Mike Power was confirmed as a Director of Brentford Football Club yesterday.

The 66-year-old has been on the Board of Brentford FC (Lionel Road) Ltd, the company responsible for putting together the Lionel Road stadium project, for six years.

He had his place on the Club’s Board of Directors ratified yesterday and said it fulfilled a 50-year dream.

"I am delighted at having been elected to the Board,” said Mike.

“I believe Brentford FC is an integral part of the community and that whatever success we can generate for the Club can only be good for our fans, staff, players, sponsors, business partners and the wider community.

“This is a 50-year dream come true."

Mike was born in Isleworth and has been a Brentford fan since first coming to Griffin Park as an 11-year-old.

He has gathered a wealth of experience during a career that has seen him spend more than three decades at one of the world’s biggest companies and help bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to London.

Mike spoke at length to Bees Review, Brentford’s match day programme, about his life and career.

“I went to Cranford Junior School and then Spring Grove Grammar School (now Lampton School) and played football and cricket,” said Mike.

“I played on the left wing, and when I was in the fifth form we had a centre forward called Brian Burgess.

“We didn’t actually cross paths again for another 40 years, when I was working on the Olympic bid.

“I was out in Bromley-by-Bow with Barbara Cassini, who at that time was the chair of the bid, and we were doing a presentation to Andrew – now Lord – Mawson, and Brian was in the room.

“We were going through the presentation, Brian responded in some way or another and mentioned Brentford Football Club, and we then realised our connections.”

Before his Olympic journey, Mike worked for Procter and Gamble. He joined the firm’s Operations Research Department, solving business problems, then moved into finance.

“The company thought I could contribute more there, and that was a clear pathway to career progression,” said Mike.

“I loved working for P&G; it is a fantastically successful company, with great people and the highest ethical standards.

“Mike’s life at P&G took him all round the world but after 31 years he decided he wanted to come home.

“My wife and family came back to England to live, we’d done our travelling,” he said.

Mike’s work took an unexpected twist, when the opportunity to become involved in the London 2012 Olympic bid.

He was Chief Operating Officer of the bid team and then the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) until 2008.

Mike was awarded an OBE for services to sport in the January 2006 honours list, as part of the team that brought the 2012 Olympic Games to London.

But how do you win an Olympics for your home city?

“It comes down to making sure that you hire the best people you can and then develop a great product that people want to buy.” said Mike.

“There are 17 criteria on which the bids are judged, there are minimum criteria you must meet but my objective was to have superiority on as many as possible.

“Being average doesn’t win anything.

“On the morning of bid decision, Paris was 1/7 to win.

“However, I am an eternal optimist, and knew we were close because we really worked very hard to make sure that we had the best proposal and that the International Olympic Committee understood it very well.”

Mike dipped his toes back into Brentford’s waters after that chance meeting with Brian Burgess and was elected as director of the stadium company in 2008.

Mike said the Club had a perfect window to deliver the stadium and his passion for the regeneration of the Club and development of a new stadium runs deep.

“It’s because I’m a local lad,” he said.

“Everywhere I went in the world, I would look for Brentford’s results – we haven’t been that successful over the past 50 years, but I’m a patient man and my loyalty to this club runs deep.

“It is part of my DNA.”

Mike is clear of his remit as a Director.

“There are people that know about the playing side; let them get on with that,” said Mike.

“But we have to think about how we turn Brentford into a sustainable club that is an integral part of the community.

“To make sure we think ahead to the next few decades as well as managing the next few weeks.

“That tends to be the challenge for any organisation.

“We have a great Community Trust and we need to make sure we leverage that from a club standpoint, because clearly it plays an important role in the community.

“My expertise is about companies fulfilling their potential and that’s something I can help the board do, because I think Brentford Football Club has massive potential.”