As they prepare for the start of their first ever Premier League season, Brentford FC have recruited two Independent Non-Executive Directors to sit on the Board of Directors. The Club won promotion to the top flight in May by winning the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final. The Premier League season, Brentford’s first in the top division of English football since 1947, is just days away and The Bees have now appointed Preeti Shetty and Deji Davies to their Board.

The pair were appointed after Brentford FC started the search in March. After a rigorous selection and interview process, it was decided that both Preeti and Deji would add significant skills to the Board. Both were appointed and will take up their roles shortly.

Cliff Crown, Brentford FC Chairman, said: “We started this process with the aim of adding expertise to our Board in the areas of community, supporter and stakeholder engagement. As we went through the process, it became clear that there were many exceptional candidates interested in the role. Preeti and Deji made it to the final round and after the final interviews we could not choose between them. Given they will bring different skills, we decided the best decision for the future of the Club was to appoint them both.

“I would like to formally welcome Preeti and Deji to the Board and congratulate them on their appointments. They complement the skills of our existing directors while bringing different experiences to the Board Room table.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for everyone associated with Brentford FC and this was a great initiative. As a Board we have our role to play in the Club’s key objectives – including growing our supporter base and delivering outstanding fan and community engagement – and I look forward to working with Preeti, Deji and the rest of my colleagues over the coming years.”

Preeti has worked in football for more than a decade, most notably at the Football Foundation, the charity that puts money from Premier League, FA, and Government in to football facilities in local communities. She is now the CEO of Upshot, a technology based social enterprise that helps community organisations collect data and measure the impact of their work. Preeti has a background in communications and specialises in measuring social impact.

Deji is currently a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, the financial services company, having specialised in that field. He is a Trustee of education charity Future First and is an ambassador for the charity Awaken Genius. Deji played semi-professional football for Slough Town and Boreham Wood, among others.