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Alan Waddle
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The Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein interview: Our vision for Swansea City, who now makes the decisions and the mistakes made
Source: Wales Online
Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein joined WalesOnline for an in-depth interview over Zoom where they discussed their plans for the club and the mistakes that are being rectified at Swansea City
Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein have addressed a range of Swansea City subjects in a rare interview this week.
The club's co-owner Levien and new director Silverstein answered questions from selected members of the media via Zoom ahead of the Swans' Championship clash with Norwich City at the Liberty Stadium.
They discussed:
Here, WalesOnline's Swansea City correspondent Ian Mitchelmore brings you the full interview with the American duo.
As part of a significant boardroom shakeup last year, Steve Kaplan was removed from the club's board of directors.
Despite that, Kaplan's influence and shareholding remaining the same.
And Levien has explained the reasons behind Kaplan's decision to step away from the board, an alteration that was made formal on Companies House on October 5.
"Steve and I are very close partners and friends," he said.
"When we started talking with Jake about investing in the club, we thought it would be good to get a new voice, a different voice and a fresh voice on board.
"Steve raised his hand and said 'Listen, I'll be just as involved on the ownership level as your co-managing owner, as I was before, but it would be terrific to get a young, fresh perspective, someone who has experience at a different club in professional football on board and have them join the ownership group'.
"As I said, I think Steve is very involved with the ownership level, but at the board level, we decided that we wanted a different voice and a different perspective."
Among the changes made, Julian Winter, Jake Silverstein, Gareth Davies and Sam Porter were all appointed as directors following a board meeting among the top brass at the Liberty Stadium on September 21.
Silverstein was appointed to the club's board of directors after finalising what was described as a "significant investment" in August 2020, with Levien and Kaplan matching that sum.
Once the climate allows him to do so, the Oregon-based investor is keen to take a more hands-on role with the Swans, with his work so far including playing a key part - alongside the club's head of commercial Rebecca Edwards-Symmons - in the 2021/22 season ticket renewal scheme.
When asked to outline his vision, the 35-year-old said: "To help, to invest, to invest my family’s resources, to invest my time, my energy, to be helpful to my fellow owners, to be supportive of the excellent executives we’ve brought in, to participate in the community fully, we look forward to spending as much time post-Covid as we can on the ground in Swansea, I think that would be hopefully an exciting part of our life with our young family so I’m here to help however I can."
Concerns were raised over the nature of Silverstein's investment - which was made in the form of a convertible loan last year.
The Supporters' Trust felt they could potentially face the stark option of having to invest or having their shares diluted given that Silverstein's loan can be converted into shares at a later date, at the discretion of the American.
On the nature of his loan, Silverstein explained: "In practical terms, a convertible note is a pretty common investment structure we use a lot in various different business, and as we were working through this, we thought it would be simpler and quicker to get funds into the club in the form of a convertible note with the expectation it would convert into shares later.
"So it was about simplicity and ease of injecting funds into the club. Covid makes everything tricky and we wanted to make sure we were really shoring things up financially without too much machinery."
And on Silverstein's input, Levien commented: "I think it’s very important. It was little over a year ago Jake and I sat down and first discussed this possibility.
"We serve on a different board together and I was always an admirer of his, I appreciate his style and his thoughtfulness.
"I think it was a validation of our vision for the club moving forward for the ideas we want to implement, so the process of walking him through joining and making the investment was an important one.
"I think the commitment Steve and I showed in also investing further funds and matching his funds in the club, we wanted to show a commitment to strengthen the club’s financial situation, stability and its ability to move forward in a positive way.
"So I think that Jake joining really was a shot in the arm for the organisation in a very positive way and it’s proven out to be the case."
So what are Silverstein's intentions financially? And will he look to cash in should Steve Cooper's men reached the promised land of the Premier League?
"We want to be part of a football club. We want to build value, we want to enjoy ourselves; I want my son to grow up having this experience. My oldest brother has lived in London for most of my life and as a result I got the football bug early, through him," he said.
"The experience of being a sports fan in the US is wonderful, but it’s different. It’s not the same as having a football club that you support.
