Jamie Swinney (b. 1986) is a Scottish sports executive best known as the Chief Executive Officer of Falkirk Football Club. A University of Stirling graduate, he began his career in football through community and youth roles. While at Stirling he wrote for the student newspaper Brig and began volunteering within the Scottish FA community football programme, later using that experience to advance through football administration. He initially joined Stenhousemuir FC in 2009 as the club’s Community Officer, working on youth coaching and outreach programmes. Over the following decade he built a reputation in Scottish football development including roles at the Forth Valley Football Academy and as a Scottish FA Performance Coach before returning to Stenhousemuir as CEO in 2018.
Stenhousemuir FC (CEO, 2018–2021)
In February 2018 Swinney was appointed Chief Executive at Stenhousemuir, a lower-league club where he had already served in youth and community roles. Under chairman Iain McMenemy, he helped implement a long-term vision for the club. McMenemy praised Swinney for playing a key part in delivering the club’s vision and achieving the targets set over several years. Notable milestones during Swinney’s tenure included the establishment of the club’s Warriors Community Trust and a successful fan-share initiative. In April 2020, for example, the club announced that all 679 offered shares were sold, raising over £25,000 to bolster the club’s finances. Stenhousemuir also became known for its community programmes under Swinney’s leadership, earning recognition as a community anchor initiative by the Scottish Government. By mid‑2021, after helping to rebuild the club’s structure and fan engagement, he stepped down to take on a new role at Falkirk FC.
Appointment and Early Falkirk Tenure (2021–2023)
In summer 2021 Swinney returned to his hometown club as Falkirk’s CEO. The club was then in turmoil. Swinney later described 2021 as the worst year the club had ever had in its 143-year history. Within two months of his arrival under the previous board, all directors resigned, and a new board was installed. On the pitch Falkirk finished in the bottom half of League One (third tier) in 2021–22. Swinney openly acknowledged the emotional challenge this posed and vowed to steer the club back on track.
As CEO, he emphasized financial sustainability over quick fixes. Early on he worked to stabilize revenues and set pragmatic targets. In 2022 the new-look Falkirk board publicly announced an ambitious goal: to return to the Scottish Premiership by the club’s 150th anniversary season (2026/27). Swinney endorsed that plan and supported a gradual rebuild. He also oversaw a shift toward a fan-focused ownership model. Under a three-legged stool approach, he advocated involving supporters alongside any private investor. As he put it, having three stakeholders means if one is struggling a bit, the other two can help. You are not relying on one individual and the fans still own the club. In practice this meant the Falkirk Supporters Society significantly increased its stake. By 2023 the Society had used a government-backed loan to acquire 875,000 shares (over 50 percent of the club), making fans majority owners with smaller shareholders collectively holding around one third of equity. Swinney has since cautioned that while fan-ownership limits having someone with deep pockets, it reinforces the club’s identity and requires strict fiscal discipline.
Sporting Success and Strategic Initiatives
Under Swinney’s management, Falkirk achieved rapid on-field progress. After losing in the playoffs in 2021–22, the club won promotion from League One in 2022–23, doing so unbeaten and becoming the first side outside of Celtic and Rangers to achieve an Invincible league season. The very next season (2023–24) Falkirk finished as Championship winners, clinching a second successive promotion back to the Premiership. Swinney celebrated the turnaround as beyond his wildest dreams, noting with pride that the club had done it in a self-sustainable way without the heavy overspending common in other teams’ promotion bids.
Alongside on-field results, Swinney has overseen significant growth off the pitch. He reports record-breaking commercial income and attendance figures. According to his statements, Falkirk’s 2023–24 income set a new club record, and 2024–25 was on track to blow last year out of the water. Matchday crowds have dramatically increased with the club boasting the 7th highest season ticket base in Scotland. Swinney notes the atmosphere is the best he’s seen, with supporters backing us and the connection is really special. In public comments he has repeatedly attributed this growth to the club’s fan-owned model and community rapport. He reflects that in the 15 years since Falkirk’s last top-flight season, there were seven really poor years yet fan loyalty has never wavered.
On the strategic front, Swinney has championed long-term projects. A foremost initiative is rebuilding Falkirk’s youth academy. He has spoken of restarting the club’s full academy to Scottish FA Performance level, calling it an important part of the club’s strategy that means a lot to him personally. With Premiership status secured, the club has now re-introduced it’s full academy pathway, achieving performance status for season 2025-26.
Infrastructure is also on the agenda. The Falkirk Stadium currently lacks a fourth stand, and Swinney has ruled out expensive short-term fixes. In May 2025 he confirmed the club had considered installing a temporary bleacher but decided instead to focus on a permanent solution. We will work hard to make a fourth stand a reality. That is our big ambition. Financially, Swinney maintains careful budgets. He has warned that Falkirk, being fan-owned, cannot match the big spending of richer clubs or recently relegated teams with parachute money. As one board commentary noted, Falkirk cannot do the kind of cash losses that some Championship winners incur, so Swinney’s management prioritizes sustainable growth.
Leadership and Community Focus
Swinney’s leadership style is characterized by passion, pragmatism and a fan-first outlook. He often notes that running a club is not that different from any other business, except for the weekly matchday event that everyone works towards. Despite this business perspective, he clearly cares deeply about Falkirk’s fortunes. Reflecting on early struggles, he said he and his team struggled a little bit to cope with relegation pains precisely because they cared about the club. This emotional commitment drives his approach. In 2021 he stated his excitement comes from trying to make a real difference and restoring Falkirk to the level where he believes it can be in Scottish football.
