LONDON - Former Manchester United commercial director Jamie Reigle is taking over from Alejandro Agag as Formula E's chief executive with immediate effect, the all-electric racing series announced on Monday.
The 42-year-old Canadian, who spent a decade at the Premier League club and oversaw global commercial operations, joins from the Los Angeles Rams, where he was executive vice-president of the NFL franchise's business operations.
Formula E founder Agag, who is also heading up an Extreme E series due to launch in 2021 to highlight the effects of climate change and showcase electric SUVs, will take the role of chairman.
The FIA-approved championship is starting its sixth season in November with an opening race in Saudi Arabia.
"Reigle will oversee the overall management of the company, day-to-day operations and the delivery of ambitious plans for growth on a global scale," Formula E said in a statement.
Reigle has experience in North America, Europe and Asia, with the Canadian serving previously as United's Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific managing director. He joined the LA Rams in 2017.
"With his addition to our existing executive team, we have an incredibly strong line-up to continue building and developing Formula E through our next growth cycle," said Agag, who is Spanish.
Formula E last week reported record audience figures and revenues, as well as making a profit for the first time thanks to sponsorship growth. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N26337K
The city-based series said revenues increased 50% to more than 200 million euros ($221.32 million) last season, according to preliminary figures.
Liberty Global and Discovery Communications are major shareholders.
Mercedes and Porsche are making their debuts this season, joining manufacturers like Nissan, Citroen, BMW, Jaguar, Audi and Mahindra.
"I’ve followed the championship from inception and admired the global sports platform Alejandro and his team have created in short order," said Reigle.
($1 = 0.9037 euros)
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Timothy Heritage) ((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging: alan.baldwin.reuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))