"I wanted to have that. I want us to make money along the way in the long-term but our view is this is a long-term commitment and partnership.
"We certainly want it to be a sustainable, viable business, but we believe that is in the best interests of anyone, including the fans and supporters who want to know that the club is on a steady financial footing and has a plan and can navigate through difficult times and be resilient or dare I say even anti-fragile and get stronger as a result of encountering some adversity. That is the aspiration.
"We want to get promoted, everyone wants to get promoted. I don’t want to get promoted so I can cash my ticket, make some money and hit the exit. That is not what this is all about. That is nowhere on my radar.
"I would say pretty definitively, we are investors, we are not speculators, we are not traders.
"This is meant to be the long-term creation of value in which I hope to play some small role and participate.
"Eventually I hope we will make money one way or another but that is hopefully far down the road. I did not do this saying ‘let’s invest, hope to get up, flip the deal, make some money and hit the exit'.
"There are easier and much less emotionally significant ways to do something like that. That is not the business I am in."
The vast alterations at boardroom level have understandably raised one key question when it comes to the running of the club.
Who makes the key decisions?
"It's Steve and I," said Levien.
"We're the co-managing owners, it's the same as when we came in. We've committed as an ownership group, Steve and I continue to be the co-managing owners, so that hasn't changed at all."
Winter has also taken on the mantle of becoming the main operator behind the scenes at the Liberty Stadium following the departure of Trevor Birch in September.
"Trevor's tenure was quite short, so I think we were trying to work out how workable that was," said Levien.
"We got along well with Trevor so I see Julian's role as an extension of Trevor's. And I see the injection of Jake into that process as adding another set of eyes and ears and voice to our decision making.
"We hired him for a reason because of that expertise, and because he was on the ground and has a lot of knowledge in the football world.
"We're not looking to micro-manage his decision making, but when it comes to key decisions about transfers, business opportunities and the trajectory of the club, we're certainly very engaged. We interact with Julian quite frequently."
The end of Cooper's second campaign in SA1 will mark the five-year anniversary of Levien and Kaplan's takeover.
And it's been a turbulent ride for the Jack Army under the current ownership, particularly since the club were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.
Following the successful periods under managers - not restricted to but including - Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup, the Swans lost their way in the latter stages of their seven-year top-flight stay, a period that coincided with the arrival of Kaplan and Levien.
Key players have regularly been sold in a bid to keep the club on an even keel in the Championship.
Meanwhile, supporters have long voiced their frustrations with the lack of communication from the club's owners, something that former chairman Birch swiftly acted upon, as has been the case with current chief executive Winter.
And Levien admitted mistakes have been made during his time at the club.
"I certainly think we made some mistakes in the transfer market, which, the buck stops with ownership, even though we had different folks at management level," he explained.
"I think in some of our communication we could have done a better job, certainly with supporters and the Trust in building the right relationships.
"A common issue that I've seen among clubs that are battling relegation from the Premier League is, they sometimes make short-term decisions, in terms of player moves, because the desire is so strong to stay in the Premier League.
"I think the club, prior to our arrival it started, and went through our relegation, sort of lost its way a little bit, in terms of its identity, its philosophy and its core principles.
"I think that started before we arrived, and I'm not sure we fully appreciated where the trajectory was when we arrived, and I think learning from some of the issues that went on through our tenure and improving upon that, I'd place it in that category."
The Supporters' Trust have noted their disappointment with a lack of communication from the club's majority owners over key decisions at Swansea in recent years.
They remain locked in a legal battle with the owners after claiming it was excluded from negotiations over the ownership change in 2016.
The Trust have openly stated they remain open to dialogue with the owners and the selling shareholders from the deal that was struck four-and-a-half years ago.
"I think we want to talk about every issue, the kind of relationship you have with a partner or family member is one where you want to talk about what’s on your mind and how do we come to a place where we can all be a positive influence on the club’s growth and trajectory," said Levien on talks with the Trust.
"That includes what’s happened in the past and includes what we want to do in the future how do we work best together."
Source: Wales Online
Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein joined WalesOnline for an in-depth interview over Zoom where they discussed their plans for the club and the mistakes that are being rectified at Swansea City
Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein have addressed a range of Swansea City subjects in a rare interview this week.
