Hibernian announced this morning that they had secured the services of Motherwell chief executive Leeann Dempster.

Dempster, who has been at Fir Park for over five years, will take up the role of chief executive at Easter Road from June 1st.

Hibernian chairman Rod Petrie, who also acted as the club’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted that Leeann is joining Hibernian. I am certain she will be a tremendously important ‘signing’ and will provide the daily leadership needed next season to help achieve the Board’s plans and meet the aspirations of supporters.

“Leeann is an outstanding football leader with a proven track record. In addition to a desire for sporting success, I know from our numerous discussions that there is a shared belief in the direction of travel towards increased involvement of supporters and greater community engagement.”

Speaking about her future move, Dempster added: “I believe that to succeed in a sustainable way in the long term we need to grow club resources, re-engage lapsed supporters and strengthen the club collectively. As a big city club, Hibernian has a fantastic opportunity to build on the great physical assets and grow attendances through increased engagement and success on the pitch. I am looking forward to the challenge.

“There are a number of initiatives that we will be able to announce to supporters in due course and that will show we want to meet the shared ambitions of supporters. We want a vision that everyone can buy into so they can play their part in the future of our club.”

According to Petrie, Dempster’s appointment is a step towards ‘delivering a vision developed in collaboration between club management and supporters through the Let’s Work Together project’, which seeks to develop the club, players and above all success on the pitch.

Dempster has seen over a Motherwell revival, since her appointment in 2008, having reached three domestic cup semi-finals, one Scottish Cup Final and last season finished second behind Celtic in the league and with that qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round where they lost 5-0 on aggregate to Greek giants Panathinaikos.

In an official statement on the Motherwell club website, Dempster highlighted her sadness at leaving Fir Park. She commented: “It is with a real heavy heart that I bring my time at Motherwell to an end. I have enjoyed every single minute of it. It’s a real infectious place, Fir Park.

It’s hard not to fall in love with it. I think everyone can be proud of what we have achieved over the last six years but I feel the time is right for me, and the club, to move on.”

ANDREW MUIRHEAD