ARSENAL’S newest board member is more used to winning Emmys than he is winning Premier Leagues.
But nonetheless, Ben Winston will become an influential figure at the Emirates after a major boardroom shakeup.
Winston, 43, joins the board as a non-executive director after executive vice-chair Tim Lewis left the club and Richard Garlick was promoted to CEO earlier this week.
The power shift, which will see Josh Kroenke hold more power than before at the London club, rings in a new era for the Gunners.
And Winston will be a part of that, bringing his Hollywood expertise to the world of football as Arsenal continue to chase the big trophies.
The British TV producer and director may not have experience working in football before, but he certainly knows what it means to be an Arsenal fan – having had a season ticket at the club for 30 YEARS.
TV CAREER
Winston has made a name for himself in television, working behind the scenes on some of the most popular shows and events that have hit screens in recent years.
Described by Business Insider as “the most influential producer in television”, he has won 13 EMMY AWARDS for his work in TV.
That includes helping create James Corden’s iconic Carpool Karaoke segment as producer of Corden’s Late Late Show in the US.
He has also helped produce the Friends reunion show, multiple Grammy Awards ceremonies and the BRIT awards during his time in TV.
While he also played a part in the making of the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special and finale.
HOLLYWOOD PALS
That career in TV has helped Winston rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
James Corden is perhaps the most notable friend of Winston’s, having bonded over their love of football on the show Teachers and gone on to be best friends.
Now they can so often be seen hanging out together and have worked with one another on multiple professional projects.
While Corden even made Winston the best man at his wedding.
Winston is also close with pop superstar Harry Styles, who – in the height of his One Direction fame – moved in with the producer and his wife Meredith for nearly two years.
Styles stayed on a mattress in the attic of the Winston’s home while he waited for his new Hampstead house to be ready to live in.
Winston has also produced shows for the likes of Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Elton John and Adele throughout his career – becoming close with them all.
He currently produces ‘The Kardashians’ where he works closely with the famous family, including Kim Kardashian.
But Winston has always been around fame, thanks to his well-known dad, Sir Robert Winston.
Winston Sr, also known as Baron Winston of Hammersmith, is a popular doctor, scientist and TV personality.
ARSENAL CONNECTION
It’s fair to wonder what on earth that pedigree in the world of entertainment is worth when it comes to football, but Winston’s first love is the beautiful game.
First attending Arsenal games when he was just “five or six” along with his dad, Winston has now been a season ticket holder for 30 years.
While he did not miss a European away game for 12 years and was in the away end for Arsenal’s win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu during last season’s Champions League campaign.
His Instagram shows him posing for pictures in the stands at games, having a glass of wine with Ian Wright, going for dinner with Mikel Arteta and grabbing a snap with Declan Rice.
Winston’s love for Arsenal even dates back to arranging for David Dein, former Gunners vice-chairman and founder of the Premier League, to come and give a talk at his school when he was a youngster.
Football has crept its way into Winston’s professional life too, producing the Class of 92 documentary involving David Beckham and Gary Neville, as well as the Sunderland ‘Til I Die series.
Winston has also shown that sport is one of his main passions away from football, producing the “LA2028 Handover” portion of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games closing ceremony.
The new Arsenal board member was approached for ideas on how to pass over to LA by Casey Wasserman, the chair of the Los Angeles organising committee, and almost immediately landed on getting Tom Cruise to dive off the roof and snatch the Olympic flag.
He said: “Within the first five minutes, I was like, ‘Well, it would be the coolest thing if we snatched the flag, and we could get Tom Cruise to do it’.”
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