A born and bred Wolves supporter, Russell Jones’ personal and professional life revolves around the gold and black in his role as general manager of marketing and commercial growth. Following more than a decade spent working across the West Midlands at Aston Villa, Jones returned to his boyhood club in 2017 where he has the challenge of helping Wolves grow its domestic and international fanbase.
Russell, what are the responsibilities of you and your team at Wolves?
My main responsibilities are fanbase growth - both here in the region and in new geographic markets - and finding creative ways to grow our commercial revenues through digital content, licensing and membership. Internally I work closely with the leadership team to set the commercial vision and ensure that everyone on my side of the business lives and breaths our values every day.
Tell us a bit about your background before joining Wolves.
My background is sports marketing. I have worked in and around sports for around 20 years, starting out with the marketing and comms team for the IAAF, working across several world championships before spending a large proportion of my career at Aston Villa, working very closely with Randy Lerner on his projects in both the US and in the UK. I also oversaw the marketing, digital and content teams at Villa, before setting up my own business in 2014, working with small and medium businesses in the West Midlands to develop their business growth and digital transformation. Then in 2017, I got the call from Wolves.
What attracted you to the Wolves project?
To be honest, I wasn’t looking to move out of my business and I was really enjoying it. It was the first time in a long time when I had that work/life balance, because football is more of a lifestyle than a job. But I’m a Wolves fan, I live in Wolverhampton, and it was too good of an opportunity to not go and at least talk to the directors. Five minutes into my first conversation, I was desperate to do the job!
How do your team embody the Wolves spirit?
Our brand values are built around being ‘progressive’. The idea of daring to be different and being brave enough to try new projects is something that is deep-rooted in our culture. But being humble is also one of our values, and it’s really important that we find the right balance between growing internationally and being a club which remains the pride of our local community.
What do you love about working for Wolves?
Firstly, it’s my club, so it’s a dream come true to travel the world telling the story of this iconic football club. The opportunity to share stories and a drink with fans in places like Mexico City, Mumbai, Jacksonville, Chicago, Shanghai or Dubai will never ever get old.
That togetherness will always be my favourite part of the job – that one pack mentality.
I’ve witnessed that unique community spirit on so many occasions during my time at the club, from our wonderland matchday volunteers who have spent many an afternoon and evening creating fan displays in the stadium, to our worldwide supporters clubs working together to curate fan events on pre-season tours and to the very special group of staff who work within our Foundation. That camaraderie, dedication and passion is what I love most about working for the club.
What are your objectives for the future at Wolves?
Our main commercial objective is to continue growing off the pitch. Our social media following, supporter club network and international partners continue to grow every year, and they all directly support our top line revenue.
I’m also very proud of the work we do across our content and marketing teams, and the bravery that we show in developing new projects such as Wolves Records, Wolves esports and Wolves Studios.
Our football club has played a very special part in the history of the game, and bringing those ‘untold’ stories back into public consciousness, and amplifying them to new audiences, is a real passion for the team.. The award winning LA Wolves documentary and retelling the Honved story are both great examples of how we are using history of the past to inspire future generations of fans, both here in the UK and further afield.
What would you describe as your best achievement while working for Wolves?
I’ve been at the club seven years now and there have been so many personal and professional highlights.
As a Wolves fan, the promotion party was an incredibly special day - I loved every minute of being part of the organising group, and seeing the thousands of fans celebrating in the streets of Wolverhampton.
A little further from home, leading the marketing/commercial efforts during our pre-season tours to Shanghai in 2019 and the US in 2024, are special memories.
I’ve been lucky to travel extensively with the club and trips with the Premier League to celebrate their 30th anniversary in Mumbai, and Mexico to launch the Save the Mexican Wolf campaign, were also fantastic to be part of. On both occasions I was able to hook up with the local supporters club to watch a Wolves game together, which is always a reassuring reminder that our efforts are working.
Finally, tell us something about you that we didn’t already know.
Working in football doesn’t allow much time for anything else, but if I can find some spare time I love being on the golf course. The peaceful tranquillity of playing nine holes on a summer's evening is hard to beat. Playing St Andrews and going to the watch Masters in Augusta are both on the bucket list!
