Edward Woodward is a British accountant and the current executive vice-chairman of Manchester United F.C. In his current role, Woodward has top responsibility for the operation of the club. He is in charge of Manchester United's player transfer activity, alongside manager David Moyes.
Woodward graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in physics in 1993, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1996.
Woodward began working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the accounting and tax advisory department in 1993, before joining J.P. Morgan & Co. as an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions department in 1999.
In 2005, Woodward advised Malcolm Glazer and the Glazer family during its successful takeover of Manchester United. The Glazer family then recruited Woodward to join the club in a "financial planning" role.
In 2007, Woodward was given charge of the commercial and media operations of Manchester United. It was in this role that Woodward is credited for United's success in tying up lucrative sponsorship deals with companies around the world. In 2005, the club's commercial revenue was £48.7 million. In 2012, it stood at £117.6 million.
Woodward was appointed to the board of directors and named executive vice-chairman of Manchester United in 2012. After the retirement of CEO David Gill the following year, Woodward was promoted to the top operational role at Old Trafford in a restructuring of the club's boardroom. Woodward was succeeded by Richard Arnold as the club's commercial management director.
Woodward's first transfer window, where Manchester United completed the signing of Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Everton, but failed to acquire other transfer targets, was described as being "disastrous" by The Daily Telegraph.
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