Heather Rabbatts

Executive Deputy Chairman of both Millwall Holdings plc and the football club

One of the first ever black female managers to be appointed within the football industry.

When Heather Rabbatts, CBE, was recently appointed as the Executive Deputy Chairman of both Millwall Holdings plc and the football club she became one of the first ever black female managers to be appointed within the football industry. Within her position she will assume responsibility for all the activities of the company and also the substantial property-based urban regeneration opportunity known as “Sports City.”  Her outstanding career qualifies her to lead Millwall into a new successful era in both the football and business arena. Xcel investigates…

Heather Rabbatts
Stressful management positions are nothing new to the likes of Heather Rabbatts. She joined  Channel 4 in 2002, as Managing Director of 4Learning and in 2005 became Head of Education across the Channel. Heather was responsible for commissioning programmes and new media and for leading the strategic profile and reputation of the channel's education output. Heather's first major commission was Twelfth Night, followed by Teen Big Brother and the Emmy Award winning illustrated Mum starring Michelle Collins.

Before joining Channel 4 in February 2002 Heather was Chief Executive of Lambeth Council. Advertised as the worst job in local government, her task was to get the Borough out of absolute crisis and in the process she transformed it.

By the time Heather left her position in 2000, the council had the fastest improving housing authority with major regeneration plans implemented, not least the symbolic London Eye, an education service which previously had a third of its schools in special measures reduced to none and a major clean-up in its finances. Whilst there, Heather became a BBC governor and was involved in the appointment of the then Director General Greg Dyke.