The club's co-owner Levien and new director Silverstein answered questions from selected members of the media via Zoom ahead of the Swans' Championship clash with Norwich City at the Liberty Stadium.
They discussed:
- Their intentions
- The recent changes within the club's ownership group
- Swansea's financial state
- The ongoing legal battle with the Supporters' Trust
- Mistakes made
- Steve Cooper's future
- Levien has not addressed the media since the early stages of the 2018/19 season while Silverstein has taken questions from journalists on his role for the first time since joining the club last year.
Here, WalesOnline's Swansea City correspondent Ian Mitchelmore brings you the full interview with the American duo.
As part of a significant boardroom shakeup last year, Steve Kaplan was removed from the club's board of directors.
Despite that, Kaplan's influence and shareholding remaining the same.
And Levien has explained the reasons behind Kaplan's decision to step away from the board, an alteration that was made formal on Companies House on October 5.
"Steve and I are very close partners and friends," he said.
"When we started talking with Jake about investing in the club, we thought it would be good to get a new voice, a different voice and a fresh voice on board.
"Steve raised his hand and said 'Listen, I'll be just as involved on the ownership level as your co-managing owner, as I was before, but it would be terrific to get a young, fresh perspective, someone who has experience at a different club in professional football on board and have them join the ownership group'.
"As I said, I think Steve is very involved with the ownership level, but at the board level, we decided that we wanted a different voice and a different perspective."
Among the changes made, Julian Winter, Jake Silverstein, Gareth Davies and Sam Porter were all appointed as directors following a board meeting among the top brass at the Liberty Stadium on September 21.
Silverstein was appointed to the club's board of directors after finalising what was described as a "significant investment" in August 2020, with Levien and Kaplan matching that sum.
Once the climate allows him to do so, the Oregon-based investor is keen to take a more hands-on role with the Swans, with his work so far including playing a key part - alongside the club's head of commercial Rebecca Edwards-Symmons - in the 2021/22 season ticket renewal scheme.
When asked to outline his vision, the 35-year-old said: "To help, to invest, to invest my family’s resources, to invest my time, my energy, to be helpful to my fellow owners, to be supportive of the excellent executives we’ve brought in, to participate in the community fully, we look forward to spending as much time post-Covid as we can on the ground in Swansea, I think that would be hopefully an exciting part of our life with our young family so I’m here to help however I can."
Concerns were raised over the nature of Silverstein's investment - which was made in the form of a convertible loan last year.
The Supporters' Trust felt they could potentially face the stark option of having to invest or having their shares diluted given that Silverstein's loan can be converted into shares at a later date, at the discretion of the American.
On the nature of his loan, Silverstein explained: "In practical terms, a convertible note is a pretty common investment structure we use a lot in various different business, and as we were working through this, we thought it would be simpler and quicker to get funds into the club in the form of a convertible note with the expectation it would convert into shares later.
"So it was about simplicity and ease of injecting funds into the club. Covid makes everything tricky and we wanted to make sure we were really shoring things up financially without too much machinery."
And on Silverstein's input, Levien commented: "I think it’s very important. It was little over a year ago Jake and I sat down and first discussed this possibility.
"We serve on a different board together and I was always an admirer of his, I appreciate his style and his thoughtfulness.
"I think it was a validation of our vision for the club moving forward for the ideas we want to implement, so the process of walking him through joining and making the investment was an important one.
"I think the commitment Steve and I showed in also investing further funds and matching his funds in the club, we wanted to show a commitment to strengthen the club’s financial situation, stability and its ability to move forward in a positive way.
"So I think that Jake joining really was a shot in the arm for the organisation in a very positive way and it’s proven out to be the case."
So what are Silverstein's intentions financially? And will he look to cash in should Steve Cooper's men reached the promised land of the Premier League?
"We want to be part of a football club. We want to build value, we want to enjoy ourselves; I want my son to grow up having this experience. My oldest brother has lived in London for most of my life and as a result I got the football bug early, through him," he said.