Transparency and planning are also hallmarks. Preparing for the Premiership competition, Swinney emphasized that Falkirk has been working for months on its plans, while acknowledging they might not get everything right but will be transparent and learn. He communicates openly with supporters, as seen when he admitted his initial promotion expectations and later lauded fans for backing a low-budget bid. Teammate coaching experience has shaped his style too. He has credited youth coaching with teaching leadership and people skills that benefit his CEO role.
Community engagement remains a core value. From his earliest role as community officer at Stenhousemuir to initiatives at Falkirk, Swinney insists the club’s local connection must endure. He often highlights Falkirk’s outreach: free tickets given to local groups, the work of the Falkirk Foundation, and other programs that link the club with schools and charities. As Swinney put it in 2021, the club’s commitment to the community and engagement in the local community, does not change even as people at the club change. Under his tenure Falkirk’s fans have been formally empowered through the Supporters Society, reflecting the idea that football is deeply rooted in its community.
Media Profile and Public Commentary
Swinney’s influence and vision have been highlighted in sports media. Local outlets like the Falkirk Herald have featured extensive interviews with him on the club’s plans, particularly around the Championship title and Premiership promotion. The University of Stirling’s Brig newspaper (which Swinney once wrote for) has profiled him as a young, ambitious CEO giving the club back to the fans. In these and other interviews he comes across as thoughtful and articulate, discussing both business and football aspects of the role. On industry issues, he has not shied from taking stands. For example, in 2024 Swinney publicly defended Falkirk’s modern artificial turf against calls for a blanket ban on plastic pitches. He led a multi‑club proposal to regulate pitch standards (requiring high-quality surfaces and strict maintenance) rather than force clubs like Falkirk to abandon their 3G field. This episode underscored his willingness to engage in broader Scottish football debates on behalf of the club.
In summary, Jamie Swinney is seen as a young, energetic football executive whose tenure at Falkirk FC has been marked by stability, sustainable success and an insistence on fan and community involvement. Through back-to-back promotions, financial growth and strategic planning, he has helped reposition Falkirk both on the field and in business. His leadership style, blending professional management with genuine club loyalty, has won public praise, with supporters noting the special atmosphere and unity at matches and analysts observing Falkirk’s upward momentum under his guidance.
Our Exclusive Interview with Jamie Swinney
Who is Jamie Swinney outside of football? How do your personal values influence your professional approach?
The values that are important to me are centered around honesty and integrity, humility and compassion. I care for people, and I enjoy helping people, which is why I enjoyed coaching and coaching young people for 16 years. I believe listening to people and genuinely caring about them is a strong leadership skill.
What are the most critical skills a CEO needs to lead a football club in today’s industry landscape?
At a club like Falkirk, you must be involved in every aspect of the club – football, finance, commercial, operations, communications and community. You are required to add value across the club and to show passion, conviction and ambition. You need to have a very broad set of skills and experiences.
How do you balance the football department’s ambitions with the financial and operational responsibilities of running a club?
That is an on-going challenge. To be successful a club must provide the manager with a competitive budget, however this must be balanced with sustainability and long-term progression. We invest everything that we can into the football department, however we do not put the club at risk.
What metrics or indicators do you focus on when evaluating the club’s performance off the pitch?
Primarily we focus on performance targets for the year and by using year on year comparison. We also carry out a full supporter survey annually and regularly seek feedback from our largest shareholder, the Falkirk Supporters Society, and from supporters’ groups. We also run comparisons against similar sized clubs within the league.
How do you build alignment between ownership, executive leadership, coaching staff, and the wider club team?
A key performance indicator for me has been to deliver a high-performance culture within the club, both within the football department and in the non-football department. Clear and concise communication both internally and externally is crucial as is key messaging in how we market the and position the club. For us ‘doing it together’ and ‘Together as One’ have been critical to positioning the club as a fan owned club and one where everyone is contributing to its success and progress.
What’s the biggest challenge in managing a club in a competitive and financially diverse football environment like Scotland?
A high majority of clubs in the top level of any country do so unsustainably in that they require regular and on-going investment over and above operating income to survive. As a fan owned club we are required to run a break-even business model whilst still aiming to compete with clubs who overspend. This would represent our biggest challenge.
How do you assess and choose the right sponsors, partners, or investors for a club with strong community values?
The majority of our sponsors and partners are local and they are therefore invested in the club and community. Decisions on partnerships with local businesses is generally an easy decision. Investors are a more complex decision as any investor must be fully supportive of the fan ownership model and be comfortable with our governance. Alignment is critical, while we receive a lot of notes of interest regarding investment we rarely proceed beyond an initial conversation due to there being no alignment.
What are your future plans and goals, both for Falkirk FC and in your own career in football leadership?
I want Falkirk FC to be seen as the most well-run club in Scotland, consistently competing at the top level of the game in the country and one which consistently outperforms its budget. I aim to continue to grow the club in all areas to ensure long-term sustainability and success. From my own perspective, I hope to continue to grow and develop as a leader and to work at the highest level of the game.
