Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[Dogtanian]

the person who sits by me is a senior manager at Villa in the Finance department - (when I have asked them about working at Villa) they seem to like Chris

Did he twitch and look over his shoulder as he said it?

Yeah, it's Risso, head of Finance there, but as he's always on H&V posting shit about his employer, he's constantly looking over his shoulder 

Funny how it all comes out while he's sunning himself in exotic climbs rather than being in the office to face the flack!

[Dogtanian]

Anyone could type that up and share it on twatter.  We dont know if its true or not but i would imagine wes and nas would take this very seriously.

I mean if he labelled me a cock sucker i would be on the phone to my solicitor

Does everybody have a solicitor?  I think I'm missing out.

Only cock suckers.

And what's all the hate for these poor cocksuckers? They provide a much needed service that many of us greatly appreciate at times. 

[aj2k77]

Guy comes across as a twat, rumours that he's a massive twat. Does it surprise anyone? He needs to be fired if true.

[Ads]

I don't know if that's real or not and won't make an attempt to guess but if I wanted to create something to make Heck look bad I'd include most of the stuff that's in there because it feeds perfectly into the facts that he's american, he's done things fans don't like and there were stories of him upsetting people at New York Red Bulls(or whatever they're called). I think Dave W sees the same thing with his "too perfect" comment as well, it's painting him as the worst possible charicature of an american going to a UK business.

That last point is true, but he's kind of on public record as being a caricature of the worst kind of American going into a UK business, which makes it easy to believe (whilst I acknowledge it might be total bollocks).

Maybe it's what we need? When we get figures that GDP per head is 0.7% across 20 years, there's a productivity crisis and zombie firms awash up and down the country, propped up by previously low interest rates- meanwhile the biggest dive States in the US pay significantly more in wages than us. Even being in the Old Bill over there dwarfs what we earn and the only qualification appears to be how keen you are to shoot black people at traffic stops. $100k a year to you Billy-Bob.

[Brazilian Villain]

I'm relaxed, we're in good hands with Wes and Nas.

I'm no fan of Heck's, but I'll wait till it's confirmed as true before I get too worked up about it.

[Brazilian Villain]

Rumour I heard was that they were dishing out egg and waffle sandwiches as the Friday breakfast offering. US corporate culture has its downsides.

[aldridgeboy]

I was hoping he’d done his ACL and will be away for 12 months.


Time will tell if it’s real or not. It just seems a lot of effort to go to to be to start an internet rumour mill.

[Dogtanian]

Rumour I heard was that they were dishing out egg and waffle sandwiches as the Friday breakfast offering. US corporate culture has its downsides.

Chris Heck is a saint and a gift for humanity!

I'm more than prepared to have all my responsibilities taken away via PowerPoint in exchange for regular egg and waffle sarnies.

[Sexual Ealing]

I don't know if that's real or not and won't make an attempt to guess but if I wanted to create something to make Heck look bad I'd include most of the stuff that's in there because it feeds perfectly into the facts that he's american, he's done things fans don't like and there were stories of him upsetting people at New York Red Bulls(or whatever they're called). I think Dave W sees the same thing with his "too perfect" comment as well, it's painting him as the worst possible charicature of an american going to a UK business.

That last point is true, but he's kind of on public record as being a caricature of the worst kind of American going into a UK business, which makes it easy to believe (whilst I acknowledge it might be total bollocks).

Maybe it's what we need? When we get figures that GDP per head is 0.7% across 20 years, there's a productivity crisis and zombie firms awash up and down the country, propped up by previously low interest rates- meanwhile the biggest dive States in the US pay significantly more in wages than us. Even being in the Old Bill over there dwarfs what we earn and the only qualification appears to be how keen you are to shoot black people at traffic stops. $100k a year to you Billy-Bob.

If he's here to sort out GDP we really are fucked.

[Ads]

I don't know if that's real or not and won't make an attempt to guess but if I wanted to create something to make Heck look bad I'd include most of the stuff that's in there because it feeds perfectly into the facts that he's american, he's done things fans don't like and there were stories of him upsetting people at New York Red Bulls(or whatever they're called). I think Dave W sees the same thing with his "too perfect" comment as well, it's painting him as the worst possible charicature of an american going to a UK business.

That last point is true, but he's kind of on public record as being a caricature of the worst kind of American going into a UK business, which makes it easy to believe (whilst I acknowledge it might be total bollocks).

Maybe it's what we need? When we get figures that GDP per head is 0.7% across 20 years, there's a productivity crisis and zombie firms awash up and down the country, propped up by previously low interest rates- meanwhile the biggest dive States in the US pay significantly more in wages than us. Even being in the Old Bill over there dwarfs what we earn and the only qualification appears to be how keen you are to shoot black people at traffic stops. $100k a year to you Billy-Bob.

If he's here to sort out GDP we really are fucked.

I look forward to the increased spending on health care and defence as a result of the Americanisation of our economy.

[Rigadon]

It's a pretty weird thing to make up isn't it?  I mean, why would anybody do that? 