"The experience of being a sports fan in the US is wonderful, but it’s different. It’s not the same as having a football club that you support.
"I wanted to have that. I want us to make money along the way in the long-term but our view is this is a long-term commitment and partnership.
"We certainly want it to be a sustainable, viable business, but we believe that is in the best interests of anyone, including the fans and supporters who want to know that the club is on a steady financial footing and has a plan and can navigate through difficult times and be resilient or dare I say even anti-fragile and get stronger as a result of encountering some adversity. That is the aspiration.
"We want to get promoted, everyone wants to get promoted. I don’t want to get promoted so I can cash my ticket, make some money and hit the exit. That is not what this is all about. That is nowhere on my radar.
"I would say pretty definitively, we are investors, we are not speculators, we are not traders.
"This is meant to be the long-term creation of value in which I hope to play some small role and participate.
"Eventually I hope we will make money one way or another but that is hopefully far down the road. I did not do this saying ‘let’s invest, hope to get up, flip the deal, make some money and hit the exit'.
"There are easier and much less emotionally significant ways to do something like that. That is not the business I am in."
The vast alterations at boardroom level have understandably raised one key question when it comes to the running of the club.
Who makes the key decisions?
"It's Steve and I," said Levien.
"We're the co-managing owners, it's the same as when we came in. We've committed as an ownership group, Steve and I continue to be the co-managing owners, so that hasn't changed at all."
Winter has also taken on the mantle of becoming the main operator behind the scenes at the Liberty Stadium following the departure of Trevor Birch in September.
"Trevor's tenure was quite short, so I think we were trying to work out how workable that was," said Levien.
"We got along well with Trevor so I see Julian's role as an extension of Trevor's. And I see the injection of Jake into that process as adding another set of eyes and ears and voice to our decision making.
"We hired him for a reason because of that expertise, and because he was on the ground and has a lot of knowledge in the football world.
"We're not looking to micro-manage his decision making, but when it comes to key decisions about transfers, business opportunities and the trajectory of the club, we're certainly very engaged. We interact with Julian quite frequently."
The end of Cooper's second campaign in SA1 will mark the five-year anniversary of Levien and Kaplan's takeover.
And it's been a turbulent ride for the Jack Army under the current ownership, particularly since the club were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.
Following the successful periods under managers - not restricted to but including - Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup, the Swans lost their way in the latter stages of their seven-year top-flight stay, a period that coincided with the arrival of Kaplan and Levien.
Key players have regularly been sold in a bid to keep the club on an even keel in the Championship.
Meanwhile, supporters have long voiced their frustrations with the lack of communication from the club's owners, something that former chairman Birch swiftly acted upon, as has been the case with current chief executive Winter.
And Levien admitted mistakes have been made during his time at the club.
"I certainly think we made some mistakes in the transfer market, which, the buck stops with ownership, even though we had different folks at management level," he explained.
"I think in some of our communication we could have done a better job, certainly with supporters and the Trust in building the right relationships.
"A common issue that I've seen among clubs that are battling relegation from the Premier League is, they sometimes make short-term decisions, in terms of player moves, because the desire is so strong to stay in the Premier League.
"I think the club, prior to our arrival it started, and went through our relegation, sort of lost its way a little bit, in terms of its identity, its philosophy and its core principles.
"I think that started before we arrived, and I'm not sure we fully appreciated where the trajectory was when we arrived, and I think learning from some of the issues that went on through our tenure and improving upon that, I'd place it in that category."
The Supporters' Trust have noted their disappointment with a lack of communication from the club's majority owners over key decisions at Swansea in recent years.
They remain locked in a legal battle with the owners after claiming it was excluded from negotiations over the ownership change in 2016.
The Trust have openly stated they remain open to dialogue with the owners and the selling shareholders from the deal that was struck four-and-a-half years ago.
"I think we want to talk about every issue, the kind of relationship you have with a partner or family member is one where you want to talk about what’s on your mind and how do we come to a place where we can all be a positive influence on the club’s growth and trajectory," said Levien on talks with the Trust.
"That includes what’s happened in the past and includes what we want to do in the future how do we work best together."
"Where were you when we was shit"
