Mark Palios

Markos Palios (born 9 November 1952) is an English chartered accountant, football administrator and former professional footballer. In August 2014, it was announced that he and his wife Nicola were taking ownership of Tranmere Rovers F.C., where he had once been a player. Playing career Palios played in the Football League as a midfielder for Tranmere Rovers for nine years and Crewe Alexandra for three years. In 1981-82 he was Crewe leading goalscorer. In the latter part of his career he played as captain in the European Cup-Winners' Cup for Welsh club Bangor City. In total he made over 400 League appearances and continued playing non-league football for many years after his professional retirement. Whilst playing in a friendly amateur game in 2001 Palios was elbowed in the chest and suffered a double cardiac arrest, but recovered and went on to resume playing football until the age of 58. Post-playing career Unusually for a footballer, Palios was permitted by his clubs to pursue a career as an accountant, whilst remaining a professional player. He developed a successful career as a chartered accountant with Arthur Young and ultimately became a senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, specialising in business turnaround. In 2003, he was voted Turnaround Financier of the Year by the Turnaround Finance Group, and given a Lifetime Achievement Award. He then changed direction, resigning from PwC to become the Football Association's chief executive in July 2003, where he sought to apply his business skills in the field of sports governance. One of his priority tasks was to stabilise The FA's perilous financial situation, by resolving the financing of the Wembley Stadium project. He saved The FA from having to borrow a further $230 million, which would have put the whole organisation into financial jeopardy. Other successes at The FA included the successful overhaul of the disciplinary process, which resulted in speedier hearings and lower costs.