[cdward]

The bit about the club being vulnerable and not being able to fulfill it's statutory duties in a highly regulated sector, would ring alarm bells for me. Especially if this refers to FFP.
There is so much specific detail in this that it has to be genuine, if it was made up it could be de-bunked quickly and easily.
This is going to blow up.
Can't see Heck surviving this.

[Nii Lamptey]

Copied the text on my iPhone and think it's now in the correct order - Sharing here for those that luckily don't go on Twatter....

A letter to the Fan Advisory Board of Aston Villa FC to be shared with the football authorities and all who care about this great football club.

Significant Concern from Aston Villa employees

We are a group of Aston Villa employees who feel the urgent need to speak out about some of the awful things we are experiencing at the football club. Most worryingly we think the mental health of employees has been deprioritised and, in some cases, disregarded by the appointment of Chris Heck and Ben Hatton to senior roles in the club and we are unwilling to accept this without challenge going forward. We do not trust alternative routes of raising this will effectively address the problem so we are looking for the FAB, Villa fans and all those who care about this great institution to support us by raising and addressing our concerns; we are looking to you to help us protect the employees and fans today and in the future.

Our collective concerns.

HR Matters

This is at the heart of our concerns. HR matters are no longer handled within the framework of law operating in the country. The complete disregards of our legal rights is causing significant concern for employees because we have seen many examples of illegal or inappropriate practices since the appointment of Chris Heck and Ben Hatton at Aston Villa. Specific examples are detailed below.

• A highly respected senior member of staff needed time away from work due to mental health issues and on requesting to return to the business once their health improved was told they were no longer welcome back. Prior to this, they'd had no performance or sickness issues and was well known to be a high-performing employee. This caused shock and anger within the workforce as it tells us that if we have mental health issues, we wont be welcome at Aston Villa. We believe this employee was not given their legal right to a duty of care.

• One employee was forced out (despite no prior performance concerns) and their team was immediately told by Chris Heck they'd left the business without any departure agreement in place at this point. They had worked for the club for 4 years. This was illegal and breached their employment contract.

• Most recently we have lost a highly respected senior member of our staff who was fired on the spot, again with no evidence of any performance concerns. This action now leaves the club vulnerable in a highly regulated sector and we believe unable to fulfil its statutory duties.

• Multiple staff have resigned and Chris Heck repeatedly tried to not pay their notice period and force them out that day. It takes considerable HR and Legal negotiation to convince him that his intended actions are illegal in this country. People are scared to leave the club as they know if they resign they will have to battle to get their notice period paid, as per UK law and don't know where they stand on their notice period and their income before they start new roles.

• Multiple examples have occurred where people's roles have materially changed without consultation. A new organisation structure was announced in a company wide meeting in Autumn whereby people's roles had significantly changed (teams and staff removed, scope reduced) and they found out about it on a big screen in the company wide meeting. Jobs were changed, responsibilities removed or reduced with no prior warning or agreement. Everyone just looked at each other with shock. It was humiliating for many people and no one knew how to handle it. HR were apparently not consulted that this was going to be announced that day in fact the HR Leader was not there). Some people felt they were effectively being forced out of the club in front of their colleagues. It was chaos. This is illegal in England. New job roles hadn't been written for the people affected by the changes, they hadn't been asked if they wanted their reassigned roles, reporting lines weren't confirmed in some areas. Furthermore, the few new roles which were advertised were published with existing employee's responsibilities included within them. There was no one holding Chris Heck to account because we believe our HR/Legal teams were too afraid to address the issue. We are looking to them to have ethical standards to help us enforce our rights.

• We have seen a series of female employees leave the business having felt marginalised and disrespected. Chris Heck has shocked staff referring to people he doesn't like as 'cocksuckers.' This language is appalling in the workplace and reaffirms our concern that his behaviours are discriminatory in nature.

• People are repeatedly being removed from the club without performance issues and being replaced by friends of Mr Heck and Mr Hatton. The leadership team has become a group of people with very little recent experience in the Premier League or even of football in this country. The culture is one of breaking legal contract, intimidating behaviour and disregard of fans wishes. This is very quick demise from the progressive company we felt we worked in less than 12 months ago.

• All these examples have resulted in considerable mental health concerns for existing and exiting staff members. Without employment rights in this country being honoured, how do we trust anyone of authority such as HR/Legal/Senior Management? Staff are trying to stick together and support each other through this but it's very hard for us to feel this uncomfortable about our employment for this long. Some are considering joining a Trade Union. It is common practice now for everyone to share their progress in the job market. It's not a secret at all that many of us are actively interviewing elsewhere.

Commercial Agreements and Governance

We believe there is a lack of governance at the club since the departure of the last CEO in June 2023, Mr Heck and Mr Hatton have been running the business as though it is their personal plaything.

Ben Hatton, the Chief Commercial Officer of the club, has hired three pals into unusually high value consultancy contracts or staff jobs with no HR process or tendering of the work and the firing of our well respected and high performing senior member of staff (as mentioned earlier) has resulted in the appointment of another friend of Mr Hatton into the role. This new hire has zero experience of working in a club and environment as big as Aston Villa games and therefore puts some of the club's policies and procedures at risk.

