Zarah Al-Kudcy
Zarah joined Chelsea FC last summer in a brand new role for the club as Women’s Commercial Director.
With 20 years in the sports industry, she is passionate about building partnerships with purpose and excited to be part of this women’s football era.
- Tell us a little bit about your business…
Chelsea FC are one of the biggest football clubs in the world and between the men’s and women’s team have dominated the 21st century. The women’s team specifically have won the Women’s Super League (WSL) and FA Cup for the last three seasons, but they stand for more than just silverware, they embody leadership, innovation and diversity.
- How did you get into the industry?
I initially harboured ambitions to be a journalist and upon completing my NCTJ course after university, set about trying to get a job on a national paper. While doing this I was introduced to the world of communications, the other side of the mixed zone, and from there I moved into marketing. Both are great skills to understand and have knowledge of in my much more commercially focused roles, previously at Formula 1 and now at Chelsea FC.
- What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
The fact that sport is unpredictable, which is why we love it as fans. When your core product is a non-controllable you need to be agile and find a way to plan regardless. Specifically to women’s football, it is ensuring we balance the learnings from decades of commercialising men’s sport with what makes women’s sport unique to both its athletes and its fans.
- How would you describe your leadership style?
I try to build trust by being open and empathetic and I’ve always believed in leading by example; this includes owning my own mistakes, so that others feel safe to do the same. We spend so much time with the people we work with, it’s important it’s somewhere people look forward to coming to and strive to be their best selves.
- How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
Get to know them as people: what motivates them, what are their personal and professional goals, if they are struggling then why, how can I support more, or less sometimes! In my industry I’ve always been lucky that I’ve shared a common passion with the people I work with and who work for me, which is sport. So making sure we enjoy those iconic wins or moments is important to also remember we are very lucky to do the jobs we do and reassure them it’s ok to celebrate those moments – sometimes we can be very British!
- What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
Planning, process, integration and communication. Like most businesses these are the fundamentals we need to get right to be successful.
- How has the past 12 months been for you?
A whirlwind. One of the reasons I joined the club was to be able to work with manager Emma Hayes. While I was disappointed, like every Chelsea fan, to discover she will leave at the end of this season, I am also incredibly grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to cross paths and work with her for a year. She’s not only one of the greatest managers to have worked in England – across men’s and women’s football – but she’s an incredible leader, thinker and person.
- What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
We’ve hosted more women’s matches at Stamford Bridge this season than we had in its history, launched our official TikTok channel and this month were the first women’s football club to launch an official podcast We Are Chelsea. With two months remaining for of the 23/24 season we still have plenty to achieve, both on and off the pitch, before we enter a new era, with a new manager for the first time in 12 years.
- What are the highlights of your career so far?
Standing at a sold-out Lords (cricket ground) in July 2017 at the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, because a number of people had challenged our ambition to sell-out the final, inferring women’s cricket wouldn’t be able to. England winning was the cherry on top. The feeling I had that day is why I’ve returned to women’s sport with Chelsea women, I want to break more barriers and continue to drive growth.
- What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
The most memorable was during Rugby World Cup 2015 where I led the marketing for the tournament organisers. We’d bought LED signage at the Leicester v Manchester United Premier League match to promote ticket sales for the forthcoming tournament. As I watched on Sky Sports my stomach dropped as I read ‘TOO BIG TOO MISS’ our campaign line. I learnt two lessons that day; the first was accountability – several people in our organisation and the design agency had read and approved that copy but ultimately I needed to be accountable not defensive about the typo and secondly never be afraid to ask. Rather than hide my head in shame, had I phoned the media agency as soon as I saw it, we would’ve been able to swap it out or remove it!
- What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
Remember everyone is accountable to someone, whether it’s a CEO to a board, a CMO to a CEO, a VP to a CMO etc. Understanding the challenges the person on the other side of the table faces is the best way to know how you can overcome them together and in turn hopefully achieve your business goals. Treating people as people and with respect goes a long way.
