointment of its first chief technology and data officer.
Simon Pakenham-Walsh takes up the new role with immediate effect, having previously served as the chief information officer at River Island and Sweaty Betty.
He will work alongside director of technology Andy Beale, who joined last year from BT Sport, where he was chief engineer and head of innovation, and director of digital products and technology Chris Archer, who was promoted to the role in April after over 14 years at the organisation.
Pakenham-Walsh has been briefed to supercharge the organisation’s data-driven strategy, including migrating core IT and data infrastructure to Microsoft Azure to handle massive spikes in matchday traffic and process real-time telemetry.
Meanwhile, the organisation is also embracing AI-powered fan engagement, deploying new digital products like the Premier League Companion app powered by Microsoft Copilot, tapping into decades of historical stats, articles, and videos to answer fan queries in natural language.
In addition, the Premier League is undergoing a major data consolidation project, unifying historical match data, live tracking metrics, and media archives into scalable cloud data warehouses to deliver immediate insights for broadcasters, clubs, and first-party digital platforms.
Finally it is integrating Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365 to optimize internal league operations and business workflows.
In a LinkedIn post, Pakenham-Walsh said: “It is a privilege to join such an iconic organisation, and I am thrilled to bring together my passion for sport with my experience in technology and data. I look forward to learning from colleagues across the business and contributing to the ongoing success of the Premier League. I’m excited for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”
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