We have evidence of Mr Hatton awarding a high value contract to a company run by an individual he has previously partnered with as co-Director in other businesses. He resigned from two of these businesses one working day before he started work at Villa, but only resigned from one of the other businesses he was a Director with this person on Jan 30 this year.

We believe the contract has been awarded with no tendering process, as is normal, prudent and good business practice in this industry.

We ask the Fan Advisory Board to ask the Club's Board the following questions:

• Can the Board confirm if standard procedures (tendering and shortlisting etc) have been followed in the awarding of contracts by Ben Hatton?
• Has the company awarded the supplier contract got adequate experience to deliver the required level of service compared to its more experienced competitors in this sector?
• Is the Board aware of the previous business dealings between Mr Hatton and the owner of the company awarded the lucrative contract?

Crest

We have strong evidence that the 'new' crest was designed in September 2023 long before the fan 'consultation, This included issuing male executives a new club tie with the new crest on before December for a photoshoot. This is completely against the essence of how a club crest should be designed by the heritage asset rules set out by the FA.

Furthermore, the new crest project has been built on a lie that shirt sale have been negatively impacted by the existing crest. This was suggested in Autumn 2023 in an all-staff meeting however performance reports on shirt sales at this point showed that sales were actually up year on year. We do not feel comfortable knowing stakeholders are being lied to.

Mr Heck has said internally that he wants to remove Mo Razzaq of the Aston Villa Supporters Trust from the Fan Advisory Board because of what he said on BBC West Midlands radio about the crest. This must not happen. We have worked hard to build a good rapport with the FAB based on mutual respect and understanding that the fans deserve a voice. Hearing he may removed goes completely against the findings of the Fan Led Review into football. We see this as our responsibility to ensure this does not happen. Many of us, especially those staff who are also Villa fans, feel anxious that we are associated with this approach but know if we raise it internally we put ourselves at serious risk.

Relations with the FA

There's a common theme of disregard towards the FA. Members of staff have been explicitly told to either not communicate to the FA, or worse, lie about business matters. This has been true about both the crest issue and the Euro 2028 bid.
As a workforce, we strongly urge the FA to take right the stance on the protection of rights under the Heritage Assets rules to allow a democratic process to occur on the selection of a future crest. We strongly feel the fans have the right to vote between the proposed new crest and the existing one implemented off the back of the huge fan vote in 2022. We feel if the FA do not insist on this, it tells all the football clubs that the FA's rules can be disregarded and the regulation becomes meaningless.

Conclusion

In summary we are looking for your help. We cannot continue like this. We love this club but the performance on the pitch is masking what is going on behind the scenes at Villa Park. We need you to hold Chris Heck and Ben Hatton to account asap.

We would like you to help us by using your platforms to raise our concerns and force the club, the FA and the Premier League to address these issues.

We've thought hard about sending this appeal for help. As a group of staff, we have seen a lot of ownership and management change over many years. This always comes with uncertainty and adaptation but this is different. This is illegal and immoral. We cannot continue working here without raising our concerns because we're worried about the people we work with, the impact this is having on their health and the good name of the club.

We look forward to Aston Villa being put back on a proper pathway but to do this Chris Heck and Ben Hatton need to be investigated about these issues.

Finally, we would like to make two requests.

• Please do you best to ensure Chris Heck and Ben Hatton are questioned about our concerns and the answers are shared with employees.
• Please can the Fan Advisory Board set up a centralised email address that can be shared with Aston Villa employees so we can individually communicate our concerns on anything else that arises. We need a confidential channel of communication to get our voices heard.

Kind Regards,

Aston Villa Staff.

[Dogtanian]

The bit about the club being vulnerable and not being able to fulfill it's statutory duties in a highly regulated sector, would ring alarm bells for me. Especially if this refers to FFP.
There is so much specific detail in this that it has to be genuine, if it was made up it could be de-bunked quickly and easily.
This is going to blow up.
Can't see Heck surviving this.

I took that to mean the company finances in general rather than FFP, but could be.

[Smithy]

I think someone needs to have a word with Chris about UK employment law, looking at that.

I used to work for a company that was taken over by a US listed company halfway through my time there. The difference in day to day culture with it becoming firstly, an American company, and secondly, a listed American company was massive.

I mean that in general, day to day operations sense, not that all of a sudden they started sacking everyone or anything like that, but there was a period of significant misunderstanding usually around what you can and can not do in the UK versus the US.

There’s been a case recently where a US company thought it could import its redundancy procedure (or lack thereof) wholesale into this country and the Employment Appeal
Tribunal was of course having none of it.

Assuming it's genuine, it's either been written by someone who hasn't spoke to an employment lawyer about their situation, or who has completely ignored any advice they were given.  You will know better than I, but unless someone has been there for two years, it's pretty easy to get rid of someone who doesn't "fit". 

The mention of someone with 4 years service being summarily dismissed is the big red flag to me.  If that bit is real, I can't believe they haven't spoken to an employment lawyer? Or maybe they have, and it's now in the process of being dealt with legally but they're just mentioning it here for extra context?

It'll be interesting to see how it develops.  If the claims are 100% genuine, then there will be lawyers all over the DMs of that Twitter account.