40 years since starting the mammoth that would become Matchroom Sports, Barry Hearn has announced that he will be stepping down as Chairman, making way for son, Eddie, to step into his shoes.
Hearn founded the sports promotions company back in 1982, and seeing huge success with the Snooker he expanded into Boxing, Darts and Pool more than a dozen other sports.
Barry has been a true pillar of support for Jessie May over the years, having made us the Charity Partner for World Snooker Tour for the last 5 years. On 26th May 2017, Barry became an official Patron for Jessie May, and over the last 4 years has advocated on behalf of the incredible team of nurses who provide vital palliative and respite care to children and families across the South West.
Jessie May CEO, Chris Roys, was filled with nothing but positivity when speaking about Barry;
“Jessie May is very proud to be associated with Barry Hearn, who has been a supporter and Patron of our charity for the last 5 years. We would like to add our congratulations to Barry on an amazing career. Whilst the press have, not surprisingly, focussed on Barry’s incredible business achievements, what has been overlooked is his incredible contribution to charitable activities. Barry has long been a supporter and donor to a number of charities in the hospice sector, including Jessie May, which should also be applauded.
I know that Barry, as President, will continue his personal interest in our work and we look forward to working with his son, Eddie, as he takes over the reins as Chairman of Matchroom Sport. Children and their families are at the heart of Jessie May – and family is also incredibly important to Barry. We wish him all the best as he well deserved time to spend with his children and grandchildren.
Steve Dawson will take over from Barry as Chairman of the World Snooker Tour after the conclusion of this year’s World Snooker Championship, currently underway. The change also sees Barry’s daughter, Katie Hearn, come in as CEO of Matchroom Media.
Barry will be stepping into a President role of the Group, on an advisory basis. We want to take this time to congratulate him on his incredible achievements over the last 40 years, and wish him all the best in his future endeavours – we can’t wait to see what he does next!
