Leeann Dempster set to swap Hibs for Queen's Park - why Hampden move might appeal

Leeann Dempster is ready to swap Premiership Hibs for a fresh challenge at League Two side Queen’s Park.
Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster looks to be on the brink of a transfer to Queen's Park. Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS GroupHibs chief executive Leeann Dempster looks to be on the brink of a transfer to Queen's Park. Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group
Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster looks to be on the brink of a transfer to Queen's Park. Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group

Just a day after announcing she is stepping down as Easter Road chief executive, rumours were rife as he was linked to a number of other Scottish clubs, while there had also been interest from down south. But, it is understood that a move to the ambitious lower tier team had been agreed before she handed in her notice at Easter Road and while Hibs owner Ron Gordon said he tried to convince her to stick with the club she has spent the past six-and-a-half years restoring and reinvigorating, the lure of a fresh start appears to have been too great as she seeks out a greater work-life balance and the chance to spend more time with her family, as referred to in her Hibs statement.

According to that communication, she has agreed to help the club transition between herself and her successor, but has not spoken publicly of her plans thereafter.

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Queen’s Park are enjoying an exciting new era, and with the financial backing of Willie Haughey – an ex-Celtic director and former sponsor of the Scottish Cup – have moved away from their long-associated amateur status. They have made no secret of their desire to push up the divisions. The arrival of an experienced operator, such as Dempster would help.

While the football ambitions will no doubt chime with Dempster, who helped Hibs reassert themselves at the highest level of the domestic game, Haughey’s reputation for philanthropy and the options that opens up to use football as a campaigning and charitable force within the local area could also resonate with the 50 year-old, who helped launch several community projects during her spell at Easter Road.

Since joining Hibs in the summer of 2014, having earned a positive reputation of her work as chief executive at Motherwell, she had grown in stature – as have Hibs under her strong stewardship

She has taken the newly-relegated Championship side back to the Premiership and given them the platform from which to target European football at the start of each campaign. Along the way, the Leith club ended the 114-year Scottish Cup drought and have made a habit of progressing deep into each of the domestic knockout competitions.

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