John Ward (businessman)
John Ward | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 1964 (age 61) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | CEO of Scottish football club Livingston F.C. |
John Ward is a Scottish businessman and football executive who is the CEO of professional football club Livingston. He is known for his involvement in the supply chain industry through companies including Fasteq, and later for his roles at Livingston and in the hospitality industry.
Career
Ward founded Fastech (Scotland) Ltd in 1989 before selling the company to Trifast Plc in 1996. He later founded the Scottish supply chain company Fasteq, and became its chief executive officer in May 2000. In 2012, Fasteq was acquired by Haas Group International, after which Ward became managing director of the acquiring company. Haas Group was subsequently acquired by Wesco Aircraft Holdings in 2014. Following his departure from the company in 2016, Ward became involved in the hospitality and brewing sector through the Edinburgh-based brewery Krafty Brew.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Through Krafty Brew, Ward expanded into the hospitality sector, acquiring venues including the Star and Garter Hotel in Linlithgow, Woodland Creatures, Leith Social Club, and the former Old Dr Bells Baths building in Leith. Ward also acquired Spring Distribution and later established Spring Solutions Limited, which were subsequently acquired by Bond International and Diploma PLC.[2]
Football
Fasteq sponsored Livingston between 2009 and 2013, while Krafty Brew later became the club's shirt sponsor in 2015. Ward became financially involved with Livingston in 2016 following the club's relegation to the Scottish third tier. He was appointed chief executive officer later that year and became a director in 2017.[9][10][11][12][13]
He held the position until June 2023, when he moved into the role of chairman with Dave Black being appointed his successor as CEO.[14][15][16][17]
In May 2025, Ward was replaced as chairman by Calvin Ford who purchased a majority stake in Livingston. Ward continued in his role as a director of the club.[18]
Ward was re-appointed as CEO in September 2025, after Dave Black was appointed as Chief operating officer.[19]
Music and theatre
Ward has also been involved in music and theatre projects. He performed as a guitarist and singer in punk bands before later playing with the band Fiery Jack. He later wrote and produced the stage musical "Macpherson's Rant", which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019. The production later received support from Creative Scotland for performances at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews. He has been involved with the music project La Siera Casa alongside his son Michael and Kyle Falconer of The View.[18]
Personal life
In July 2024, Ward faced a charge relating to an alleged threatening and abusive phone call. He was later cleared of the charges.[20]Ward has also published a personal account of the case on his Substack newsletter.
References
- ↑ "John Ward". www.spring-solutions.co.uk.
- 1 2 "Fasteq sold to Haas Group". initium.com.
- ↑ "Life after selling a business – what our clients did next". initium.com.
- ↑ "Loan Fund should help alleviate pain of credit crunch". Daily Record. 1 October 2009.
- ↑ "Helen Sharman CMG OBE at the National Space Centre". Initium.
- ↑ "Brewer snaps up Leith pub". Scottish Licensed Trade Newsw. 4 February 2016.
- ↑ "Brewer makes a Krafty move". Scottish Licensed Trade News. 4 August 2016.
- ↑ "Historic hotel acquired by hospitality group". The Scotsman. 22 December 2016.
- ↑ "Livingston chief defends artificial pitch after double Aberdeen call-off and explains benefits". Daily Record. 26 April 2017.
- ↑ "Livingston: David Hopkin future to be settled 'early next week'". BBC. 24 May 2018.
- ↑ "Krafty just the Brew for Livingston". Sports Pro. 13 August 2015.
- ↑ "Livingston secure new sponsorship deal with Krafty Brew". Daily Record. 12 August 2015.
- ↑ "Livingston chief defends artificial pitch after double Aberdeen call-off and explains benefits". Daily Record. 15 January 2021.
- ↑ "Club Update: John Ward & Dave Black". Livingston FC. 6 June 2023.
- ↑ "John Ward moves from CEO to chairperson at Livingston as is replaced by Dave Black". BBC. 6 June 2023.
- ↑ "Livingston were toxic and on the brink but now the future is bright down West Lothian way". Daily Record. 26 April 2017.
- ↑ "Livingston seek new investment through share issue as change of ownership agreed 'in principle'". Deadline News. 20 April 2017.
- 1 2 "Ford in as Livingston majority shareholder & chair". BBC. 16 May 2025.
- ↑ "Ward resumes CEO role at Livi". BBC. 18 September 2025.
- ↑ "Scottish football club chairman cleared of claims he threatened woman and left her so scared she had alarms fitted". Scottish Sun. 29 November 2024.