Football Club Owner, Entrepreneur, Disrupter - Carol Shanahan OBE.

We are absolutely thrilled to interview Carol Shanahan OBE, welcoming her to The Sofa Stories Family.

EFL Football club owner, entrepreneur, disruptor and a passionate builder of communities.

From her upbringing in Lincolnshire and West Bromwich (the latter where she discovered her love of football), to going straight from school into a career, applying for a job as main frame IT operator despite the description stating that it wanted a man! She went for it and got the job!

We talk to Carol about founding a business (Synectics Solutions which was sold to Synova Capital in 2024) which became the global market leader in counter fraud technology to then taking the decision in May 2019 to buying Port Vale Football Club which had become a passion for her since Synectics relocated to Burslem in 2009. 

We hear of the highs and the lows, promotion, relegation, even having Robbie Williams on board as one of the club’s Life Presidents! Carol is most certainly a disruptor.

What is a constant however throughout Carol’s life is her sincere commitment to helping and serving the community. The Hubb Foundation that she and her husband Kevin founded, explemifies this commitment, with delivery of activities and free meals during school holidays to the children in the Burslem area of Stoke on Trent. 

Furthermore, the Foundation, together with the Port Vale Foundation, helped deliver over 375,000 meals to the local community during Covid-19 and lockdown.

As the esteemed Dr Sally Harris (reknowned in the sports industry) said:

“Carol is the only football owner I know who has really invested for the community and made the the community part of her world. She is such a positive force in the world of sport”.

This interview is a fantastic listen for those who are interested in business, sport, education and overall inspiration.

Let’s Get Into It… 

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